Ariana Grande’s Glinda dominates Wicked, not just through her bubbly personality but also her extremely memorable and primarily pink costumes. As their personalities clash before they become unlikely friends, Glinda and Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba’s wardrobes are designed to contrast with each other, as Elphaba sticks to black and dark blues, with some sharp silhouettes. However, as Glinda says, “pink goes good with green” — highlighting how the juxtaposition of their signature colors has an oddly satisfying effect.

Glinda’s singular glitz and glamor go hand in hand with her character, who is ambitious and moderately manipulative but also deeply kind and unapologetically herself. Glinda’s wardrobe was also changed entirely to pink from what it is in the Wicked Broadway musical, as a homage to 1939’s The Wizard of Oz‘s Glinda and embracing a version of her that is entirely Grande’s. Grande gives the best performance in Wicked, and her surroundings and costumes of lace, chiffon, and sparkles only elevate her acting choices.

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Glinda’s Traveling Outfit

The Ensemble Glinda Wears When She Arrives At Shiz Is More Constricted Than Her Other Looks

In Wicked‘s main timeline, Glinda is first seen in her “traveling” outfit, essentially a heavier version of the school uniform she typically wears around Shiz with a matching hat. Glinda wants to look business-y but maintains her pastel palette, with a blazer and neat skirt in light pink and grayish blue. Supposedly, the blazer and gloves are to protect her from some wind while she is on the boat. However, this look ultimately comes across as stuffier than the rest of Glinda’s attire, even her usual school uniforms.

Glinda might be stuck up, but she is still something of a free spirit, moving through life in a whirlwind of shimmer and turning the world around her. Her introductory outfit doesn’t capture this in the way other her clothes do — really, it seems to best fit her incredibly awkward speech about how she could help Elphaba “address the problem” someday. It’s amusingly cute, and conveys her desire to be pretty and poised, but isn’t as fun, twirling, or interesting as the things she will wear later in the movie.

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“What Is This Feeling?” Nightgown

Glinda Proves That She Is Pampered At All Times Of The Day While Facing Off With Elphaba

Glinda and Elphaba’s first night as roommates is a battleground, and what Glinda is wearing is generally the most forgettable thing about the scene. Glinda’s preferred repose attire is silky pink pajamas with a matching chiffon robe, maybe with some slightly different styles from night to night but which are essentially the same. They are nonetheless lovely and illustrate the comical idea that Glinda looks pampered at all times, in comparison to Elphaba’s more simplistic pajamas. For, as Glinda is first seen in this type of clothing during “What Is This Feeling,” the contrast to what Elphaba is wearing is again important.

Even Elphaba has a stylish woven robe on hand, and Glinda’s pink one for the night has a relatively straightforward silhouette that creates the mirrored image needed for the blocking to achieve perfection. They are almost wearing the same thing, just one in black and the other in pink. Overall, Glinda’s typical pajamas are pretty and exactly what she should be wearing to give the impression that her life away from prying eyes is like inhabiting a salon. It’s another achievement by the costume department but generally is forgettable compared to her most glamorous dresses.

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Emerald City Dress

Glinda’s Dress In The Emerald City Is Kept Beautifully Simple For Powerful Story Moments

The dress Glinda wears to go to the Emerald City (more accurately, to go to the train station to see off Elphaba before she is roped into the trip herself) is soft and simple. For perhaps the first time, it doesn’t feel like Glinda is trying to make a statement with her clothing — she is just wearing a nice dress in what happens to be her favorite color. It is, to a certain extent, practical, as it’s not too complicated to be a burden as she tours the city.

Probably the cheapest fabric she has worn yet, with just some minimal ruffle accents, is chosen for the almost doll-like look. Overall, this is Glinda at her simplest, which is better for the story. When she’s heading into a part of the movie that is going to have several strong emotional beats and put her and Elphaba’s friendship to the test, just putting her in a nice customarily pink dress that doesn’t draw too much attention works. It’s not the showstopper, but it is nice to see this more understated version of Glinda.

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“Glinda-fied” School Uniforms

Glinda Wears The School Uniform In Her Signature Color

Glinda, amusingly, never wears anything close to what is presumably the dress code at Shiz. She sports some ʙuттon-down blouses matched with striped skirts in different cuts (and a simple pink leotard for physical education), as the actual school uniform is navy blue stripes. Why Glinda never wears Shiz’s uniform can be chalked up to a combination of everyone loving her and her being given unfair privilege, or the somewhat illogical world accommodating her personality. On the fashion side of things, the way Glinda mixes up her clothes while remaining true to herself is fun and creative.

