A Style POV: Dakota Johnson

diving into some of the learnings behind Dakota's outfits

Hi Readers,

I’m back this Sunday with what I hope will be a fun read — the next installment of my Style POV series. This has been long overdue…when I say I’ve been meaning to come back to this series for months, I mean months!

The first one I wrote about Sienna Miller continues to be one of my most popular newsletters to date. Check it out here —

Before we dive in, here’s context on what I mean when I talk about “POV” as it relates to our personal style:

In order to have confidence in our personal style, we need to develop a strong POV.

I believe our style is a sum of all our parts — who we are, the values we hold, our upbringing, our preferences, what lights us up. It’s about knowing what resonates with us and listening to our gut…what we instinctually like or dislike. It can’t be found in any one style guide or newsletter or trend report. And if you try to define your style by what’s on trend or what everyone else is buying, you will usually end up feeling unsteady again by the time the next season rolls around.

I like doing these style POV breakdowns because so often, we rely heavily on style inspiration and outside influences. We studiously pin onto our Pinterest boards, save or shop every cute outfit as we scroll Instagram, and take a bunch of screenshots to save on our phone.

I love recreating a saved outfit as much as the next person (and bonus points if you do this by shopping your own closet!) but I actually think dissecting themes within certain images or influences can help us understand what draws us to the image in the first place. In other words, it can help us identify the essence of what we may be inspired by, or craving within ourselves, and applying that through our own personal lens.

What is it about Dakota?

I think what’s so interesting about Dakota Johnson is that her everyday style is very much grounded in that “girl next door” vibe — approachable, relaxed, understated. When it goes into the evening, she’s full-on bombshell glamour. There’s a juxtaposition, not necessarily to her outfits, but to the polar opposite style she embodies which I love.

Girl Next Door Meets Hollywood Icon

There’s little to be found from Dakota directly when it comes to her style but here’s some insights from her longtime stylist Kate Young:

• When they first started their partnership, they decided Dakota’s style language was all about — “Classic, minimal, elegant, with just a little bit of fashion for day”… contrasted with extravagant evening wear at night because, quite simply: “Dakota wants to be a disco ball.” This influence of her style POV that loves the glamour and sparkle comes from growing up watching her mother, Melanie Griffith, get ready for event.

  • I talk about our “style language” a lot in this newsletter…essentially, your style language are the words that make up your style. It’s the first step I work on with my 1:1 clients as a self-discovery exercise. Defining your style language can equip you with the confidence and self-assurance to guide your POV, how you style, and how you make the purchases that feel most aligned.

• When deciding on looks, the main things they look for are: Making sure it works for her body, looks cool and interesting, or from a designer that feels relevant for right now that they want to support. (Note that Dakota has been a Gucci ambassador for some time so a lot of her evening/press looks incorporate the brand). But trends don’t come into the equation — “She is never like, ‘I need to wear this because I saw it on Instagram’.” (Of course, it helps to have a stylist!)

• While Kate is her stylist for any events, Dakota takes the reins on her everyday dressing. Kate only weighs in if asked and it’s usually a “phone your stylish bff” situation like “I’m looking at new jackets…which ones do you like right now?” (feels kind of like our substack chats!)

So with that, here are 8 style lessons I’ve observed about Dakota Johnson’s style POV.

LESSON #1 - You Can Have A Strong, Consistent Style Point-Of-View AND Evolve Your Wardrobe At The Same Time

I think one of the biggest myths in our quest for finding our personal style is that once we build our “forever” wardrobes, we’ll never need to buy anything again.

That when we find that perfect piece - the most timeless trench, the classic denim jacket, the dream bag - we’ll never desire another version of it.

Of course, there will always be pieces that we will own wear for decades, pieces that will ebb and flow in our outfit rotation over the years but our “forever” wardrobe? — That will always be a moving goal post.

To tell you otherwise is putting a lot of pressure on our clothes! And our purchasing decisions! And ourselves!

The reality is that we evolve constantly as humans — from big life transitions like career moves, becoming a mom, or getting a divorce to small micro shifts like gaining some weight and learning your new fit preferences or picking up a new hobby — like say gardening — which draws you to a new favorite color inspired by your garden, or wanting to trade out your sneakers for clogs.

And with all of these macro and micro shifts, our style naturally has to evolve too. And that’s something to embrace vs resist. If we don’t, or resist it for too long, that’s when we start to feel disconnected with our wardrobes. It’s that feeling of putting on clothes and not feeling like we’re expressing our current selves fully.

Dakota’s style is such a great example of how style evolution comes to life.

Let’s take what seems to be two of her most consistent outfit formulas: Double Denim and a blazer/jeans look.

She relies on these outfit combination a lot but over the years, she switches out the details (the fit and proportions, the wash, the styling) while maintaining the essence of what makes this work for her.

It’s ok if that denim jacket you bought 3-5 years ago that you absolutely loved no longer resonates with you. Here’s a gentle sign that it doesn’t mean you made a bad purchasing decision or that you don’t know your style — it just means your style has evolved!

If you have these type of pieces, I recommend trying them on and reflect on what it is that feels disconnected now. Maybe you want it to fit a bit slouchier, or more fitted, or you now prefer light washes to dark. Taking the time to mine this data and use it to inform a new purchase is still cultivating an intentional consumer mindset.

2015 The trendier mid-to-dark washes with the fitted jegging, the stripe tee, the PS-1 bag 2022 evolving to a slightly more alternative shearling denim jacket, the crop frayed jean, the Doc Martens 2023 updating to the barn jacket (Stars! They’re just like us!), the straighter distressed jean 2024 modernizing with an oversized denim shirt, the straight leg lighter wash with the loafer pairing

2016 The longline blazer, the ripped skinny jeans, the loose v-neck tee 2021 Updating to a more tailored blazer silhouette, a more polished white tee, a soft trouser 2023 Leaning into a more modern leather blazer, light wash straight leg jean, a pointed boot

LESSON #2 - Don’t Underestimate The Power Of Self-Assurance

I talk about this a lot in my content but one of the most beautiful results of finding our personal style is the power of self-assurance. Of knowing what you like, what you feel best in, and having that come through your outfit choices. It’s the quiet inner confidence that allows you to feel like yourself regardless of where you are, what table you sit at, or what you do. It’s the difference between wearing the clothes vs letting the clothes wear you.

Dakota’s off-duty casual look is a reliable sweater and jeans dressed down with sneakers. She elevates it a bit for a TV appearance but it’s subtle. She’s not doing a complete 180— it’s small tweaks (updating to a more polished cardigan, adding a handbag and a belt, switching to an elevated heel). For a movie premiere, she switches to a more polished ruffle button down, a structured jacket, but maintains the jeans. I like this example a lot because it’s essentially the same idea but meant to move with her through her events through small intentional tweaks. Even in a high-profile event, she still looks and feels like herself when she wants to.

A personal example: The outfits I wear for in-person styling sessions or networking events. I could choose to wear my most "fashionable” outfit or buy a brand new outfit so I could “look like a stylist” but I typically wear outfits like this. They aren’t groundbreaking. They are even a bit basic or boring but they feel like me which allows me to be confident and focus on what I’m doing, not what I’m wearing. And that’s important!