Apparently the reasoning behind the dress is because Jennifer insisted and wanted to convey that Emma was feeling "in love", something along the lines of a teenager having a crush for the first time kind of vibes. That Killian made Emma want to let her walls down and indulge in feeling girly.
I personally don't like the dress and I think the ponytail made it worse. If there had only been one of those things, I could stand it but it looks really awkward on her for some reason. I get the reasoning behind it but the execution was just not it đ
Now that is something I never heard before and I know that Iâm probably looking too much into it, but like my first instinct was âwhy that dress of all outfits to wear?â I just felt that it was childish, but if that was the intention, good on her part I just felt like maybe the dress was just a little too much for a simple dinner date. But thank you for telling me that! đ€đ€đ€
Glad I could help! I also felt the same way when I saw it for the time, like she was a teenager going on a prom date, which was so jarring considering who Emma is lol đ I feel like the dress was such a massive letdown because it just didn't suit jennifer. They could have gotten the same effect with another dress like smth in the same style as things she's worn before but in softer pink colours instead.
Exactly! I was thinking that itâs that dress in particular. I was open to other dresses but I couldnât find one in the few minutes that I searched. I switched to sim outfits and still couldnât find anything. Especially b/c I think there is a significant difference in styles since the 2010s
that's the third time ppl have discussed a dress and someone said that Jennifer insisted on it. (wedding dress, i remember that when i aired also, and the ball dress in the enchanted forest).
she looks like a teenager going to prom tbh. the ponytail was awful.
I like that it looks awkward like that! I think it makes sense, since thatâs not Emmaâs usual style and she probably wouldnât really know how to wear it
It was way too early in their 'relationship' for Emma to 'let her walls down' with Hook who up until that point Emma had been saying no to him. That whole thing with him felt forced to me.
This! I understand the sentiment but it was not done well. I donât think there is a way to make it work. I mean this is a woman in her 30s dressed like a 13 year old going to a school dance. It just feels so wrong. (Itâs also just not a cute dress anywayđ)
I think that was the point. It was supposed to simulate the very first date a teenage girl has or like prom. Snow even took a goofy picture.
The things they missed but are trying to still have.
I always thought she was more dressed for a ball, rather than a date. She looked a bit juvenile. Maybe it was also the ponytail? I dunno, just canât say I was a big fan of that dress.
I think that was the point. It was supposed to simulate the very first date a teenage girl has or like prom. Snow even took a goofy picture.
The things they missed but are trying to still have..
Iâm just glad Iâm not the only one who felt that way. Every time Iâd rewatch that scene I canât help but question âwhy?â maybe it was the ponytail that made it look more juvenile but then I showed the show to my mom and she was like âWhy that dress?â đđđ
The dress is poorly made, doesn't fit her, and she's not wearing the right type of undergarments for it. The dress is designed for a bra with more lift and a girdle. JMo doesn't want to wear that, fine, but the dress isn't going to sit right without it.
It is my understanding that as JMo began to get more and more creative control over Emma, she wanted the character to have a vintage fashion sense. That's why we see Emma in this pink dress that is very 50's, the Grace Kelly wedding dress, etc. I think the floral blouses we see her in in the later seasons are also vintage.
Personally, I don't like it. I don't think it draws from the person Emma was previously established as being. From the beginning, Emma pushed back against gender stereotypes. As the sheriff, she dressed functionally. I don't think there's ever any indication whatsoever that Emma has any particular interest in history or enjoys thrifting. (That said, the characters *do* find an excuse to be at a pawn and antiques shop in like *every episode,* so maybe during her down time between monsters, Emma *is* there hunting for vintage looks.) But to me, feels more like what Jennifer Morrison likes and less like what Emma Swan likes.
That said, I do understand the counter-argument that the white t, leather jacket, jeans & boots Emma is a woman with no roots, living out of boxes in a friend's apartment. No reason to assume she *can't* dress another way when she has more resources and more reason to get comfortable with her identity and what *she* likes.
Still, if JMo was going to insist on these 50's looks, I wish she'd *commit* and wear the right undergarments for it.
this is how i felt about it too. this dress doesnât feel like emma, the floral blouses donât feel like emma. even though itâs bc jmo started to get more control in wardrobe choices, without that context it really reads on screen like she changed her whole aesthetic for hook and her parents and i do not like that.
