What’s in Alice’s closet – and where is Edward?

After Bella’s strange encounter with Edward in the biology classroom – where he seems to burn with disgust and hatred for her – he disappears from Forks High School, leaving Bella lost and confused by his behavior. Thanks to Midnight Sun, we know Edward flees to Denali, confers with his family, thinks about killing Bella a thousand times over.

All the while, the Cullens keep going to school – without Edward.

Twilight: Where is Edward?

We see the passing of time through montage, which allows us a glimpse at several of Alice’s school outfits. The Cullens are everywhere: in the cafeteria, in the parking lot, their very presence haunting Bella. They know where Edward is – and she doesn’t.

Blouse: At the Cullens’ usual cafeteria table, this time with an empty seat, we see Alice in a cream, pleated blouse by Nanette Lepore. It’s very cute, but beware – it’s low cut, so if you have a larger bust, you may find yourself frequently adjusting it. At one time, this was misidentified as being a blouse from Guess – a rumor I accidentally perpetuated by blogging about it!

Blazer: Is it green? Is it brown? Much has been discussed about the short sleeve Coco blazer by BCBG Max Azria, which Alice wears over her Nanette Lepore blouse. In a decade-old blog post, I shared that this blazer came in a number of colors – ash, moss green, plumberry, and jade – and analyzed which color Alice truly wore. Based on a behind-the-scenes costume photo of Ashley wearing it in moss green, we can safely assume that’s the color they went with on film.

…Or can we?

Jeans: While we can’t be sure which jeans Alice was wearing in this scene, in others, she wore dark denim Paige jeans in the Hollywood Hills bootcut style. As always, however, any dark blue denim bootcut jeans will do! If you’d like to remain period accurate, note that these jeans are quite low rise – and fit very snugly.

Shoes: While we can’t know for sure, I pair this outfit with Alice’s Cruz Pewter Flats by Sam Edelman  – which she wears several times throughout Twilight.

Bonus: A Cullen Outtake

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Alice wears her delicate, Periwinkle Sparrow Cardigan from Anthropologie in Twilight. You’ve seen it in film stills and behind-the-scenes photos alike; of course, it’s in the film.

But it’s not. We’ve all been taken in by the Mandela effect of those photos! Or, at least, I was. Maybe that’s why we know so little about this outfit: we don’t see it in the film, and there are few photos that show it in detail.

Here’s what we do know:

• The Periwinkle Sparrow Cardigan is a wool cardigan with creamy floral knit detailing. It’s designed to be worn tied across the chest.
• Beneath it, Alice wears a white, Henley-style blouse or T-shirt – likely short sleeved, because we can’t see the peek of a sleeve beneath the sweater. It’s characterized by a rounded neck and what looks like five buttons down the collar.
• Alice paired the look with a silver bracelet that looks a lot like it belongs to the set of bangles she wore in the Meet the Cullens scene.

And… that’s about it. We don’t know which jeans she’s wearing. Or which shoes.

The great thing about this is it’s allowed me to be a bit creative. I found a shirt I thought paired nicely with the sweater: a white lace short-sleeved blouse from a UK brand called Fatface. By and large, the most recognizable part of this outfit is the cardigan – so don’t be afraid to experiment with what’s underneath.

It’s also allowed me to reuse the pieces I already have, rather than be constantly on the hunt for something new. I re-wear my Paige jeans and Cruz Pewter flats with this look, which makes my Forks packing a bit lighter, my wardrobe more multi-purpose, and these two outfits a bit more interchangeable. It’s great for those moments when I need to do a costume change, but don’t have a ton of time between events to do so.  

Though we see Alice wearing this outfit at school, I had the opportunity to shoot with Just Bella Swan at the iconic Twilight Swan House and wanted to wear something I’d never shot in. The Sparrow Cardigan came to mind immediately; I’d worn it to events before, but never in a styled shoot. Rather than pose with Jasper at Forks High School, which I’d already done with the previous outfit, this felt like a chance to do something a bit unexpected.

In the house, we couldn’t help but imagine a quiet, friendship-building moment for Alice and Bella – something we didn’t get to see in the films. So, we put them side-by-side on Bella’s bed, studying for a test, or maybe doing some summer reading. It made me feel like we’d stepped into a lost scene from the book universe: that summer where Alice and Bella grew close between Twilight and New Moon.

I love both these outfits, but if I had to choose one, the Periwinkle Sparrow Cardigan stands out to me as the most iconic piece in either one – so, it gets my vote.

Which is your favorite – and how do you style it?

xoxo,
Alice