5 Fashionable Films with Bảo Ngô

40's ballet, 70's ruffles, and anime Haute Couture

Mar 20, 2026

Welcome to Fashionable Films with Fashionable People!

This new series is part of the 100 Fashion Films Project universe, where I invite the most inspiring people I know to share the ways fashion in film impacts their life and art.

Today we’re sharing our popcorn with photographer Bảo Ngô.

How would you describe your personal style?

Equal parts utilitarian and antique girly. I love workwear, military surplus, vintage uniforms of all kinds, but also frills, embroidery, and lace. I’m from Texas and take a lot of inspiration from vintage cowgirls, while not dressing exactly like one. I wear a lot of long and loose-fitted garments, prairie skirts, stitched boots, silk scarves. My favorite decade is the 1930’s, but that’s not always practical for wearing every day, so I wear a lot of 70’s stuff too.

What are your Top 5 Fashion Films?

1. The Red Shoes (1948)

2. Vertigo (1958)

3. The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)

4. Nashville (1975)

5. Paris, Texas (1984)

One for each decade :')

If you could teleport the wardrobe for any one movie directly into your own closet, which one would it be?

Nashville (1975)

What's your first fashion film memory? Was there a specific early childhood movie that strongly impacted your style?

When I was a child, I was obsessed with Sailor Moon. I watched the show on cable television, but I had the three original movies on VHS and couldn’t get enough of those. I drew early inspiration from the Sailor Scouts’ everyday wear, like the sailor jackets, pleated skirts, baggy sweaters. That’s how I dressed as a kid, and still sometimes do today.

And obviously I love some of the transformation looks too, even though those didn’t impact my style early on. The dress that Usagi wears when she transforms into Princess Serenity in Sailor Moon R, and when Luna transforms into Princess Kaguya in Sailor Moon S are iconic. Apparently Serenity’s dress is inspired by the “Palladium” Dress from Dior’s SS92 collection.

Gianfranco Ferré Dior Spring/Summer 1992 Haute Couture

Princess Kaguya’s look also had me in a chokehold in the 90’s! I think this is why every single girl I drew as a kid had such humongous hair

Any other musings you'd like to add about fashion in film, costume design, and style?

I love fashion! And films!! And I love that different films use fashion differently. Sometimes it's theatrical, sometimes it's ordinary, sometimes dramatic, sometimes subtle and it always brings a character's inner feelings into the exterior world where we can see it. Costumes indicate transformation and emotion. They are essential to the storytelling process.

Thank you so much to Bảo for chatting with me, and for sharing a few of your stunning self-portraits!

Bảo’s love for film is really apparent in her work, which always has a deeply immersive quality. I was first drawn to her photography because of our shared love for Americana and retro aesthetics, and have grown to deeply admire her ability to create entire worlds in a single frame.

You can see more of Bảo’s work on her website, and follow her on Instagram and TikTok. She’s based in NYC but often shoots in LA, with frequent cross-country travel everywhere in between. Bảo took the portraits for my website, and I can’t recommend her enough.