Emily In Paris’ Maximalist Style Is Surprisingly Wearable IRL

One thing about Emily Cooper? She isn’t afraid to stand out. Maximalist to the core, her style go-tos include clashing prints, neon rainbow hues, and over-the-top silhouettes. This ethos is especially evident in Season 5 of Emily in Paris, where the titular marketing ingenue takes her social media know-how to a different European capital: Rome. Armed with a new beau and a promotion to lead Agence Grateau’s Italian office, Netflix’s resident fashion girl is brighter and bolder than ever.

To match the new phase in Emily’s life, costume designer Marylin Fitoussi pulled 27,000 items across 450 brands for Season 5. In designer-speak, that translates to a closet with pieces from Valentino, Fendi, vintage Galliano, and contemporary names such as Marine Serre and Stine Goya. It also puts her wardrobe on the pricier end of the spectrum. (In fact, Emily notoriously spends an estimated $73,000 more than what she makes in a year.)

Firmly against the idea of capsule wardrobes and quiet luxury, Emily’s bold ethos is actually a burgeoning trend in 2026, where maximalism is the new baseline. Despite the whopping price tag, her style can be re-created, even without a designer budget. But are her looks actually wearable IRL? I put that to the test and wore her OTT outfits in an all-black-clad New York City for an entire week.

Slay A Work Meeting In A Bold Pantsuit

Even before the pantsuit experienced a renaissance early this year, thanks to the likes of Zendaya and Hailey Bieber cosigning the CEO-core trend, Emily Cooper was ahead of the curve. Throughout the show’s five seasons, she’s worn the crisp, tailored look to work, often opting for a vibrant color or busy pattern. She’d even accessorize hers with a clashing tie, a bow, or a more unconventional crystal-encrusted brooch.

Inspired by Emily’s office ethos, I pulled up to work like a boss in a floral print suit from Scotch & Soda and wore heels (all day!) from Dolce Vita. Can confirm: there is something about a suit that makes you stand taller. Instead of a tie, I wore a lariat necklace from Awe Inspired, and added a contrasting orange bag from Brandon Blackwood and bow earrings from Mignon Faget. To style it yourself, opt for a matching pantsuit, add a fun neck piece, and go to town with your accessories.

Add Whimsy With “Ringarde” Accessories

Emily’s biggest weakness is a kitschy accessory. If she’s not carrying novelty bags in the shape of hearts, butterflies, or even a Chrysler Building-inspired Art Deco design from Louis Vuitton, she’s tacking trinkets onto her more classic accoutrements. If you’ll recall, in Season 1, she tacked an Eiffel Tower trinket on her bag and was labeled “ringarde” by Pierre Cadault. Years later, cutecore bag charms blew up. (Justice for Emily!)

Novelty bags have also become a widely embraced street style trend, so there’s a lot to choose from in the market. I personally can’t get enough of animal-shaped bags. So, on a day I went on a movie date, I went for a Grinch-esque fur coat from ASOS and a hedgehog-inspired bag from Kate Spade, and topped it off with cateye sunnies from Vera Wang. This experiment proved that kitschy accessories get a ton of fashion compliments from strangers (aka the best kind).

Throw On A Bright Coat To Explore The City

The main thing I envy Emily for? Her coat collection. Unlike most people who buy outerwear for functionality, the chic marketing exec knows that coats are the perfect statement pieces. She even builds her entire ‘fits around them, finding clothes and accessories to match. That translates to outerwear in all colors of the rainbow, including sunflower yellow, hot pink, and even plaids and paisleys.

I brought out my most vibrant topper — a pink-and-cream checkered coat from Draper James — and based everything else on the same color palette. For the pinks, I tacked on multiple rosy shades, including a hot pink Mikuta sweater, a deep pink Kate Spade Deco bag, and a powder pink paisley tie from Lost Pattern. Meanwhile, for my contrasting ivory touches, I threw on a white button-down and knee-high boots from Larroude. It was a little nerve-wracking looking so bright and colorful on the subway, where I typically just want to blend in, but YOLO. Cloud Dancer? We don’t know her.

Try A Failsafe Power Shoulder For An Event

Like her go-to suits, Emily can’t resist a power shoulder, which adds confidence and power to any look. It could be a short puff sleeve on a midi, a pointed wing on a teeny LBD, or a sculptural long-sleeve top in a zebra print.

This is another easy trend to incorporate into your own wardrobe; all you need is your choice of voluminous sleeves. I opted for a tiger print pussy-bow top from Hunter Bell, which I dressed down with Veronica Beard diamond frayed jeans to attend an event. In true Emily fashion, even my casual jeans had to have some sort of pattern, ofc. Since my girl Em also accessorizes like a pro, I followed suit and added razzle dazzle via a gilded L’Agence belt, bow-clad Larroude pumps, and a metallic Luar bag with bag charms.

Style A Romantic Cape For Date Night

Much like other trends, Emily was ahead of her time in the cape department. The cape/poncho style made a resurgence in the past two fashion seasons as a growing outerwear trend, but Emily had been a longtime fan of the glamorous look, wearing capes to events, dates, and business meetings. She typically ups the flamboyant ante by pairing her statement topper with other loud pieces, often clashing prints and colors.

As a fan of boxy coats (the more padded the shoulder, the better), I was happy to add the cape coat to my rotation. It instantly felt romantic and gave me a whiff of Old Hollywood glamour. My cape of choice was an oxblood fur-trimmed piece from Alice + Olivia, which had a bow detail, worn with a sequined mini dress from the same brand and Dolce Vita slingbacks.

I’m happy to report that, although I didn’t get a French chef to fall madly in love with me or become a social media superstar, Emily’s bold ethos did give me the audacity to believe that I could. More importantly, it reignited my love for getting dressed, changing my approach to style on a cellular level. As a fashion writer, figuring out an outfit in the morning has become just another notch on my to-do list, and I’ve forgotten how much fun it can be to go a little wild and own it. Emily clearly doesn’t GAF whether people call her cringe (or “ringarde”), and there’s something valuable about that approach to life.

After embracing such flamboyance for a full week, I don’t think I can go back to bland. Even if I don’t combine as many prints in one look as she does, best believe I’ll be incorporating a statement piece or two into my ’fits from now on. Bless you, Emily, my favorite expat. May you keep traipsing through Europe so we can all keep getting outfit inspo for many seasons to come.