The cuts of the skirt vary from an asymmetrical dress that reaches up over one side of her blouse to a simple skirt to a standard pinafore. The asymmetrical one is probably the most dynamic, while the skirt is the most casual and, inversely, makes her look more mature through its simplicity. However, Glinda’s pinafore stands out because it very subtly calls back to the style that Dorothy will someday possibly wear in Wicked when the story catches up with her arrival in Oz. It also, ironically, is the uniform style Elphaba favors is some scenes.

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“Dancing Through Life” Daytime Dress

Glinda Steps Up Her Game When Fiyero Arrives At Shiz

When Glinda learns that Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) is coming to Shiz, she goes into pampering mode as she does her hair and makeup and forgoes her uniform for a more casual dress. To put it simply, the dress she selects for the day and dances her way through life in one of her prettiest numbers, with layered lace-like fabric and string designs that make the skirt and sleeves sights to behold. The dress also has an impressive amount of movement, allowing for dramatic spins and ballroom moves with Fiyero while “Dancing Through Life” is going on.

During the number with Wicked‘s best choreography, Glinda is convinced that she has found her soulmate and knows exactly where they will go for the rest of their lives. The dress she wears for it is very romantic and captures the essence of her place in the sequence. It is similar to her Emerald City attire in that it is a kind of cocktail or garden party-style dress, but doubtlessly has a better design which proves that Glinda is a woman of impeccable style.

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“Popular” Nightgown

Glinda Wears A Nightgown Unlike Anything Else During “Popular,” Which Is The Point

Objectively, the style of Glinda’s nightgown and decorative robe that she wears for the instantly iconic new sequence of “Popular” is of a strange style. While Glinda might opt for bright pinks and lots of embellishments, the actual structure of what she wears throughout does make sense for the given activity of the day. In contrast, the rosettes of the “Popular” costume seem superfluous and potentially cumbersome for the purpose of hanging out in her room, especially the ones on her shoulders.

However, this outfit still demonstrates a brilliant design and could not better serve the pivotal scene that it is in. Namely, Glinda needed something more ostentatious and simply different than her other nightgowns for what is her signature, legendary song. The rosettes are just on the cusp of it being believable that someone in Oz would make a robe like this, even if it is impractical. However, the effect of it being more frilly, dynamic, and ultimately memorable to elevate Grande’s performance is certainly there.

The ensemble as a whole gives Grande what she needs to work with, as it still has a loose, relaxed vibe when she’s wearing a shorter nightgown under it, and she has plenty of fabric to throw in different directions as she does everything from floor swimming to spinning around in the hall. Bizarre though it is — the kind of clothing that can only be found in Oz — the “Popular” outfit is cinematic and theatrical perfection.

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Ozdust Ballroom Petal Dress

Glinda’s Ozdust Dress Is Gorgeous & Just Different Enough To Impress

Glinda is a true fashionista, which is never more evident than when she gets ready for a night out dancing, wearing a dress that turns her into “the most scandalocious little fish in the sea.” The dress includes some asymmetry and surprising color choices that push it beyond what one would expect from Glinda, especially those familiar with her Broadway wardrobe. Glinda actually does get some color variation beyond her typical wardrobe with this dress, as splashes of yellow and orange mixed in with the vibrant, deep pink give it a lovely sunset effect.

Costume designer Paul Tazewell was inspired by similarly colored roses (via YouTube), and the way the dress’ “petals” mesh with the sequins and form the bodice is also unique while perfectly balanced. Finally, the dress does have enough swish to it to make it perfect for dancing. She doesn’t know it yet, but Glinda is about to play out one of the movie’s most powerful moments — while Elphaba gets her iconic hat for the dance scene, Glinda gets this stunning dress. Both looks are striking and beautiful in completely different ways for a heartrending scene.

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Glinda The Good Bubble Gown

The Decorated Gown For The Good Witch Of Oz Is Nothing Short Of Breathtaking

However, nothing can really compete with the magnificence of Glinda’s “bubble dress,” for appearing before the public as a spokesperson and traveling by bubble to get from place to place. Mᴀssive ballgowns will become the official look of Glinda the Good, but it is unlikely that any in Wicked: For Good will top the original one, which is the counterpart of Billie Burke’s costume in The Wizard of Oz. The amount of detail in the shape of each panel and the many embellishments sewn on give it amazing gravitas in a wholly “Glinda way.“

The accessories of the wand/staff and the oversized crown are somewhat cartoon-inspired and perhaps should make the outfit feel silly, but Grande carries them with the same dignity she does the dress and pulls the whole thing together in a display of the magic and power of Glinda the Good’s character. The costume department of Wicked pulled out all the stops for its cast, especially Glinda, whose quietest looks show the same amount of care and work.

Source: YouTube