Style Story: The Women of RIZZOLI & ISLES (But Mostly Isles)

When I decided to feature the women of Rizzoli & Isles, back for season 4 on TNT, for a style story, I’ll confess that it was mostly Maura who appeared in my mental images.

Dr. Isles’ love of high fashion and extraordinary shoes is a topic of frequent comment on the show, and a quirk for which she is delightfully unapologetic. And why not? She has the money and the generally good taste (there are a pair of Hammer pants in tonight’s episode that are…unfortunate), so she indulges in beautiful things.

When it came time to build a style profile for Detective Rizzoli, however, the conversation was pretty simple. And simply pretty.

Exhibit A:

Rizzoli favors the same dark suits with a bright, v-neck fitted t-shirt for almost everything. Except when she’s exercising, on which occasion she wears black workout clothes with some sort of bright color as an accent. Practical, mix-and-match pieces that don’t require a lot of thought when she’d rather be working out clues to solve a crime. Jane pretty much wears a uniform every day, even if it’s unofficial, and that’s OK.

On the flip side, Maura’s high heels, pencil skirt, feminine blouse, and sharp but creative jacket are appropriate for the office, if a bit much for a crime scene. When you think about it, though, Isles also has a uniform. It just comes in more colors than Jane’s.

Exhibit B:

Pencil skirt + feminine blouse + blazer + killer heels. These are the hallmarks of Maura’s style, as much as pantsuits are of Jane’s. Maura experiments with color, texture, and print, but her silhouette remains consistent as does her attention to detail.

Two very different styles for two very different women.

Rizzoli & Isles airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on TNT.

P.S. Just when I thought this was a unique style story, Yahoo! stole my thunder before this scheduled post went live.