The Devil Wears Prada
If miranda were a man no one would notice anything about her except how great she is at her job
It's the first day of May, which hopefully means more sunshine and warm weather. Today also happens to be the first Monday in May which definitely means celebrities will be making their way to the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Serena and Blair once ate their lunch and where, according to a Twitter meme, Jason Derulo once tumbled down the stairs.
I have so many iconic memories from watching the Met Gala through social media. From Karlie Kloss staring Camp right in the eye to Taylor Swift getting up and dancing to Beyoncé's "Crazy In Love," the same night that allegedly inspired "Getaway Car." While Taylor hasn't been to the gala since, I will always feel immense gratitude toward Anna Wintour for holding the event that gave Swifites one of the greatest pop songs of all time.
In my last newsletter, I shouted out my talented and incredible friend Ava Williams for her Wes Anderson trend, which inspired me to watch The Grand Budapest Hotel and write about it. Ava's mind is full of great ideas, and she was the one who told me that for Met Gala Monday, I should play into the theme and write about The Devil Wears Prada.
It's widely assumed Miranda Priestly is based on Vogue editor and Met Gala hostess Anna Wintour as the book the film is based on was written by Lauren Weisberger, a former assistant to the Vogue editor. Before I dive into the film, I want to acknowledge how genius the book and film's title is. I'm not sure if the author came up with the title herself or someone else, but it is *chef's kiss.*
I haven't seen The Devil Wears Prada in a few years, so revisiting it was an enjoyable experience, and honestly, films like this, whatever genre you would categorize 2000s films aimed at women, are my favorite to watch and write about. I wrote about The Princess Diaries as my first newsletter back in January, and I'm excited to write about another Anne Hathaway character because she always nails the underdog who rises to the top role.
The main controversial topic among The Devil Wears Prada fans is whether or not Andy's boyfriend Nate and their friends were right to treat her the way they did. My opinion is they were completely out of line, and if those were my friends, I would be searching for some new ones and a new relationship. I prioritize cheering my friends on for their accomplishments, and they do the same for me. This is how friendships should operate, but Andy is not met with praise for how hard she works or for how much she's accomplished as Miranda's assistant.
At the start of the film, Andy has a chip on her shoulder. Like her friend group, she thinks she's above the fashion industry. She sees it as a superficial, materialistic place that she wants no part of. Miranda schools her on this during the cerulean sweater scene when she reminds her that there's no escape from fashion, no matter how hard someone tries to avoid it. Despite acting above the industry, she does begin to feel insecure, especially in a scene when Miranda looks her outfit up and down, which sends Andy running to change into the shoes Nigel gave to her.
When Nigel gives Andy a makeover, a scene reminiscent of Mia Thermapolis' The Princess Diaries makeover, Andy has a newfound confidence as she confirms to her coworker Emily that she is, in fact, wearing the Chanel boots. The Devil Wears Prada really wants us to believe that Andy's makeover had a negative impact on her character. However, I don't believe Andy has become a vain person, I believe she started wearing clothes that make her stand out in a crowd, and her friends were threatened by that. It's actually pretty similar to when Lilly mocks Mia in The Princess Diaries for her new hair.
While true confidence comes from within and shouldn't lie heavily in appearance, I've always found fashion to be a form of expression. I love finding a style that makes me feel good in my skin, but I also love leaving things open to try new things and new trends. This is what Nate and Andy's friends get wrong in the film.
They think the industry is shallow, and they want no part of it. However, Nate expresses himself through his passion for cooking, and Lily expresses herself through art. If they weren't so caught up in their own pride and weird superiority complex that's actually based on how inferior they feel to people like Miranda and Nigel, they would understand that fashion is also a form of expression.
When you dress in a way you feel most confident, you glow. This doesn't mean everyone has to dress like a New York City it girl or an industry insider, but that everyone can find something that works for them. Whether that's boho, hippie, 70s, or whatever Hailey Bieber was wearing in her latest Instagram post is up to you. It's all valid.