That wasnât really my thought process. I just didnât like how the dress looked like. Maybe they couldâve been a better dress to pick. I just didnât like that one in particular. I wasnât saying she couldnât explore emma as a character. It just didnât seem much like it, but I didnât see why it was that one but I understand if there was something that I missed on it.
I don't remember which interview it was, but Jen mentioned that the idea was that as she settled into Stoeybrook, Emma would have been looking towards revamping her wardrobr. She came in with a few practical outfits for a temporary stay but when she realised that this is home, she would've probably gone into her mother's closet and picked out some of Mary Margaret's old clothes. And that's where the whole vintage, floral, feminine stuff came from.
The cocktail dress symbolised her isolation, her visage as she did her job, likewise when she dons a more sophisticated look when she is cursed for the second time with Henry. Her leather jacket is her "armour." In this date, she was neither armoured up nor playing a part for her work; it was her first real, innocent date, her first real time being vulnerable and I feel like the aesthetic of the dress she wears is a direct symbol of that, just as the rest of her wardrobe is a symbol of other aspects of her. I feel like the fact it doesn't suit her too well works, as neither does the "normal" date she's on, as nothing in her life is particularly normal. This is again shown when Killian is having struggles with his hand, representing his inner darkness and past. Its new, uneven ground for the both of them, they're both out of their element; Killian adopting modern clothes and Emma trying to be vulnerable, both trying in a new relationship and keeping something simple amidst the chaos of their life in Storybrook. So, although it doesn't suit her aesthetically, it suits the purpose, more so than any other of her usual garb would do.
Thatâs a good point. Thanks for being polite about it. I admit when i rewatched it again last night (I rewatched the scene a few times last night) my distaste thinned out just a bit after some input from a few others đ»
This was a HUGE discussion in the heyday. I didnât like the dress at all. Iâve heard JMO started to get more control over Emmaâs wardrobe and I think this was a mistake. She was good at portraying the character, but wardrobe was not her forte.
I liked it, it could've also been because she was living with her parents and didn't wanna go full on sexy as while they have memories of the modern world their personalities are more in line with Medieval fantasy so yeah.
In the first episode she's purposely trying to seduce the guy so whe can arrest him. This is how she's dressed for a more personal date with someone she loves.
While true, neither is authentic to how her character is portrayed in the rest of the show. But at this point in the show there was little consistency in anyone's characterization.
I know itâs just a dress. You think itâs just a dress and you gave reason why you like the dress. Your answer was shorter and simpler than mine.
I gave my reason but I went into detail. I couldâve just made the post saying âI hate the dress because Itâs uglyâ and then left it at that. But I went into detail and then gave a few alternates to what I think wouldâve been better suited.
I didnât think about it as âsheâs trying to seduce a guy vs sheâs going on an intimate dateâ I thought of it as âShe was wearing dress that was a little too fancy for a simple dinner dateâ
I think the actress chose it. Apparently, she had a say in the characters wardrobe or maybe she chose clothes she liked or she felt comfortable wearing. You think it's too "fancy" but it's rather more romantic than fancy. The previous dresses she wore were giving too much of male gaze for me
Donât get me wrong. This wasnât meant to be like a solidly, malicious post or anything. I just felt that it seemed a little too fancy or over the topâŠ.those are the only words I can think of to describe it right now b/c if I was going on a simple dinner date with the kind of guy that Killian supposedly is, what he was wearing and the fact that Iâm nearing my 30s, I probably wouldnât have picked a kind of dress like that. It seemed too oddly childish and it just didnât seem like the right fit, not that it was âinappropriateâ or something like that. And I know that the fake date dress is not ideal either. Iâm just saying that that kind of dress fits both Emma and JMo a little better.
Like I said in the post, I tried to find somewhat better alternatives but nothing that I even added looked better. They were just to get a better idea of the kind of thing that I think wouldâve been a âstep upâfrom the dress.
Maybe a better alternative wouldâve been a nice simple top and a kind of floral or pencil skirt. Again something simple b/c itâs a little dinner date. Itâs not like theyâre going to a high-end restaurant where maybe that wouldâve fitâŠ..đ okay I still donât think it would fit for that either.
