“That sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis—it’s actually cerulean.”
We all remember the iconic monologue that Meryl Streep delivers in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada, as her character Miranda Priestley scolds her assistant Andrea (Anne Hathaway) for scoffing during a run-through. Andy’s cerulean cable knit pullover—or “lumpy blue sweater,” as Miranda describes it—has since become one of the most recognizable costumes from the film (masterminded by the great Patricia Field)… so much so that Streep revived it on The Stephen Colbert Show last night while promoting The Devil Wears Prada 2.
Streep’s new cerulean cashmere sweater was custom J.Crew, designed by Olympia Gayot and styled by Micaela Erlanger. “That monologue is so smart and funny—it reminds you that what feels personal is actually part of a much bigger story, which is why The Devil Wears Prada still resonates,” Gayot said in a release today. “At J.Crew, we’ve been obsessed with color since 1983, so stepping into cerulean—the cerulean—with Micaela was equal parts honor and wink. Cashmere felt right: elevated, a little self-aware.”
Photo: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS
But the sweater also renews a major debate: What is cerulean, anyway? Merriam-Webster describes the hue as “resembling the blue of the sky”—so not as deep as cobalt, nor as greenish-blue as turquoise. Similarly, when Pantone chose cerulean blue as its very first Color of the Year in 2000, it called it a “calming, serene sky-blue,” representing the tranquility and calm of the new millennium.
Photo: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS
