How to Dress Like Wednesday Addams
In the first episode of Netflix’s Wednesday, its lead character (played by Jenna Ortega) makes her all-black fashion ethos clear. “I break out into hives and the flesh peels off my bones,” she tells her rainbow-loving roommate Enid Sinclair (played by Emma Myers) when asked what happens if she wears colorful fabrics.
It’s hard to say if the young goth — an outcast in a sea of real-life outcasts, ranging from sirens to werewolves, at Nevermore Academy — is being serious or just comically exaggerating her disdain for color. But, for the show’s costume designer Colleen Atwood, this was the starting point to embed the character’s style with pieces that challenge collective assumptions about Wednesday Addams, a morbid character that first debuted in the New Yorker's comics series in 1938, later developing into a TV sitcom in 1964 and subsequent films during the '90s.
Wednesday’s style encompasses minimal tones, mainly black in various shades, fabrics and silhouettes. A lot of dresses and renditions of the ‘little black dress,’ along with the white collar peeking through (an emblem of Wednesday’s character through out the years) paired with the occasional checkered sweater or cardigan to introduce contemporary trends whilst still remaining true to her aesthetic. Towards the end of the season we see Wednesday adorned in a maxi black ruffled dress to prom. If you’re not a fan of all black clothes, now is the time to divulge into it and explore a different look and if you are, you’re welcome.
And with such a recognizable oeuvre, she’s the inspiration behind endless fashion homages, from Halloween costumes to runway shows. Case in point: she’s arguably the blueprint for Dark Academia, the gloomy viral TikTok aesthetic comprised of Peter Pan collars, pleated kilts and dark, long blouses.
Thanks to her taste for forlorn fashion, Wednesday has become an apropos pandemic style idol. And amid the rise in edgy dressing, the terrifying teen has never been more on-trend. (Though she couldn’t care less about that.)
Looking to add the gift of gloom to your own wardrobe? Find your perfect Wednesday Addams outfit and channel The Addams Family’s infamous daughter.
