We visited the Scandal wardrobe closet and spoke with costume designer Lyn Paolo. And you won’t believe which coat Kerry Washington hated.
This is Lyn Paolo, the woman who dresses Olivia Pope on Scandal.
If anyone knows an Olivia Pope look, it's Lyn Paolo, who's been the costume designer for Scandal since the show's pilot. Now that Scandal is in its third season, that distinct Pope palette has become iconic, even though it's changed ever so slightly with each new season.
"I love the idea of having Olivia, this beautiful woman, in a room full of men in dark suits, and she's in that white suit," the British-born Paolo said of dressing Kerry Washington. "She just epitomizes strong femininity. I wanted her to just sort of glow, and ultimately look so feminine, and very Jackie O. She's Kate Hepburn, basically."
Paolo dresses the entire cast of Scandal — from Fitz down to David — but Olivia Pope gets her own wardrobe closet, which is large enough to hold two walls of trench coats, white pants, silk pajamas, and all those Prada purses. There's a table lined with scarves, and a full-length mirror complete with pedestal for Washington to stand on during fittings.
The only time Paolo and series star Kerry Washington have ever disagreed on wardrobe was during the pilot, when Paolo thought Pope should be in skirts, and Washington firmly pushed for pants. "In the end, she was right," Paolo admitted.
Before Scandal, Paolo worked as a costume designer on ER, which she credits with her ability to use clothing to further the plot. "I learned really fast how to tell a story through clothes on that show," she said. Now she currently juggles working on Scandal and Showtime's Shameless. But Paolo let BuzzFeed in on her secrets behind what clothes end up on Pope, and how they help to tell the scandalous stories.
The jacket Olivia wore when her world went dark.
Episode: Season 3, Episode 6, "Icarus"
Designer: Armani
Why it was chosen: In this episode, Kerry has just been told that Fitz was possibly responsible for her mother's death. And Paolo chose the gray suit, because of all the layers. “It’s dark and light, and has all these different textures and layers," she said. "You start on her and you just see the gray, but when she stands up you see that everything is getting darker in her life."
The gown that showed Olivia's strength.
Episode: Season 3, Episode 5, "More Cattle, Less Bull"
Designer: Rubin Singer
Why it was chosen: “She went to this event with Jake, and it needed to be a much stronger gown than before," Paolo explained of the "architectural" dress. “The Rubin Singer was all about [being] strong... she knew she was going to see Fitz.”
Fun Fact: The Singer gown almost never happened, but Paolo was walking through a Neiman Marcus store and happened to see it on a mannequin. She snapped it up, and it was the first and only gown Washington tried on out of the 50-plus gowns sent to their wardrobe closet.
