How to use colour to tell a story - with a little help from the Marvellous Mrs Maisel
Midge Maisel grabs your attention from the first episode with her array of rainbow outfits, all of which feel fun yet sophisticated, vintage yet new, whimsical yet grounded in elegance. I was obsessed with her from her first stand up set. This week I read the costume designer, Donna Zabowksa’s, book all about her experience working on the Marvellous Mrs Maisel, and there were a few moments which I thought could be helpful for us as curators of our own wardrobe in relation to using colour to tell a story.
“Creating clothes as color “events” is our special way of painting the story as we develop a narrative for each character”
Madly Marvelous, The Costume of the Marvelous Mrs Maisel - Donna Zabowska
Donna creates a history with certain colours for her characters. Not only does she consider the external symbolism of a colour, but also how the meaning changes depending on how it’s worn by the character. For example, she notes how even though pink is typically a feminine, soft colour, for Midge it becomes “her defence against dejection and defeat” and expresses “the triumphant part of her nature”. She later notes how Midge wears it under her collar when she starts as a sales rep in Bergdorf Goodman for “self confidence”. In choosing to wear pink, despite its association with her role as a perfect housewife, she takes back control of her identity and finds connection with these different elements of her personality. The more she chooses to wear this colour in these moments of vulnerability, the more the meaning of pink becomes something different to us, as a reminder of her history.
Pink isn’t the only colour which plays a role in storytelling for Zabowska, she notes how green becomes a colour of heroism by being worn in scenes where Midge is particularly brave and stands up for herself or others. Because she is placed in green when she ends up going to jail, she is later placed in green by Donna when she finds herself doing a political speech in the park. In doing so, Donna creates a narrative thread between these two moments, creating this new meaning for the colour green for Midge and for us. White is worn “during scenes of cathartic closure or renewal” such as when she is left on the tarmac after it’s revealed she won’t be joining Shy for his Europe tour. These colours are connected in a later outfit which is red, green and white, relating three core moments for Midge in one look to her current moment.
Because Midge’s style is notably bright and colourful, colour has a bigger meaning for her than for certain characters in other shows. Clearly, Midge Maisel is thoughtful about the clothes she puts on her back - you feel that she’s not just being styled by the god-like costume designer in a way which is completely unrealistic, but is actually dressing herself and taking joy in her choices. For example, Midge always dresses appropriately to go downtown, wearing the moodier colour palette of the night time bars, but she doesn’t just wear black, she wears “as many alternate, richly dark tones as possible, varying blacks with deep burgundies, bottle greens, and rich aubergines” to mirror Midge’s usually bright and colourful wardobe. Colour is not an accident for Midge, it’s a core part of her brand and so every colour choice is carefully considered for the context, her character and story.
When analysing a text, you always consider the context of a colour if used, as well as how it's used in that particular story. The curtains are never just blue guys 😉 - and hopefully Donna has shown that with her own thoughtfulness around colour, every artist worth their salt is the same. Midge is not just thrown into a random assortment of colours which look nice, each colour is considered for its impact on the scene, her story, and why she might choose to wear it. I also love how Donna brings her own perspective on colour into the story - for the scenes of Midge’s mother Rose in Paris, Donna draws on her own memories of Paris “of deep-toned garments worn with purple flowing scarves, exotic turbans, and of course berets” and so there are echoes of this throughout the series - it doesn’t really matter if that’s “accurate” or not to Paris in the 50s/60s, it adds a richness to the story by creating a unique, grounding palette.
So… what about you?
Here are some lessons I think you can take away from Donna Zabowska’s use of colour in the Marvelous Mrs Maisel into your own wardrobe
Think about what colour means to you - for some people, black is a statement of boldness, strength, power, whereas for me its come to mean a sense of defeat and boredom, so I wouldn’t wear it necessarily in the same context as someone else because it doesn’t make me feel that good. I’m a little like Midge, pink for me is a symbol of my rejection of femininity in “cool”, “fashionable” outfits for the last 15 years or so, and a symbol of how I refuse to care about all that. Blue, for me, is a homely colour, it feels calming, reminds me of denim and feels more relaxed. . David Zyla’s “Color Your Style” is a really good book for exploring symbolism of the colours in your wardrobe in relation to your colour season.
Pull from your memories - your memories are the most important asset you can use in creating a certain feeling with your outfits. Even if it’s something as simple as wearing richer colours from your palette in autumn to connect the outer world, or wearing brighter, more playful colours in the summer.
Think about your wardrobe as a work of art - its something you are building to tell your story, just like a character.
What do the colours in your wardrobe mean to you? Share in the comments below!
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✨ 2025 bucket list vision board every year I make a pinterest vision board for the year and one for my future generally. I think its good to have a close look and a zoom out - this makes your yearly one more realistic and fine tuned so that you are more likely to achieve everything on it, and the big picture stops you from making your world too small.
Oooh!!! I don’t think I’ve experienced enough life with a intentional style yet, but going from the gut and current outfits I’m wearing I would say for me:
- Green makes me feel grounded and centered and chill
- Blue makes me feel effortlessly cool (sometimes black too but worn very specifically as it’s not in my color season)
- Pink makes me feel energized and fun
Now I’m going to start paying more attention to why I intuitively reach for certain outfits when I’m feeling certain ways (or want to feel a certain way). Interesting article! Thank you!!