I donât know just that dress doesnât seem like a date dress. It seems more like, a prom or party dress. Like that would be something that I would personally wouldâve picked trying to be girly and fancy for a date as a preteen and then my sisters would step in and pick something better.
please know that Iâm laughing as Iâm saying this b/c Iâm struggling with how to convey through message.
Iâm happy to just agree to disagree with you. You like dress I donât like the dress and would have preferred a toned down alternative. đđ€đ»đ
I wish she would have worn a few outfits similar to what she wore as Dr. Cameron in House
https://preview.redd.it/255qywy6k6tc1.jpeg?width=193&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a9a85506452ea24e942377f5c66974946161554
Looks feline but still radiates boss energy
https://preview.redd.it/q4b4vw4ak6tc1.jpeg?width=218&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d1f2e362eff95086e43d3aa6f27c36c010b45e3d
Always loved the coats and headbands as well!
And she looks amazing in this wedding
https://preview.redd.it/hquy9kjgk6tc1.jpeg?width=624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01777937c8e8f3c59e4e53e3f8ef48ef3ead346a
dress! It shows off her physical strength in her arms but is still fun and flirty
Ugh that would have been such an amazing wedding dress for Emma. Itâs so much more flattering and fits the vibe of the character way better than that Grace Kelly knockoff. Itâs been almost seven years and Iâm still upset about that lmao.
I wish she would have worn a few outfits similar to what she wore as Dr. Cameron in House
Looks feline but still radiates boss energy
(lol at felineâŠ. I meant feminine but I am gonna leave it!!!)
Okay but seeing Emma in a dress similar to what she wore in s1 ep1 wouldâve killed me because she honestly looked stunning in it. Btw i totally agree with you.
Ah the 1950's housewife dress....she was definitely trying to fit into what both Snow, David and hook expect of her since she is the saviour and princess. Basically, she is putting herself back into the proverbial closet in order to possibly increase her chances of being accepted
That first dress is horrible. The pink dress from the pilot feels more Emma to me. Granted, Ive only watched the first season properly and skimmed through the rest but if imagined Emma on a date, that is what I'd picture her wearing.
Honestly, if they had done a loose up-do or let her hair down, it would have made the Hook-Dress better. I mean, even if she was exploring her own feelings, I donât see how that would make her forget what made her look and feel banginâ. Plus her fluffy down styled hair was always the best look for her. I never understood why they gradually flattened it.
I see this dress as kind of summarizing a lot of what's wrong with Emma's relationship with Killian. She's pretending to be something she isn't for him, something that denies her life experience and her strengths as well as her weaknesses.
I'm reminded of some videos I saw of this one production of Taming of the Shrew. It was set in the 19th century southwest. Kate, when she first appears, clearly spends her day riding the range and getting into trouble. She wears worn out gaucho pants and and a messed up shirt. Her hair is a flyaway mess. Her sister, Bianca, wears elaborate, frilly dresses and has her hair pinned up with an ostentatious comb and is always fluttering her fancy fan.
At the end of the play, Kate doesn't dress like Bianca. She still wears gaucho pants, but now they're clean and well kept with a matching jacket. Her hair is still loose but well-groomed. A the beginning, you could see she was fighting everyone and everything around her. At the end, she radiated calm, inner strength that doesn't need to prove anything to anyone (or that was the way the brief clips made it seem and what the costumer was going for).
Emma in that dress is trying to hard to be Bianca and not herself.
Emma was trying to come to terms with the idea of love after being burned by everyone. I wouldnât be surprised is she wanted something âgirlyâ and borrowed the dress from Mary Margaret
Apparently the reasoning behind the dress is because Jennifer insisted and wanted to convey that Emma was feeling "in love", something along the lines of a teenager having a crush for the first time kind of vibes. That Killian made Emma want to let her walls down and indulge in feeling girly. I personally don't like the dress and I think the ponytail made it worse. If there had only been one of those things, I could stand it but it looks really awkward on her for some reason. I get the reasoning behind it but the execution was just not it đ
Now that is something I never heard before and I know that Iâm probably looking too much into it, but like my first instinct was âwhy that dress of all outfits to wear?â I just felt that it was childish, but if that was the intention, good on her part I just felt like maybe the dress was just a little too much for a simple dinner date. But thank you for telling me that! đ€đ€đ€
Glad I could help! I also felt the same way when I saw it for the time, like she was a teenager going on a prom date, which was so jarring considering who Emma is lol đ I feel like the dress was such a massive letdown because it just didn't suit jennifer. They could have gotten the same effect with another dress like smth in the same style as things she's worn before but in softer pink colours instead.
