Wuthering Heights Mood: Romantic Dressing for Real Life

On February 13, 2026, just in time for Valentine's Day weekend, Emerald Fennell's "Wuthering Heights" arrived in cinemas, with Margot Robbie as Cathy and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff. Emily Brontë published the novel in 1847, but this Cathy did not drift across the moors in muted frocks: costume designer Jacqueline Durran told Vogue she made 45 to 50 costumes for her alone. The mood went straight onto the fall 2026 runways. Everyone was talking about Wuthering Heights at the start of the season, Vogue noted, so bustles, trains and lace cuffs followed. The question is how to borrow that romance for a real week without looking like you are on your way to a costume fitting.

A costume, and proud of it

Durran never pretended otherwise. "It's a costume and you know it's a costume," she told Vogue about Cathy's first look. Her mood boards ran from Elizabethan to Georgian and Victorian dress, mixed with 1950s melodrama and contemporary fashion. Red was a key color for Cathy, often in high-shine fabrics, while Heathcliff stayed in dark colors, white shirts and a long black coat, which Durran called a "heroic, Byronic look."

That is why it works on screen, and why copying it head to toe works less well on a Tuesday.

The real-life test

Harper's Bazaar asked the same question this summer. Designer Stephen Biga, who builds his brand Mel Usine on French literature, put it plainly: "Can you imagine somebody wearing a whalebone corset in Prospect Park? They would look like they were in a play." His point: romance lives in the details, like the shape of a sleeve, not in a full period costume.

So take one idea from the film per outfit. A defined waist. A long, soft line. A sleeve with movement. Ribbon in your hair. One is a mood, all four is a costume.

The corset, translated into tailoring

The corset was everywhere during the press tour. Harper's Bazaar followed Robbie's corseted looks from premiere to premiere, from Dilara Findikoglu in London to a red velvet Chanel bodice in Paris. In daylight, the same idea works best as tailoring.

The Amor Hourglass Corset Blazer in Nude Pearl draws the waist the way a bodice does, without any boning. Wear it as the top of the look, with trousers or a long skirt. You get the silhouette of the film and a jacket you can wear to a meeting.

A long, soft line

Cathy's moors were windswept, and a long dress still says that best. The Orelia Long Sleeve Maxi Jersey Dress in Vanilla Rose, our blush, ends in softly flared cuffs, a modern echo of the lace cuffs Vogue saw on the runway.

For the full mood, put the Amor blazer over the shoulders and add knee boots. Structure on top, movement below. It works for a dinner and a long Sunday walk alike.

The poet's top

Vogue tied the season's lace cuffs and neck ties to "poetcore," and that softer side of the story is easy to wear. The Dahlia Draped Balloon Jersey Top in Terre de Rose, our taupe, is the billowing blouse, cropped and updated, with a full balloon hem.

Pair it with the Bella Ruched Jersey Maxi Skirt in the same shade. The volume of the top against the long ruched skirt gives you a full romantic silhouette in one tone, with nothing that looks borrowed from a set.

Ribbons, braids and hair

Marie Claire called the ribbons the thread that holds the film together: bows and braids run through it, and Isabella Linton spends her days in a room full of sashes. For the press tour, Robbie's hair was crimped to give her what Harper's Bazaar called an "untamed, wild heroine feel."

Off screen, keep it to one gesture. Braid the Gioia Soft Jersey Headscarf in Vanilla Rose into a loose, low plait, or tie it over your hair like a wide ribbon. Save it for the soft looks: the Orelia dress, or the Dahlia top with the Bella skirt.

Three rules for romance off screen

One period detail per look. A waist, a sleeve or a ribbon. Choose, and let the rest stay modern.

Softness against structure. A corset blazer over a jersey dress, a balloon top over a long skirt. The contrast keeps romance sharp rather than sweet.

Keep the drama in one place. Cathy's red was a film color. In real life, a red bag carries the same feeling without turning the outfit into a scene.

Romance as a way of dressing

The best line on the subject came from designer Zoe Whalen in that same Bazaar piece: to her, romance is "less about some passionate love and more concerned with freedom and a beautiful life." That is the version worth keeping after the credits roll: clothes that make an ordinary day feel a little more like a story. Dress the woman you are, and let her be romantic on her own terms.

Find the pieces in our Blazers, Dresses and Tops collections.