While many people have tuned in to this season of The White Lotus for its whodunit, some are more invested in the characters and others more in Portia’s all-over-the-place wardrobe. The character’s fashion sense has caused a lot of discourse online among fans who cannot agree on whether it is classic Gen-Z or just terrible. On her end, Haley Lu Richardson had “strong feelings” about her character’s wardrobe and her favorite piece from it.
Portia’s outfits have caused an uproar online
Portia is Tanya McQuoid’s frustrated assistant who has to tend to her codependent boss’s wants and needs. While many TWL fans sympathize with her situation, they don’t hold back when it comes to her wardrobe.
Her chaotic outfits have become the internet’s obsession and chosen villain despite Theo James’ Cameron’s existence. In one scene, Jennifer Coolidge’s character Tanya (and Portia’s boss) yells at her to “get [her] s*** together.”
While the wake-up call is in reference to Portia’s bad taste in men and constant complaints about how bad her life is, it might as well have been about her outfit choices. Portia is clinically depressed and, according to her, spends most of her time online.
As such, she is prone to impulse buying, judging by how random her outfits always are. She wears several sunglasses with different colors throughout the show, which might indicate she is an impulse shopper.
She also has a suitcase full of influencer favorites and carries a beaded phone chain which may suggest that she very much keeps up with trends despite her raving about how much she hates social media. Portia’s outfits are akin to the revived early 2000s fashion trends, and fans feel her wardrobe may be an amalgamation of 2000’s stars like Ashley Tisdale, Lindsay Lohan, and Hilary Duff.
Haley Lu Richardson defends her character’s outfits and picks her favorite
The reactions to Portia’s wardrobe have been very dramatic, and Richardson spoke out about the matter. The actor told PEOPLE at a pop-up fashion event that she didn’t expect the reaction to be as intense as it has been saying, “People are very opinionated about her style.”
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“I had strong feelings about her wardrobe, but when you’re making a movie or a show of something, you don’t really- or at least I don’t- think about what people are going to think of it. I just try to do what’s right for that character I’m playing, and I’m just thinking about that person.”
The actor constantly said throughout filming that her character’s style was a collaboration between herself and the show’s costume designer Alex Bovaird. Richardson named the House of Sunny Swan Lake sleeveless knitted jumper she wears in the first episode as her favorite piece in Portia’s wardrobe.
“I get that it’s an insane article of clothing, but I personally love it. I love it so much because I feel like when I close my eyes and think of Portia and what she would wear in her day-to-day life as Tanya’s assistant, it’s that,” Richardson said.
Alex Bovaird said Portia’s chaotic wardrobe was intentional
Fans were right to note that Portia’s outfits were a tad too off for the character because, according to the costumer, the wardrobe was intentional. Bovaird told Vogue that they sourced the character’s outfits from different places to mirror how people from Portia’s generation seem to be “dressing in a very haphazard random way and borrowing things from different eras.”
Bovaird said they wanted Portia to always look like she may be trying too hard. “Our idea with Portia was that she doesn’t fully hit the mark. She really tries, and some of her outfits are cute, but some of them are… naff?” Bovaird said, adding, “She’s trying harder, but she always looks scattered and deliberately so.”