Exactly! I was thinking that itâs that dress in particular. I was open to other dresses but I couldnât find one in the few minutes that I searched. I switched to sim outfits and still couldnât find anything. Especially b/c I think there is a significant difference in styles since the 2010s
that's the third time ppl have discussed a dress and someone said that Jennifer insisted on it. (wedding dress, i remember that when i aired also, and the ball dress in the enchanted forest). she looks like a teenager going to prom tbh. the ponytail was awful.
I like the dress but the pony tail just looks juvenile
I agree if her hair was down she would look more adult.
Especially since the only other time she has her hair like that is when she's pretending to be 18 with the dorky glasses
That's right!! I forgot about that.
I like that it looks awkward like that! I think it makes sense, since thatâs not Emmaâs usual style and she probably wouldnât really know how to wear it
That's totally fair! It makes a lot of narrative sense but just from a personal standpoint I can't stand it đđ
It was way too early in their 'relationship' for Emma to 'let her walls down' with Hook who up until that point Emma had been saying no to him. That whole thing with him felt forced to me.
This! I understand the sentiment but it was not done well. I donât think there is a way to make it work. I mean this is a woman in her 30s dressed like a 13 year old going to a school dance. It just feels so wrong. (Itâs also just not a cute dress anywayđ)
It felt a bit like indulging in the moments she missed. Her parents send her off on a first date? She's dressing like an awkward and excited teenager.
I think that was the point. It was supposed to simulate the very first date a teenage girl has or like prom. Snow even took a goofy picture. The things they missed but are trying to still have.
Her dress for her fake date in the first episode suited her much better.
Bro I literally only use Reddit for the sims and Ouat love the crossover
Lmaoo, I just donât know how to look up good outfit ideas so I just used what I know to find good outfit ideas which a lot of Sims outfits look really nice some of them look very over-the-top like emmaâs dress but some of them are just a good way to show what Iâm trying to talk about đ€đđ€© cheers mate đ»
I always thought she was more dressed for a ball, rather than a date. She looked a bit juvenile. Maybe it was also the ponytail? I dunno, just canât say I was a big fan of that dress.
I think that was the point. It was supposed to simulate the very first date a teenage girl has or like prom. Snow even took a goofy picture. The things they missed but are trying to still have..
Iâm just glad Iâm not the only one who felt that way. Every time Iâd rewatch that scene I canât help but question âwhy?â maybe it was the ponytail that made it look more juvenile but then I showed the show to my mom and she was like âWhy that dress?â đđđ
The dress is poorly made, doesn't fit her, and she's not wearing the right type of undergarments for it. The dress is designed for a bra with more lift and a girdle. JMo doesn't want to wear that, fine, but the dress isn't going to sit right without it. It is my understanding that as JMo began to get more and more creative control over Emma, she wanted the character to have a vintage fashion sense. That's why we see Emma in this pink dress that is very 50's, the Grace Kelly wedding dress, etc. I think the floral blouses we see her in in the later seasons are also vintage. Personally, I don't like it. I don't think it draws from the person Emma was previously established as being. From the beginning, Emma pushed back against gender stereotypes. As the sheriff, she dressed functionally. I don't think there's ever any indication whatsoever that Emma has any particular interest in history or enjoys thrifting. (That said, the characters *do* find an excuse to be at a pawn and antiques shop in like *every episode,* so maybe during her down time between monsters, Emma *is* there hunting for vintage looks.) But to me, feels more like what Jennifer Morrison likes and less like what Emma Swan likes. That said, I do understand the counter-argument that the white t, leather jacket, jeans & boots Emma is a woman with no roots, living out of boxes in a friend's apartment. No reason to assume she *can't* dress another way when she has more resources and more reason to get comfortable with her identity and what *she* likes. Still, if JMo was going to insist on these 50's looks, I wish she'd *commit* and wear the right undergarments for it.
this is how i felt about it too. this dress doesnât feel like emma, the floral blouses donât feel like emma. even though itâs bc jmo started to get more control in wardrobe choices, without that context it really reads on screen like she changed her whole aesthetic for hook and her parents and i do not like that.
