How Did We All Start Dressing Like The Cast Of Greta Gerwig’s Little Women?

When I was about 11, I went method. Having just read Little Women for the second time, I decided I would adopt the character of Jo on a full-time basis. I wore hats and staged plays that nobody watched, while my whole family (quite rightly) ignored me until I gave up. Naturally, I’ve been looking forward to the latest cinematic interpretation of the novel, as directed by Greta Gerwig. Released early next year, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Timothée Chalamet, Laura Dern and Meryl Streep. A cast not to be sniffed at. But when the first trailer for the film was released this week, it wasn’t the actors that struck me. It wasn't even the fact that I was in tears because it looks so joyfully brilliant. It was the fact that looking at Watson, Pugh, Ronan and Scanlen (Meg, Amy, Jo and Beth, respectively) was like peering into my wardrobe, as I do every single morning.

I haven’t completely lost the plot and decided to live every day in cosplay, before you ask. But I have embraced fashion’s preoccupation with high necklines, low hemlines and absolutely everything ruffled with such ferocity that my boyfriend asked me the other day if I had intentionally started to dress like a character in a period drama. Turns out, yes! I have! In fact, a lot of us have.

Searches for prairie dresses – long sleeves, high neckline and floor-sweeping skirt, for which we most definitely have the 19th century to thank – are up by 38 per cent since May,according to Lyst. Net-a-Porter, meanwhile, saw searches for prairie dressing increase by 330 per cent compared to last year. This is, in large part, due to the advent of brands such as The Vampire’s Wife, Zimmerman, Brock Collection, Batsheva and LoveShackFancy, all of whom are peddling a similar aesthetic, riffing on a theme of romantic, demure pieces that have been wholeheartedly embraced by celebrities and Insta-famous women, only broadening their appeal.

On the high street, several brands have introduced entire sections of their websites solely dedicated to the prairie trend, selling ditsy prints and Broderie Anglaise blouses by the dozen. For ASOS, a dozen translated to 90,000 Broderie Anglaise pieces in the month of March alone, resulting in the brand buying more Broderie in different colours and styles. Similarly, Topshop has a section entitled ‘On The Prairie’, in which you can peruse pintuck dresses, pleated blouses, shirred tops and Western-style boots. Earlier in the year, Urban Outfitters even resurrected Laura Ashley, producing a capsule collection of pieces with a distinctly prairie flavour. The most prairie of all the pieces – the puff sleeved dress – sold out almost instantly.

It is the direct antithesis to fashion’s recent penchant for chunky trainers bearing historic names (Balenciaga, Chanel, Gucci) and oversized hoodies with couture-like price tags (here’s looking at you, Vetements). If the Hemline Index suggests that skirts are longer during periods of economic instability, then perhaps prairie dressing, with its high necks, long sleeves and ruffles for days is reflective of the world’s current political crisis; Brexit on one side, Trump on the other and an ever-growing sense of uncertainty and unease.

With the likes of Erdem, Preen and Cecilie Bahnsen all returning to the prairie for their autumn/winter 2019 collections, whatever we’re dealt with – politically-speaking – over the next 12 months, at least we’ll be facing it with the resolve of Jo March – and in something that resembles her clothing, too.

SHOP: The Little Women Edit Of Prairie-Inspired Pieces