When it comes to fashion inspiration, I’m someone who can look at the color scheme of a restaurant and think, yes, this is a good outfit. I think sometimes the best fashion inspiration can be found in the least obvious places. With that being said, one of the most obvious, and one of the best places to find fashion inspiration is in movies.
Whether it’s the mean girl with the best wardrobe you’ve ever seen in your life, or the iconic outfit a specific character is known for wearing, I think we can all agree that there’s a movie out there that made us want to throw away every single article of clothing we own and start anew.
For me, that movie was Get a Clue (2002), where Lindsay Lohan and Brenda Song serve look after look while solving a mystery. In that moment, 8 year old me had her first identity crisis and needed an unlimited shopping spree immediately.
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of movie wardrobe research, and realized I might as well compile a list of my favorite movies for fashion inspo to share with you all. Now I understand this is a very long list, and I probably still missed some, but at least you’ll have all your fashion film inspo in one place! To make it a little more bearable to get through, I’ve organized it by decade, so if the 60s aren’t really your thing, feel free to scroll down to the 90s.
Gone with the Wind 
Marie Antoinette 
Moulin Rouge! 
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind is a vision in every single iconic gown she wears.
Marie Antoinette is like watching fresh strawberry meringues with whipped cream, topped with a cherry personified. Set in 1774, the colors and costumes in this movie are delicious.
Moulin Rouge! on the other hand makes you want to quit everything and become a burlesque dancer.
The Grand Budapest Hotel, like every other Wes Anderson film, is an inspiration in color alone. I always admire Anderson’s use of color in all of his films, and the mesmerizing shades of purple, pink, and red in this one make my heart happy.
Gentleman Prefer Blondes 
The Talented Mr. Ripley 
Funny Face
Marilyn’s iconic white dress scene in The Seven Year Itch always gets attention, but her purple fitted dress in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, followed by that pink finale gown are standouts to me.
The Talented Mr. Ripley; pretty people wearing pretty clothes, we love.
It’s difficult to think of a movie where Audrey Hepburn doesn’t serve look after look, but Funny Face is like watching an editorial come to life.
Pierrot Le Fou 
Bonnie and Clyde 
Two for the Road 
Moonrise Kingdom 
Breakfast at Tiffany’s 
Blow Up 
The Love Witch 
Valley of the Dolls
The 60s is one of my favorite eras to draw inspiration from, mainly because of the color. Marianne Renoir’s love for red and gingham in Pierrot le Fou really gets me, and I’m a sucker for a french film.
I think we can all agree Bonnie and Clyde is pretty iconic, but Bonnie’s use of accessories is MAJOR.
Two for the Road is another movie featuring Audrey Hepburn, and actually one of my favorites in regards to fashion. Not only does she not wear ANY Givenchy *gasp*, but her wardrobe throughout the movie represents her relationship with her husband in that moment.
In Moonrise Kingdom Wes Anderson delivers that absolutely stunning color scheme that he always does, and also gives us Suzy’s iconic pink dress.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s is probably Audrey Hepburn’s most popular movie amongst the masses, and my favorite thing about it is that you can recognize a Holly Golightly look from a mile a way.
Do you ever just have those days where you’re in the mood for a murder mystery, but, like, are also in the mood for some major 60s mod fashion inspo? Well you’re in luck! Blow Up is the movie for you.
The Love Witch is actually set in the present day, but I put it in this category because it completely embraces the camp of 1960s horror. A great, underrated movie that happens to be directed by a woman!!!
The characters in Valley of the Dolls wear quintessential fashion pieces from the 60s that make me drool every single time.
Casino 
American Hustle 
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again 
Almost Famous 
Mahogany 
Klute 
Taxi Driver 
Annie Hall 
What’s Love Got to Do with It 
Austin Powers
Casino and American Hustle both give you 70s glamour, that makes you want to drown in diamonds, sequins, and (faux) fur.
After I saw the flashback scenes in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, I dressed like Donna for a majority of last summer and I have no regrets.
Penny Lane from Almost Famous is still a major fashion inspiration for so many!
Dianna Ross’ iconic role in Mahogany is a fashion, rags to riches story that is filled with gorgeous looks.
I may or may not be obsessed with Jane Fonda, and her style in Klute is a 70s dream.
12 year old Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver, that is all.
Okay so let’s make it very clear that we do not stan Woody Allen at all, and I don’t actually want you to go stream his movies, so maybe just do a pinterest search on Dianne Keaton’s looks in Annie Hall. She requested to choose her own wardrobe, which was filled with menswear inspired looks that are still a big inspiration today.
Angela Bassett in a Tina Turner biopic? You already know What’s Love Got to Do with It is filled with fashion inspo.
I would say liking the Austin Powers movies is my guilty pleasure, but I don’t feel guilty about it. Besides, every single one of these movies gives me every bit of 60s/70s style inspo I could ever ask for.
