Celebrities

Character Study: Olivia Pope of “Scandal”

If you’re one of the zillions of Scandal fans out there, you already know that our one true hero, Olivia Pope, returns to television after a too-long holiday hiatus in a little over 24 hours. In the two-and-a-half seasons of Scandal that have already transpired, DC political fixer Olivia, played by the excellent Kerry Washington, has become something of a wardrobe icon for women who work hard, love luxury and want to look both professional and totally feminine in both their professional and personal lives. Naturally, that means she’s carried a ton of covetable handbags, and we’re here to help you get her look.

More than anything, Olivia always looks luxurious. That’s largely because she is the sort of fictional character who can constantly drink red wine from impossibly long-stemmed glasses without every spilling a single, solitary drop on her pristine, dove grey cashmere, but it’s also because the materials and colors that she wears are picked very carefully. Pale neutrals give off an air of elegance because they show off a material’s quality and aren’t as commonly worn as darker neutral like black and navy, and that idea extends to Olivia’s handbag choices, which are featured fairly prominently in the series. Like any good corporate raider with a sense of style, Olivia is first and foremost a Prada girl, with bags from the Twin Pocket Tote to the Saffiano Lux Tote on her arm in most episodes.

Olivia sometimes deviates from Prada, but she never deviates from her signature look: simple (but not boring) totes or satchels, carried in the crook of her arm, always in pale or mid-tone neutrals with the occasional black bag thrown in. Her bags are always expensive-looking, but they’re never conspicuously branded. If I worked in a conservative place, I’d want to dress like her every day. Below, we’ve selected over a dozen of the best ways to embody her handbag style, including the Prada tote that she carried practically all last season.


Prada Twin Pocket Tote
$2,400 via Neiman Marcus

Prada Twin Pocket Tote


Fendi 3Jours Tote
$2,550 via Net-a-Porter

Fendi 3Jours Tote


Tod’s D-Styling Lavoro Tote
$1,765 via Nordstrom

Tods D-Styling Lavoro Tote


Valentino Rockstud Dome Satchel
$2,295 via Nordstrom

Valentino Rockstud Dome Satchel


Chloe Charlotte Tote
$2,900 via Nordstrom

Chloe Charlotte Tote


Nina Ricci Marche Tote
$1,750 via Net-a-Porter

Nina Ricci Marche Tote


Mulberry Bayswater Tote
$2,725 via Net-a-Porter

Mulberry Bayswater Tote


Anya Hindmarch Albion Satchel
$2,250 via Net-a-Porter

Anya Hindmarch Albion Satchel


Tom Ford Jennifer Trap Tote Bag
$1,990 via Neiman Marcus

Tom Ford Jennifer Trap Tote Bag


Michael Kors Miranda Quilted Tote
$1,295 via Neiman Marcus

Michael Kors Quilted Miranda Tote


MICHAEL Michael Kors Sutton Satchel
$328 via Neiman Marcus

(Olivia would remove the option logo medallion, natch.)

MICHAEL Michael Kors Sutton Satchel


VBH Trevi 32 Snake and Leather Satchel
$2,950 via Neiman Marcus

VBH Trevi 32 Snake and Leather Satchel


Coach Borough Bag
$598 via Coach

Coach Borough Bag

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