Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) is probably the best-dressed character on television right now. The costume team behind The Marvelous Mrs Maisel even has the Emmy awards to prove it (actually, it’s got a number of various awards and nominations under its stylish belt).

Thanks to her love for bright colours and flawless 50s fashions, Midge’s look is bold, fun and full of character. But it’s the hidden messages behind each outfit that truly captures the audience’s attention. 

The show’s creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino, once revealed the significance of Midge’s obsession with pink clothing. According to Sherman-Palladino, the costume team swapped her baby pink clothes for a hot pink shade after Midge’s husband Joel (Michael Zegen) leaves her for his secretary. The team even coined it “post-Joel pink”. In the same interview, Sherman-Palladino also said that costume colour choices are made “in terms of character” and “to support whatever emotion is going on in the scene.”

With this in mind, let’s take a look at the best outfits from The Marvelous Mrs Maisel season three and examine them a little closer. 

1. Midge wears the trousers

Wearing her deepest shade of post-Joel pink yet, Midge dons a pair of military trousers in the second scene for season three. She’s taking control of her comedy career, as she prepares to join Shy Baldwin’s tour with a warm-up gig at an army base. Watching her march through a stage of scantily clad dancers before taking a bow reminds us of what a big deal it is that a woman is becoming a successful figure in stand-up comedy during this time period. 

2. Mrs Maisel returns

Midge quickly changes into one of her glamorous gowns for the performance at the army base, which showcases the American flag’s red, white and blue colours (with an amazing bow tied at the back). She even jokes to the soldiers: “I admire you guys, I couldn’t ever wear the same outfit everyday.” Mrs Maisel is back and on top form. 

3.  Rose rediscovers her roots

We learn more about Midge’s mum, Rose (Marin Elizabeth Hinkle), when she visits her family home in episode two. She puts on a pair of cowboy boots and a hat to walk around the family’s rural farming land. It’s a sharp contrast to the prim and proper Rose who never has a hair out of place and always has a pair of high heels on. Later, Rose confronts her brother because he won’t allow her to sit on the family business’ board. After making an empowered (and hilarious) speech about the sexism against her, she marches out in her boots while defiantly carrying her grandma’s portrait because “women aren’t welcome”. 

4. Susie smartens up

We also learn more about the significance of Susie Myerson’s sartorial choices. In episode one, Midge asks Susie (played by Alex Borstein) why she’s still wearing her leather jacket instead of her new blazer, suggesting that she’s too scared to smarten up her look. By episode three, Susie starts wearing the blazer, signifying that she’s ready to face the many powerful men she’s up against in the business. 

5. Midge still plays the housewife role

This outfit reminds us that Midge’s family still expect her to fulfil the traditional “50s housewife” expectations. She is wearing the conservative neck tie and apron while cooking her famous brisket, dealing with her squabbling parents and looking after her kids with Joel. Interestingly, the apron is the baby pink shade that Sherman-Palladino said represents her life before breaking up with Joel. It shows that her old life isn’t totally behind her. 

6. Midge has an identity crisis

On the opening night of the tour in Las Vegas, Midge has a bit of an identity crisis. She explains that Shy’s hair stylist has given her the unexpected high beehive, which matches her OTT black dress with bow detail. She even asks Susie for advice on whether or not to wear gloves. The fact that Midge is asking Susie for style advice speaks volumes. This moment is taking her stardom to a whole new level.

7. Midge dives in with Susie

This has mostly been included here because it’s a just a really great swimming costume. But this scene, which shows Midge teaching Susie how to swim, reminds us of the pair’s unlikely friendship and trust in each other – despite the fact that they have lived completely opposite lives.

8. Midge arrives

Midge settles into the tour midway through the season. She finds herself walking behind a trail of extravagantly and brightly dressed women as they walk down the hotel stairs to attend the evening’s performance. Dressed in a simple, black cocktail dress (her staple “on stage” look), Midge stands out against the other women. She confidently owns this modern position. 

9. Midge meets Lenny

Towards the end of the series, Midge starts to wear more pink and black dresses on stage. She wears this floral dress on a date with Lenny Bruce (Luke Farrell Kirby ), who is the comedian – and potential, slow burning love interest – who has championed Midge’s career from the start. This perhaps suggests that she is finally working out how to balance her personal and professional lives.

10. Midge gets gutsy

Susie’s other client, comedian Sophie Lennon, stars in her first play in the penultimate episode. Midge goes along to support Susie, but the performance turns out to be a total flop because Sophie self-sabotages her performance. When Sophie is confronted by Susie, she blames Midge for her downfall. Susie then tells Sophie that Midge is going to be star because she has one thing that Sophie will never have: GUTS. It’s poignant that Midge is wearing a beautiful bright pink dress while her manager shows such admiration for her as a professional comedian.

11. Midge is a star

In the last episode, Midge is nervous about performing at the Apollo in Harlem. She fully acknowledges the fact that she’s an incredibly privileged, Jewish, white woman performing to a black audience in segregated America. But this doesn’t stop her from denying her identity, dressed up in a fabulous embellished pink ball gown for the show of a lifetime. Unsurprisingly, she pulls it off and wins the crowd over. After all, it’s impossible not to fall for Midge’s perfectly pink personality.

Without giving too much away, the last scene in the season finale sees Midge in a colour she rarely wears: white. But we’ll have to wait for season four (which has just been confirmed) to fully understand the significance of this. In the meantime, we’ll probably be investing in pink pieces for 2020. Tits up to that!

Images: Amazon Prime