I started watching Nashville for exactly two reasons—Hayden Panettiere‘s hair and Connie Britton‘s hair. I’m actually only mostly joking here. But really, as fan of Connie Britton since her days as Tami Taylor on Friday Night Lights and a fan of Hayden Panettiere since, basically, Remember the Titans, I was on board with this show immediately even though I’m not really a fan of pop country music all that much, unless you count Taylor Swift’s wardrobe, Keith Urban’s highlights, and that one song by the Dixie Chicks where they kill that dude named Earl.
The thing I have learned, though, is that I actually do love this kind of country music, because it’s not really what I think of when I imagine country music, it is actually this lovely mix of Johnny Cash, folk, bluegrass, and indie singer-songwriter. It’s not your mama’s honkytonk.
It’s, well, this:
Which you may have already heard if you listen to The Civil Wars on repeat, which I do, more often than I care to admit. And you guys, I might prefer the Nashville version.
Nashville as a concept not a unique story, really. We have Rayna James, the ‘Queen of Country’ who seems to be losing the reins on her reign, so to speak. She’s not selling albums because people wants a piece of the newer, younger, louder, flashier, poppier Juliette Barnes. And then we have Scarlett O’Connor, who quietly sings and writes music and proves that she’s a force to be reckoned with, without any sort of flash at all. So, not all that unique. I mean, if you saw the movie Country Strong, you really have seen all of this before. But Nashville does it well—the music scene, the Nashville politics, the fame struggling, the love triangles, and it even draws storylines from actual news stories—the squaky clean football player who is saving himself for marriage?
But what I truly find to be most surprising is how much I love the style of all three of the leading ladies.
First we have Juliette. Juliette is an up-and-comer, and she dresses like it—at least on stage. While performing you can always find her in tight fits, loud patterns, short hems, and lots and lots of shimmer and glimmer. But in her everyday life, Juliette is sexy and stylish by updating the country traditional. She’s still in hats, dresses, boots, florals and plaids—but her hat is a fedora, not a cowboy hat and her florals are fitted and fierce, not the typical soft and flowy. Juliette works extra hard to shed her back country roots.
Then we have Rayna. Rayna has been on the country music scene for quite some time—this ain’t her first rodeo—and while she’s not at young as some of the other country music stars out there, and she’s the mama of two young girls, she steps up a seemingly classy and traditional wardrobe with glitter and glitz, and a really good pair of non-Mom jeans.
And finally we have Scarlett. Sweet, sweet Scarlett and her sweet, sweet wardrobe. It’s filled with vintage-inspired dresses in soft colors and patterns, cowboy hats and boots, and lots of great necklaces and other jewelery. I’m already noticing that as she starts to feel more comfortable in her own skin, her wardrobe is getting a little more daring, a little less traditional. It look as though every piece of her clothing comes from Urban Outfitters.
Wanna dress like Juliette Barnes?
1. Peplum blouse, $224, Shopbop
2. Meadows silk chiffon dress, $137, Bergdorf Goodman
3. Frayed chevron scarf, $37, LOFT
4. Butterfly print blouse, $72.90, UrbanMinx.com
5. Double pocket madras shirt, $23.90, Forever21
6. Ava Fedora, 48, Urban Outfitters
Wanna dress like Rayna James?
1. Sequin faux leather jacket, $18, Forever21
2. 7 For All Mankind skinny jeans, $125, Shopbop
3. Green button-down blouse, $97, Piperlime
4. Citizens of Humanity Amber bootcut jeans, $189, Anthropologie
5. Snake-print peasant blouse, $20, Macy’s
6. Tiago corset belt, $58. Anthropologie
Wanna dress like Scarlett O’Conner?
1. Moss garden woven stretch belt, $14.95, Ruche
2. Natural treasures necklace, $14.95, Ruche
3. Floral mesh lace dress, $128, Free People
4. Rose print dress, $27.80, Forever21
5. Pattern-knit cardigan, $34.95, H&M
6. Urban renewal cowboy boot, $59, Urban Outfitters
Want more ways to Dress Like Your Television? Check out how to dress like Jess from New Girl, Carrie from The Carrie Diaries, Mindy from The Mindy Project, Emily from Revenge, Annie from Community and Trudy from Mad Men.
About Ali Martell
