Costume Stories: Scandal’s Olivia Pope Coat Closet

I have been gripped by Scandal fever, I know I am a little late to the party, for some reason it passed me by until the show came to Sky Living earlier this month for its third season, which of course meant I needed to catch up fast. This has resulted in binge-watching the first two seasons, living the drama, wanting to be a Gladiator, and most of all admiring Kerry Washington‘s character Olivia Pope’s wardrobe, which is always immaculately styled.

I love discovering TV shows with great fashion, I was obsessed by Gossip Girl, I love the Hampton’s style of Revenge, costume designer Janie Bryant made a Mad Men convert out of me with her ladylike retro pieces, I love to see the trumpet sleeve gowns in Games of Thrones, I still want to be a My So-Called Life grunge girl, I obsess over Jessica from New Girl’s glasses, and no TV star has come close to rocking a skirt suit like Ally McBeal, and of course I couldn’t forget about Carrie Bradshaw and how stylist Patricia Field made SJP a style icon in Sex and the City.

I definitely feel that Olivia Pope’s love of white, clean-cut coats, tailored jackets, and exquisite Prada bags has to be added to my TV fashion list. Watching episodes back-to-back always makes me get more deeply invested in a series, but with the fast paced nature of Scandal, the strength and attitude of Olivia Pope and the incredible soundtrack, I love all the Motown tunes, it really has sucked me and the styling from costume designer Lyn Paolo has been amazing – not just for Olivia but the whole cast.

I think the stand out items of Olivia’s designer wardrobe has to be her love of outerwear, we’ve seen Tory Burch, Max Mara, Ferragamo, Armani, Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney, Escada, Alexander McQueen and Burberry, basically any designer you can think of. Each one is a classic, they all have sleek lines, and generally they are all white or neutral tones, to represent Olivia as the good guy, with the except of the very gorgeous Ralph Lauren plaid coat that she wears to the court-house.

There has been everything from the classic trench to the floaty wrap style, as well as oversized, plaid, miltatry inspired, and double-breasted. One of my favourites, there a few so stick with me, has to be the soft grey Max Mara coat above with the three-quarter sleeves, I love the cape-like sleeves paired with those Dorothy Gaspar gloves that perfectly match with her Prada bag, simply chic.

“Kerry and I fell in love with this coat but I didn’t like where the sleeves hit on her arms and suggested gloves,” Paolo told E!. “You know, it’s a fashion moment and Olivia Pope can put herself together no matter what is going on in her life.'”

I also adore the two Salvatore Ferragamo coats, both are so feminine, I love the oversized collars and it is always nice to see Olivia rocking pink, even if it is light enough to be confused as white. But I think the ultimate white coat has to be the Burberry Prorsum Duchesse satin cape topper from the spring/summer 2014 collection. I love that even under fire Olivia can still rock an amazing look, and I think it was a great move to wear this beauty completely fasten to the neck, it really does make a strong statement.

Explaining the Burberry coat, Paolo told E!: “I felt like she needed to be the white knight, so she needed to be in white, but I didn’t want to do a suit. I wanted whatever she wore to look like armour. She wore the coat completely fastened to the neck not showing any skin, and we talked about the cape being sort of like a superhero so she literally never takes the coat off.”

As well as gorgeous coats, Olivia’s wardrobe is packed full of tailored jackets and blazers to complete her looks. From the double-breasted military jacket by Ann Demeulemeester to the dark grey Escada suit blazer and her signature white Burberry blazer, but my favourite has to be the Escada caramel blazer, the masculine style collar really works with the feminine style pleating.

Just watching this show has made me excited about autumn just so I can get a new coat or two, and when the times comes I will be posting Olivia Pope inspired pieces from the high street, it just felt wrong to do that in August.

Have you been bitten by the Scandal bug? If like me you have, please no texts, tweets, phone calls or any communication of any kind tonight between 9 and 10pm, as I will be sitting on the edge of my seat with a glass of wine and a big bowl of popcorn in my silk PJs to watch the next episode on Sky Living HD!!!

While I was doing my research I also found this video of Kerry Washington talking about the Olivia Pope closet – it basically looks like my idea of heaven!!!

[Pics: ABC/Sky Living]