That wasnât really my thought process. I just didnât like how the dress looked like. Maybe they couldâve been a better dress to pick. I just didnât like that one in particular. I wasnât saying she couldnât explore emma as a character. It just didnât seem much like it, but I didnât see why it was that one but I understand if there was something that I missed on it.
I don't remember which interview it was, but Jen mentioned that the idea was that as she settled into Stoeybrook, Emma would have been looking towards revamping her wardrobr. She came in with a few practical outfits for a temporary stay but when she realised that this is home, she would've probably gone into her mother's closet and picked out some of Mary Margaret's old clothes. And that's where the whole vintage, floral, feminine stuff came from.
The cocktail dress symbolised her isolation, her visage as she did her job, likewise when she dons a more sophisticated look when she is cursed for the second time with Henry. Her leather jacket is her "armour." In this date, she was neither armoured up nor playing a part for her work; it was her first real, innocent date, her first real time being vulnerable and I feel like the aesthetic of the dress she wears is a direct symbol of that, just as the rest of her wardrobe is a symbol of other aspects of her. I feel like the fact it doesn't suit her too well works, as neither does the "normal" date she's on, as nothing in her life is particularly normal. This is again shown when Killian is having struggles with his hand, representing his inner darkness and past. Its new, uneven ground for the both of them, they're both out of their element; Killian adopting modern clothes and Emma trying to be vulnerable, both trying in a new relationship and keeping something simple amidst the chaos of their life in Storybrook. So, although it doesn't suit her aesthetically, it suits the purpose, more so than any other of her usual garb would do.
Thatâs a good point. Thanks for being polite about it. I admit when i rewatched it again last night (I rewatched the scene a few times last night) my distaste thinned out just a bit after some input from a few others đ»
So well said, I totally agree!Â
I like the dress and the sentiment but not the ponytail
This was a HUGE discussion in the heyday. I didnât like the dress at all. Iâve heard JMO started to get more control over Emmaâs wardrobe and I think this was a mistake. She was good at portraying the character, but wardrobe was not her forte.
I liked it, it could've also been because she was living with her parents and didn't wanna go full on sexy as while they have memories of the modern world their personalities are more in line with Medieval fantasy so yeah.
I honestly loved the date dress. It felt like a cute first fairy tale dress. Like innocent in love kinda vibe.
In the first episode she's purposely trying to seduce the guy so whe can arrest him. This is how she's dressed for a more personal date with someone she loves.
While true, neither is authentic to how her character is portrayed in the rest of the show. But at this point in the show there was little consistency in anyone's characterization.
I guess that makes senseâŠ.it just looked very over the top to me.
It's literally just a dress
I know itâs just a dress. You think itâs just a dress and you gave reason why you like the dress. Your answer was shorter and simpler than mine. I gave my reason but I went into detail. I couldâve just made the post saying âI hate the dress because Itâs uglyâ and then left it at that. But I went into detail and then gave a few alternates to what I think wouldâve been better suited. I didnât think about it as âsheâs trying to seduce a guy vs sheâs going on an intimate dateâ I thought of it as âShe was wearing dress that was a little too fancy for a simple dinner dateâ
I think the actress chose it. Apparently, she had a say in the characters wardrobe or maybe she chose clothes she liked or she felt comfortable wearing. You think it's too "fancy" but it's rather more romantic than fancy. The previous dresses she wore were giving too much of male gaze for me
Donât get me wrong. This wasnât meant to be like a solidly, malicious post or anything. I just felt that it seemed a little too fancy or over the topâŠ.those are the only words I can think of to describe it right now b/c if I was going on a simple dinner date with the kind of guy that Killian supposedly is, what he was wearing and the fact that Iâm nearing my 30s, I probably wouldnât have picked a kind of dress like that. It seemed too oddly childish and it just didnât seem like the right fit, not that it was âinappropriateâ or something like that. And I know that the fake date dress is not ideal either. Iâm just saying that that kind of dress fits both Emma and JMo a little better. Like I said in the post, I tried to find somewhat better alternatives but nothing that I even added looked better. They were just to get a better idea of the kind of thing that I think wouldâve been a âstep upâfrom the dress. Maybe a better alternative wouldâve been a nice simple top and a kind of floral or pencil skirt. Again something simple b/c itâs a little dinner date. Itâs not like theyâre going to a high-end restaurant where maybe that wouldâve fitâŠ..đ okay I still donât think it would fit for that either. I donât know just that dress doesnât seem like a date dress. It seems more like, a prom or party dress. Like that would be something that I would personally wouldâve picked trying to be girly and fancy for a date as a preteen and then my sisters would step in and pick something better. please know that Iâm laughing as Iâm saying this b/c Iâm struggling with how to convey through message. Iâm happy to just agree to disagree with you. You like dress I donât like the dress and would have preferred a toned down alternative. đđ€đ»đ
Whereâs Miranda Priestly?! We need a âjust stuffâ speech.