Nigel also shares a story in the film as to why fashion and the industry are so important to him. Growing up, his brothers were into sports, and he would read fashion magazines under his covers at night so they wouldn't find out and start picking on him. As an adult, Nigel no longer has to hide and can embrace his love for fashion and be proud of it. Working for Miranda helps him take back the power he didn't have as a kid and express himself in a way he wasn't allowed to when he was younger. He's willing to put up with Miranda because being bossed around by her isn't the worst thing; not being able to be his authentic self is.
Nate's reaction to Andy's new style and attitude is the worst of all her friends, and the whole situation reminds me a lot of the struggle many successful women have when finding a relationship. Some men can not handle a woman who is winning in life, especially if she is seemingly doing better than he is.
When Andy starts dedicating herself to her career, and it's clear she's actually going somewhere, Nate's disposition changes. It's normal for a boyfriend to be upset that his girlfriend's boss is taking advantage of her or that she's being overworked. He's also right to be hurt that she missed his birthday. However, when Andy starts expressing she actually enjoys working for Miranda, as her boyfriend, Nate should be supportive instead of projecting his own negative beliefs about the industry onto her.
Nate would never want to admit this, but there are several moments throughout The Devil Wears Prada where it's clear Andy hasn't actually changed into the vapid person her friends claim she's become. Sleeping with Christian Thompson probably wasn't her best decision, but she was single at that point, and she had no idea what he was up to, so the choice doesn't make her the villain. When Miranda wants Andy to tell Emily she's been uninvited from Paris fashion week and Andy is replacing her, she's devastated. She knows how hard Emily has worked and how excited she was for Paris, but she's in a tough spot as the rules are, do as Miranda says or find a new job.
Andy also continues to have compassion for everyone, including Miranda, no matter how terribly she treats the people around her. Andy soon learns Miranda's life isn't as glamorous as it seems, as she's going through some tough marital issues with her husband. Like Nate, Miranda's husband is bothered by how much she works and feels she puts her career above him.
This isn't an issue exclusive to women, but it does seem to be worse for ambitious women in relationships than men. Men are expected to work, often leaving their families for weeks on business trips. However, when women want to prioritize their careers, suddenly, it's an issue. Whether Andy wants to admit it or not, she actually has something in common with Miranda.
As an ambitious person myself, I can understand why Andy and Miranda put their jobs so high on their priority list, even if it sometimes hurts the people they love. I am not one to deny that I love glamour and aim to live a life as luxurious as Miranda's, and if I were the editor of a world-famous magazine or the assistant to that editor, and I went to glamorous charity events and fashion shows, I would get pretty caught up in it too. I do believe there are men out there who can handle an ambitious woman, but Miranda's husband and Nate are not those men, and both characters are better off without them.
Andy feels more sadness for Miranda when she learns her husband is divorcing her, and her sadness deepens when she finds out Miranda is being replaced as the magazine's editor. It turns out Miranda already knew this and had a devious plan in store to keep herself at the top. But before Andy figured this out, she was worried about her boss. She knew how much her job meant to her and how much of her life she sacrificed to keep her job. If Andy had really turned into the vain, selfish person Nate believed her to be, she wouldn't care about Miranda losing her job and might even see it as a way for her to get ahead.
Of course, Andy's attitude toward Miranda changes at the end of The Devil Wears Prada when she screws Nigel over. Nigel to Andy was like the fairy godmother to Cinderella throughout the film, so when Miranda chose her enemy Jacqueline Follet the new creative director, to Holt, when the job was rightfully Nigel's, Andy knew it was time for her to leave the industry behind. The plan worked in Miranda's favor as Jacqueline was meant to replace her, and the new position saved her own job. However, it proved how little she cared for Nigel despite how much he did for the company.
