There is a special place in my heart for a woman who’s not afraid to go on television and say she has the right to “life, liberty and chicken wings.” That woman in Mindy Kaling.
For those who don’t know, she is the producer, writer and star of the Mindy Project. She was also a writer on a little show called The Office. She’s basically a kick-ass lady in the comedy world.
But I’m not here to talk about her one-liners, although they are epic, I’m here to talk about her fashion sense. I read her memoir, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), in which she said she hates that just because she is a heavier woman, people think she has to wear black because it’s slimming.
The best thing about Mindy (we’re on a first-name basis) is that she doesn’t care that Hollywood is a size zero. She doesn’t want to be limited to the color black. In her show she definitely does not wear black; instead Mindy pumps up the colors and patterns in everything she wears.
She is a fan of reds and plaids, and although I don’t always love what she is wearing, I support it because she owns her own style. This dress she wore and posted on Instagram kills the fashion game. The vertical lines are slimming and the collar complements her chin really well. The dress is by Clover Canyon, which I had never heard of before, but the whole collection screams “Mindy.” The diverse colors and patterns might seem overwhelming, but her bravery to try new things is awesome.
I know I am always trying to take fashion risks, but I’m worried about the cut being too high or the colors too loud. Mindy just goes for it. She makes me want to try on the dress I could never see myself wearing.
So yes, I love the fashion risks Mindy takes. I love that she makes people realize you don’t have to wear black to make an outfit look good.
Mindy’s fashion, however, is not perfect. She sometimes wears dresses like this pink one. It’s just so many levels of bad. Too tight, too pink, too much cleavage — I could go on. The dress is just ugly, I mean, there are rhinestones. Super tacky.
Still, the good outweighs the bad with Mindy. She was recently named Glamour’s Woman of the Year, and she rocked a custom Salvador Perez dress. Mindy wears a lot of his clothes on the show, and they complement her figure without abandoning colors.
Something like this Miu Miu getup would normally make me cringe, but Mindy shows us these cool and crazy colors and patterns can look awesome. Her fashion is unique and opens up a new set of doors for girls who feel as though fashion risks are not worth taking.
The secret to her fashion success isn’t the clothes, though; it’s her confidence. Women everywhere, take note.
