Five Shania Twain looks we're aching to see on Harry Styles since he admitted his wardrobe crush

13 December 2017, 10:00

When Harry Styles recently credited Shania Twain as the “main influence” on his sense of style, it wasn’t a surprise - both count generous amounts of bold print and western flourishes as central to their wardrobes. But which of Shania’s iconic looks do we most want to see recreated by our intrepid sartorial hero?

5

The floaty beachwear of “Life’s About to Get Good”

The chilled-out beach mom vibes of Shania’s triumphant 2017 comeback single would be just darling recreated on Harry, a man who is known to appreciate the easy-breezy style of a loose-fit, sheer shirt. Of course, One Direction’s first video was filmed on a beach, so the idea of Harry wistfully walking along the shore in his floaty beachwear (maybe a sarong!) while taking stock of his past is making us feel both emotional and thirsty.

4

The textural black of “I’m Gonna Get You Good”

One of the duets performed when Stevie Nicks joined Harry onstage at legendary Hollywood venue The Troubadour earlier this year was “Leather and Lace”, a classic combination that Harry clearly respects in song form but which is, sadly, not yet reflected in his actual outfits. Maybe a cue from the classic early noughties video of “I’m Gonna Get You Good” could present him with some inspiration for either a full leather bad boy look or a post-Cher lace bodysuit?

3

The iconic all-pink all-the-time CMA’s look

Both of our perfect-haired, acoustic guitar-swinging protagonists are huge fans of pink, with Shania making it a big part of her wardrobe decades before its millennial-credited domination of Instagram feeds and Topshop rails. Her onstage look for the 1999 Country Music Awards was a full-on all-pink cowgirl fantasy, complete with matching hat and boots. Harry’s love of pink was confirmed back in May, with the millenial pink dream suit that he wore for his performance on the Today Show, so surely he’d be up for an exaggerated version of that look? Basically we just want him to wear a crop top so we can (lovingly) mock his silly butterfly stomach tattoo, then maybe kiss him.

2

The fun genderplay of “Man! I Feel Like a Woman”

Harry’s style and demeanour has always incorporated a knowing wink at queerness, if not the full-on genderfluidity that some fans have projected onto him. Think of his long, flowing locks of 2015; the way he mixes pieces from men’s and women’s Gucci collections; or One Direction’s version of “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia that some fans (me) have chosen to adopt as a bisexual anthem thanks to Harry’s flip between gendered pronouns. A Styles makeover of the lighthearted genderplay of the “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” video would be consistent with his tongue-in-cheek but ultimately coded and ambiguous relationship with aesthetic queerness, as well as an encouraging nod to the LGBTQ+ fans that he acknowledges as an essential part of his fanbase. But even if you don’t have a desire for Harry to openly express queerness and/or a penchant for, um, specialist fanfiction, surely the image of Harry alternating between outfits traditionally worn by different genders is something you can get behind? We all know that Harry already wears a suit like no other, but a black minidress and thigh-high boots? And thick black eyeliner? After a breathy chant of “let’s go girls”? Pass the smelling salts.

1

The full “That Don’t Impress Me Much” ensemble

There could only be one winner. Those of us who have had gifs from the “Steal My Girl” video saved to our camera rolls since 2014 already know that Harry looks perfect wearing leopard print in the desert, but imagine how perfect Shania’s mid-90s head-to-toe get-up would be on our hero; leopard hood pulled up, butterfly-tattooed midriff exposed (can you see a pattern here, reader?), flirting with passing truck drivers but ultimately deciding to go it alone without a man who isn’t good enough for him! Harry’s peacock procession of perfect suits on his debut solo tour showed that he isn’t shy of an all-over print, so an ensemble of matchy-matchy trousers, crop top, jacket, gloves and boots can only be understood as a logical next step. The 3,000 word conspiracy theories about the contents of the hat box almost write themselves.