This was a heartbreaking scene because although Nigel was sometimes hard on Andy, he was acting out of love. He knew she was capable of more than she gave herself credit for, and he wanted to push her to do her best. He was the one who got her motivated at work, and without him, Andy may have continued to slack off, complain about not getting credit for her work, and, while her friends would have loved seeing her stay the same, she would have never evolved into the Andy she became at the end of The Devil Wear's Prada.
The film really made me fall in love with Nigel, and all sympathy and connection I was feeling for Miranda dissipated when she betrayed him. However, Miranda did remind Andy that what she did to Emily wasn't much different. They were both acting from a place of fear that they would lose their jobs and be left with nothing. Even if the situations seem like they were different, it's obvious they weren't so different in the end.
I'm glad that at the end of The Devil Wears Prada, Nate moves to Boston because it makes it less likely he and Andy will be together. Though they seem like they're gonna make things work, in my dream future for Andy, she moves on to someone else and never looks back. Andy might have stopped working for Miranda and gone to interview for a journalist position at a major publication, but when that job gets tough and Andy starts dedicating all her time to it, possibly taking on some qualities of her coworkers, Nate's going to start belittling her again.
The truth is Andy has outgrown Nate and her friend group, and that's why they were so upset with her. They couldn't stand seeing her evolve while they remained the same. Andy made mistakes throughout the film, as everyone does in life, but I refuse to believe that she is the villain or that she is guilty of half the things her friends accused her of. At the end of The Devil Wear's Prada, I don't see Andy as someone who went through hell and escaped, finding a job that's suitable for her and reuniting with her boyfriend to tell him how right he was (because he was WRONG!)
I see her as someone who had a wild experience with a job she never expected she would get or would be passionate about. She does not come back to her old self at the end. She's a new, more confident version who knows how much she's capable of. Nate might go on his own journey as he embarks on a career in Boston, but by the end of the film, he's the same judgemental Nate he was in the beginning. He even takes a few digs at the fashion industry when he meets up with Andy. Those two do not belong together, no matter where Andy works.
I recently came across a deleted scene from The Devil Wears Prada from the charity event, which seemingly was inspired by the Met Gala. In the scene, after Andy prevents a fight from breaking out between Miranda's husband and Irv Ravitz, Miranda smiles and mouths thank you to Andy. This completely changes the dynamic between the two and alters Miranda's character. Miranda might be internally grateful, but she would never show it. That's who Miranda is. She expects her employees to go to extreme lengths for her without ever expecting their work to be acknowledged. In my opinion, the deleted scene was best left out of The Devil Wears Prada, even if it was nice to see Andy finally get credit.
Miranda will not be on the Met Gala red carpet tonight, but Anna Wintour certainly will be. Fun Fact: I saw her in person one night in November 2022 when she stood just inches away from me, leaving the August Wilson Theater after Funny Girl. She didn't have her iconic sunglasses on but was standing there smiling. I was so caught off guard that all I did was laugh because it was so unexpected, and I didn't know how else to react. She seemed nothing like Miranda Priestly or any of the other terrible stories people have told of her throughout the years. She looked happy to be there, like a typical 73-year-old woman with a little bob, excited to have seen Lea Michele's Fanny Brice dreams come true.
The moment was a reminder of the humanness of the Vogue editor, just like Miranda had her many human moments throughout The Devil Wears Prada. Anna Wintour might seem like royalty, like some entity high above the rest of society, but even she occasionally stops by for a nighttime Broadway show and cracks a smile at the thought of "Don't Rain On My Parade.
I enjoyed revisiting The Devil Wears Prada, and tonight when Anna arrives on the red carpet, I'll remember that Miranda's life wasn't as perfect as it seemed, that it's okay to indulge in glamour even if some loser boyfriend of yours thinks it's superficial, and that if Anna Wintour was out seeing Funny Girl one night in November, smiling to herself after Lea's final bow, then I guess she (and Miranda!) is not as different than me as she seems.