Pretty in Pink 
Dirty Dancing 
Heathers 
Scarface 
Velvet Goldmine
Any John Hughes movie is iconic, but Pretty in Pink stands out to me the most when it comes to fashion, especially since there’s fashion woven into the storyline.
I feel like no one talks about Baby’s cute outfits in Dirty Dancing enough, so I’m here to change that.
I feel like the fashion in Heathers is Clueless meets Blair Waldorf meets 80s youth, and I’m here for it.
Everyone say thank you to Michelle Pfeifer in Scarface.
No one ever talks about Velvet Goldmine, but the all the glam rock makes me cry tears of admiration.
The Matrix 
Romy and Michelle 
Jawbreaker 
Desperado 
Clueless 
B*A*P*S 
Cruel Intentions 
The Craft 
13 Going on 30 
Never Been Kissed 
Pulp Fiction 
The Parent Trap
Tiny sunglasses, latex, all black, long sleek coats; The Matrix is still leaving its mark when it comes to being a source of fashion inspiration.
We’ve all seen the iconic pink and blue dress from Romy and Michelle, but this movie is FILLED with inspiration.
Tiny cardigans are all the rage right now, and Rose McGowan in Jawbreaker is the queen of them.
Salma Hayek in Desperado has every insta baddie shaking in their boots.
Let’s face it, we all wanted Cher’s closet from Clueless.
The colorful and eccentric fashion in B*A*P*S is MAJOR.
Reese Witherspoon’s looks in any 90s movie are amazing, but Sarah Michelle Gellar’s outfits in Cruel Intentions are what really stand out to me.
The Craft serves you witchy, school girl realness.
13 Going on 30 is one of my favorite movies, and it’s not just because of the amazing 90s fashion. Jennifer Garner makes me want to wear cute little dresses, dance to Thriller, and eat Razzles all at the same time.
The girls in Never Been Kissed make me want to be a new person every single day when it comes to my wardrobe.
Who would have thought that black pants and an oversized, white button up would have been so chic? Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction knew what she was doing.
I have watched The Parent Trap approximately 187 times, and I still don’t know which twins closet I want more.
The Cheetah Girls 
Bring It On! 
Freaky Friday 
Legally Blonde 
Coyote Ugly 
A Cinderella Story 
Uptown Girls 
Life-Size 
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen 
High School Musical 
The Devil Wears Prada 
Charlie’s Angels 
The Royal Tenenbaums 
Get a Clue
I want that tracksuit from The Cheetah Girls in every single color, please and thank you.
The only time I ever wanted to be a cheerleader was probably while watching Bring It On!.
Freaky Friday gives you punk-rock, skater girl realness that Avril Lavigne would be proud of. Also, I still want the dress Anna wore to her mom’s wedding, just as much as I did when I was younger.
Elle Woods basically invented the color pink in Legally Blonde.
Coyote Ugly was one of my favorite movies growing up, and I feel like that says a lot about my character development as a person.
Is it just me, or does every mean girl in a teen movie have the best closet? A Cinderella Story is no exception to that theory.
I absolutely love Molly’s style in Uptown Girls, it’s just so much fun, and I feel like I can see myself in it every time I watch the movie.
Tyra Banks in Life-Size has the perfect outfit for everything.
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen is another iconic Lindsay Lohan movie that shaped my childhood, and I wanted to be Lola so bad.
Although quite unrealistic, Sharpay’s style in High School Musical is always fun to look at.
The Devil Wears Prada in a fashion movie lineup? Groundbreaking, but it had to be done.
Charlie’s Angels, another movie that I loved growing up. But can you blame me? There’s so many iconic fashion moments in this movie, but that scuba suit scene gets me every time.
No one makes me want to wear a nude slip and a huge fur coat more than Margot from The Royal Tenenbaums.
Like I mentioned earlier, Lindsay Lohan and Brenda Song in Get a Clue are one of the reasons I developed an interest in fashion.
A Simple Favor 
Crazy Rich Asians 
Neon Demon
Blake Lively is a fashion icon off and on the screen, and her character in A Simple Favor makes me want to wear suits every single day of my life. Every look she sports in this movie is so effortlessly cool.
The minute I saw Rachel in that Missoni dress, I was sold. Also let’s not forget everything that Astrid wears, Peik Lin’s fun wardrobe, and that wedding scene!!! Crazy Rich Asians was one of my favorite trilogies to read and I’m so happy I get to see it on-screen.
Neon Demon is definitely an… interesting film. I’ll leave you with that.
The Fifth Element 
Barbarella
If costume design by Jean-Paul Gaultier isn’t enough to get you to watch The Fifth Element, I don’t know what is.
The camp in Barbarella is so major. Also, just another reminder that I love Jane Fonda.
Congratulations! You’ve reached the end of this post. I tried to make it as enjoyable to get through as possible, so let me know if I succeeded, or if I lost you half way through. I’d love to hear what your favorite eras are to draw inspiration from, my top three are definitely the 70s, 90s, and early 2000s!