The Girls I Want to Dress Like
Over the years, I had several fashion icons I wanted to dress like. However, these are the top six inspirations I would like to steal ideas from for my next wardrobe.
Fran Fine from The Nanny
The Nanny is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 1993 to June 1999. Its leading lady was Fran Fine, played by Fran Drescher, a proud Jewish bombshell from Flushing, Queens, who became a nanny to three children in the Upper East Side. And later, a lovely companion to their very single, and very rich, father. While Fran had audiences cracking up left and right with her witty comebacks and jokes, her outfits stunned the masses.
When it came to styling her look, the costume department sought to create something that elevated the character’s fun energy with a touch of elegance. Her signature outfit always included a turtleneck structure, miniskirt, opaque tights, and a pair of high heels. Also, Fran’s looks were heavily influenced by the previous eras, specifically from the 1940s-1960s.
I can’t say I had a favorite outfit for Fran Fine, as I loved all of her looks growing up. What I will say, as someone with big curly hair, is that I love how The Nanny embraces the main character having what society may see as “crazy, frizzy, and poofy hair.” Instead of doing a normal slickback, they would make sure the outfits highlighted Fran’s hair or would use it as a paired accessory. I had always felt insecure about growing up with curly hair, but when I watched the show in my teens and as an adult, it made me realize how much I needed someone with the same hair as me on TV.
The costume department really did their big one with the character’s wardrobe, as people are still trying to mimic her styles to this very day. In fact, while writing this article, I stumbled upon a digital closet archive with almost every outfit Fran Fine wore in each episode of The Nanny. So, the next time you want to try dressing like Fran Fine, let this database be your guide: Fran Fine Database.
Regine Hunter from Living Single
Living Single is an American television sitcom that originally aired on Fox from August 1993 to January 1998. The show centered on the professional and personal lives of six friends who lived in Brooklyn, NY. The character whose clothes I found myself falling in love with was Regine Hunter, played by Kim Fields.
Regine Hunter was portrayed as a sassy yet classy, cultured, and self-assured young woman. Probably the original “passion for fashion” girl, Regine would wow young girls everywhere with her stunning looks, bargain deals, and her amazing wig collection. I personally loved how Regine would dress up for every occasion and her bold looks. She always had a pair of earrings to elevate the look, and she did not shy away from animal prints and sequins. What I really adored about Regine was that she practiced dressing up rather than dressing down, which is why her outfits always stood out to me in every episode.
Bratz
Bratz is an American fashion doll and media franchise that rose to fame in the early 2000s and was created by former Mattel Employee Carter Bryant. The doll line included Cloe (Caucasian), Sasha (Black), Yasmin (Latina), and Jade (East Asian). The Bratz doll line was such a hit with young audiences that it led the company to produce other versions of the dolls, such as Bratz Babyz and Bratzillaz. At the same time, the Bratz doll line had provoked a number of controversies, specifically regarding their fashion-forward clothing and capitalization on pop culture trends.
Growing up, I had a Yasmin doll in almost every form. She was one of the few dolls out there at the time that came close to what my family and I looked like. Although I found myself having a closer personality to Sasha and Cloe, I was very happy with my Yasmin dolls, as she taught me what it’s like to style yourself as an American Latina while embracing your signature features. When you think about it, the Bratz girls were our first influencers. I’m glad I had them in my early childhood.
Zendaya
Ok, unless you have been living under a rock, I feel like I shouldn’t need to explain who Zendaya, the Ms. Z, is. Correction, it’s Mrs. Z now. But I will do so anyway.
Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman is an award-winning American actress and fashion icon from Oakland, California, who started her career as a backup dancer for Old Navy, Mervyns, and Macy’s. Zendaya first gained national recognition for her role on the Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up, which ran from 2010 to 2013. Since then, she has starred in several primetime television shows and films, earning two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. In 2022, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Now, if I’m honest, I was not always Zendaya’s biggest fan. In fact, during her run on Shake It Up, I was one of her biggest haters. More accurately, I hated her because after school, my sisters would always get first choice for the TV, and they would always put on either Shake It Up or iCarly. Sometimes, they would sit themselves down for several hours watching Zendaya and her spectacular dance moves until it reached the late hours of the evening. Meaning, I would only have between 30 minutes and 1 hour for myself before my parents would switch off the TV.
So, yes, I did heavily dislike her. At the same time, it wasn’t her fault for my parents’ blatant favoritism. I already knew it then too because I would listen to Zendaya’s song Replay on the replay, quietly under the bed covers in my room. If they had found out I also liked Zendaya, then I would truly never be able to watch anything but Shake It Up. Even if it was a good show, fans also need a break from time to time.
To my family, I was the annoying Zendaya-hater. In my bedroom, I was one of her many admirers. Once my sisters moved on from their Shake It Up phase and Zendaya moved on to other projects, I genuinely began liking her more and more. Similarly to the reason why I love Fran Fine, I loved how Zendaya would embrace her natural features with every outfit and would elevate it with big curls and soft glam.
Another aspect I loved about growing up with Zendaya was that she wasn’t afraid to experiment with her looks until she found a style that best suited her. I find that Zendaya prefers to dress in clothes that look elegant and comfortable when she’s not on the runway. As much as I try to practice or mimic Zendaya’s wardrobe, I feel like she is definitely someone that, even if I were to copy her personality and lifestyle to a “T,” I could never truly be Zendaya.
Kylie Cantrall
Kylie Cantrall is another American actress I’m fond of and was introduced to through her role in Descendants: The Rise of Red. Since then, I have been following her fashion looks as she blends Y2K nostalgia, streetwear, and pop-star glam, heavily inspired by 1990s and 2000s icons like Britney Spears.
Kylie’s signature style includes low-rise denim and corsets. She plays around with maximalism, donning bold patterns like leopard prints and bright reds. Something I admire is that her outfits immediately scream fun, high-energy, and good vibes only. It reminds me of a time when society celebrated bright colors everywhere before minimalism. Although I am much older than Kylie, I hope to recreate some of her style for myself. I may not look as spectacular, but I will still say I am one of her biggest fans and admirers.
KATSEYE
Katseye is a girl group based in Los Angeles and is composed of six members: Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Manon Bannerman*, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza, and Yoonchae Jeung. The members are presented as a “global girl group” with members from the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States. The group was formed through a K-pop training program which was part of the docuseries, Pop Star Academy.
KATSEYE is one of the reasons I am so envious of today’s teenagers. I didn’t have a girl group as cool as KATSEYE in my early adolescence. If I did, I definitely would not have had my “Ann Taylor Mom” phase where everything I wore between 2017-2022 would have been perfect for a suburban mother of three in the Midwest.
As a group, I love that their outfits are coordinated with a shared concept in which each look has a signature style that matches the member’s personality. Their stage clothes are designed to look youthful, powerful, and fashion-forward. Bold textures like leather, denim, metallic fabrics, and lace are usually part of their wardrobe, along with custom pieces and heavy overall influence from Y2K and the late 1990s.
Out of all the members, I want to dress similarly to Daniela and Sophia. I would like to practice a blend of streetwear meets runway when walking around New York City like Daniela. At the same time, I want to expand on my ever-growing collection of tailored dresses and off-duty model clothes like Sophia.
I truly wish I was a teenager now so I could have developed alongside them. Who knows? I would have probably auditioned to be part of the next global girl group and have performed alongside them.
*Manon Bannerman began her hiatus on February 20, 2026, and is still on hiatus at the time this article is published.