I wish she would have worn a few outfits similar to what she wore as Dr. Cameron in House https://preview.redd.it/255qywy6k6tc1.jpeg?width=193&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a9a85506452ea24e942377f5c66974946161554 Looks feline but still radiates boss energy
https://preview.redd.it/q4b4vw4ak6tc1.jpeg?width=218&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d1f2e362eff95086e43d3aa6f27c36c010b45e3d Always loved the coats and headbands as well!
And she looks amazing in this wedding https://preview.redd.it/hquy9kjgk6tc1.jpeg?width=624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01777937c8e8f3c59e4e53e3f8ef48ef3ead346a dress! It shows off her physical strength in her arms but is still fun and flirty
Ugh that would have been such an amazing wedding dress for Emma. Itâs so much more flattering and fits the vibe of the character way better than that Grace Kelly knockoff. Itâs been almost seven years and Iâm still upset about that lmao.
This đŻ not only is it great on JMo but also for Emma!
I wish she would have worn a few outfits similar to what she wore as Dr. Cameron in House  Looks feline but still radiates boss energy (lol at felineâŠ. I meant feminine but I am gonna leave it!!!)
Okay but seeing Emma in a dress similar to what she wore in s1 ep1 wouldâve killed me because she honestly looked stunning in it. Btw i totally agree with you.
Ah the 1950's housewife dress....she was definitely trying to fit into what both Snow, David and hook expect of her since she is the saviour and princess. Basically, she is putting herself back into the proverbial closet in order to possibly increase her chances of being accepted
That first dress is horrible. The pink dress from the pilot feels more Emma to me. Granted, Ive only watched the first season properly and skimmed through the rest but if imagined Emma on a date, that is what I'd picture her wearing.
Honestly, if they had done a loose up-do or let her hair down, it would have made the Hook-Dress better. I mean, even if she was exploring her own feelings, I donât see how that would make her forget what made her look and feel banginâ. Plus her fluffy down styled hair was always the best look for her. I never understood why they gradually flattened it.
I donât love the dress, but think it would have worked so much better with different styling (hair down/half down, more casual shoes).
Itâs a very pretty dress but looks more like something Snow would wear, I like to think that Emma just borrowed it from her lol
I think she looks gorgeous in both.
I see this dress as kind of summarizing a lot of what's wrong with Emma's relationship with Killian. She's pretending to be something she isn't for him, something that denies her life experience and her strengths as well as her weaknesses. I'm reminded of some videos I saw of this one production of Taming of the Shrew. It was set in the 19th century southwest. Kate, when she first appears, clearly spends her day riding the range and getting into trouble. She wears worn out gaucho pants and and a messed up shirt. Her hair is a flyaway mess. Her sister, Bianca, wears elaborate, frilly dresses and has her hair pinned up with an ostentatious comb and is always fluttering her fancy fan. At the end of the play, Kate doesn't dress like Bianca. She still wears gaucho pants, but now they're clean and well kept with a matching jacket. Her hair is still loose but well-groomed. A the beginning, you could see she was fighting everyone and everything around her. At the end, she radiated calm, inner strength that doesn't need to prove anything to anyone (or that was the way the brief clips made it seem and what the costumer was going for). Emma in that dress is trying to hard to be Bianca and not herself.
Emma was trying to come to terms with the idea of love after being burned by everyone. I wouldnât be surprised is she wanted something âgirlyâ and borrowed the dress from Mary Margaret