This week, news broke that we were finally getting a follow-up to How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, the 2003 classic in which Kate Hudson plays Andie Anderson, a journalist at magazine tasked with tormenting Matthew McConaughey’s Benjamin Barry through an exhaustive catalogue of tried-and-tested dating mistakes. As British ’s features editor Daisy Jones rightly described it, How To Lose A Guy is, give or take a few archaic tropes, “a near-perfect rom-com”. And, as with any near-perfect rom-com, there is, of course, the defining costume. If Rebecca Bloomwood had her green scarf, Jenna Rink her Versace mini and Andy Sachs her Chanel boots, then Andie had the Carolina Herrera gown: a backless, butter-yellow number that you’ve likely seen duped into oblivion or sitting atop every wedding-guest dress round-up of the past 20 years.
Admittedly, I have never deliberately embarked on a 10-day campaign to drive a man to despair, but, as someone whose career aspirations were shaped largely by the plots of various early-Noughties rom-coms, I feel reasonably well placed to weigh in on the wardrobes of fictional fashion-magazine employees – and what they might look like today. I have, after all, spent many hours at my desk considering what I might wear for my own main-character moment. Naturally, I have a few suggestions for 2003’s most intrepid investigative journalist. If our beloved Andie found herself making a last-minute dash for something to wear to the DeLauer Diamonds gala today, what would she choose? Would she be a Matthieu Blazy girl? An Alaïa devotee? A Conner Ives obsessive? Below, we consider the scene-stealing options available to the modern rom-com heroine.
An Alaïa bodycon
Alaïa autumn/winter 2026.
Courtesy of Alaïa
Andie was hardly a shrinking violet, so what better way to turn heads than in a cherry-red Alaïa set? Already a firm favourite in the rom-com canon – lest we forget Alicia Silverstone’s legendary delivery of “This is an Alaïa…” in – the house’s body-conscious silhouettes are made for the limelight. Taken from Pieter Mulier’s final collection for Alaïa, this Kaia Gerber-endorsed look is practically begging for a leading-lady moment.
A G-string Gucci dress
When considering outfits for our heroine, there were more than a few near-naked Gucci moments to choose from. But rather than scouring the archives for one of Tom Ford’s slinky, G-string-centric creations, I’m putting Andie in a look from Demna’s debut collection for the house, modelled by Kate Moss. (Proof that a barely-there, backless silhouette never really goes out of style.)
A Chanel slip
Rom-coms have never exactly been exercises in restraint, either aesthetically or emotionally, so a splash of colour feels only right. Swapping butter yellow for toothpaste green, Kate Hudson could take her cues from 2026’s leading lady, Sarah Pidgeon, who briefly abandoned CBK minimalism for this minty Chanel dress from Matthieu Blazy’s Métiers d’Art 2026 collection.
A main-character skirt
Instagram content
If Andie were in the market for some high-octane, ’80s-inspired eveningwear, I’d suggest skipping the floor-sweeping gown entirely and opting for a Versace photo-print skirt. Described by Laura Hawkins as “the most fangirled piece of the summer”, it comes from Dario Vitale’s much-adored first – and last – collection for the house: an exercise in more-is-more dressing that would surely delight a contemporary audience.
A cult classic
.jpg)
Conner Ives spring/summer 2026.
Launchmetrics.com/spotlightNo modern girl-about-town wardrobe would be complete without a healthy dose of Conner Ives. While I briefly considered decking Andie out in one of the house coats beloved by Kate Moss and Sienna Miller, this tasselled, off-the-shoulder mini feels more in keeping with the spirit of the rom-com – particularly when it comes co-signed by ’s leading lady, Monica Barbaro.