#Great Fashion Can’t Solve This Show’s Problems

If “Emily in Paris” improves in one area this season, it’s the costume design. Emily is supposed to be a stylish, clever marketing strategist, but the first season saw her dashing off artless, one-take photos that somehow went viral. This season, there’s a slight bump in realism, as Emily’s paychecks are coming through and she now has the jaw-dropping wardrobe of a real influencer. The woman might be inexplicably unaware of the existence of selfie sticks, but she has her look together.

Still, it might not be a good sign that Emily’s extravagant dresses, breathtaking blazers, and fashionable heels made me feel more than any actual plot points in the show did. There’s a place in the pop-cultural landscape for fashion porn, but it’s not enough to build a show on. “Sex and the City” stood out because its frank attitudes about sex were novel; “Emily in Paris” has no such defining trait. There will always be room for addictive trifles on television, but this one hasn’t proven it has much staying power.