
So Chic, Very Chic: Southern Hospitality Is Bravo's Best
BY
Joan Summers | Jan 16, 2025
This is So Chic, Very Chic, PAPER’s examination of Bravo’s sprawling cohort of fashion obsessives. From haute couture to TJ Maxx, they’ve literally worn it all. Sometimes they stunt, sometimes they turn the look, and sometimes they burn holes in retinas my ophthalmologist says might never heal.
I said it before and I’ll say it again: Southern Hospitality is the best show on Bravo. If I’ve said this about other shows, I was lying. If I say it about this show a few more times, maybe people will finally start to believe me.
Normally, I’d wax on about some personal anecdote that ties into the themes of the column, or share a witty story from my life that I loop back around into a zinger about a particular outfit or Bravolebrity. Often, I muse about the state of Bravo, and what it all means. “It” being where the future of the network lies amidst a dozen lawsuits and failing ratings and postponed or cancelled franchises. But I just touched down in America after three weeks away, and with all that’s going on right now, I just need to feel a sense of joy not often brought to me by the state of the world these days. Southern Hospitality is that joy, currently.
So instead of going through the usual roundup of shows, let’s play catchup with the first two episodes of the season. Already, it’s clear to me this cast will go the way of Vanderpump Rules during the glory days, and in about two seasons, will maybe, finally, be recognized for the primetime staple it is. Until then, I pray this cast of drug and alcohol addled 20-somethings with tenuous relationships to monogamy and friendship continue terrorizing each other and also the city of Charleston.
Shall we?
Emmy Sharrett
Emmy here delivered an Emmy-winning performance this week when she screamed, cried, nearly threw up and then continued screaming about a complicated rumor that she used her influencer status to scam waitresses over drop-shipped waitressing outfits. I’ve included the full meltdown below.
All the while, she talks to the camera in the confessional booth wearing a highlighter yellow corset dress with a similarly highlighter orange spray tan. I don’t know a better woman! This dress is just about everything a dress shouldn’t be, but often is. As for the scam itself, which involved allegedly using store credit from being an influencer to charge girls for dresses she then gets more store credit over, my boyfriend had this to say: “That’s sort of like when I order the pizza at work for pizza Fridays and then collect the points from the pizza I get to get more pizza.” Thanks, boyfriend!
Maddi Reese
DJ Maddi Reese is back in booth. Literally! Not only is she staring straight to camera in a mermaid dress with a prominently displayed starfish fastener, she’s also in the booth at the studio cooking up hot tunes with bestie Grace Lilly. (More on that later.) I love her day-to-night transitions, as she’s a woman who can always be found in either a tight little sheath with questionable design elements and too much bronzer. She’s also a woman who can be found most other times in a bikini with lots of beaded jewelry. Even a big ol’ trucker hat! She’s maybe the most relatable woman in the world.
That said, when she’s in the other sort of booth, she opts for something a waitress might wear at a Las Vegas mixology spot. I’d say this white vest and pant combo should’ve been ironed first, but I fear the fabric might be too cheap to withstand temperatures above 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Still, it’s a funny outfit, and I like funny outfits. Kudos, DJ Maddi Reese. (That’s also the name of the mixology spot, Kudos. Their signature drink is a negroni with dry ice that you can also set on fire.)
Grace Lilly
The more things change, the more they stay the same. The most steadfast of the show’s few, weatherworn pillars is Miss Grace Lilly here. Part prophetess, part soothsayer, part indie-pop music icon, she’s maybe the most representative figure in the modern Southern Gothic pantheon. To complete the look, she stays in that confessional booth dressed like a witch with no job and a tightly controlled trust fund. Just look at the sleeves on that velvet dress and all those rings! Imagine her stirring a cauldron she got off AliXpress after her normie parent’s cut her off for not paying the phone bill on time.
As for what she looks like out of confessional drag, I quite liked the headscarf, scrunchie-on-the-wrist, lace tunic combo she wore to describe her experience meeting the ghost of Bob Marley on ayahuasca.
Molly Moore
Molly is a new addition to the cast. As she puts it, she comes from money but works hard by day as a wedding planner for the most exclusive firm in Charleston. The wedding planner part was obvious, considering the dress and makeup, while the privilege part also became obvious once I settled my eyes on her highlights. While the dress is nothing to write home to her mega-mansion about, I like that the floral appliqués give it a bit of girlish whimsy. As a purveyor of girlish whimsy myself, the whole thing evens out into a fleeting pastel nothingness.
Michols Peña
Michols is another new addition. He’s also gay, which just about every girl on the cast has to remind themselves of at one point. (Ladies, that’s never stopped me or gay guys in the past!) While he’s pictured here in his work uniform, I thought it important to show other gay guys how tight and small the men’s uniforms are on this show.
Leva Bonaparte
Leva is the stand-in Lisa Vanderpump character, considering the entire cast works at her clubs and restaurants. Funny, because she’s dressed in the same caliber of clothing as her cast. It both humanizes her and also brings her to their level, which causes an uneven balance as a viewer of the show. Next season, I suggest she find a new staple to show up in, like a slick little Prada black dress or a suit from Saint Laurent.
Mia Alario
Mia had some memorable fits last time we saw her but seems to have fled the city after the season’s first episode. Her destination? The Miss World Trinidad and Tobago pageant, which she ultimately loses. Whether or not it was worth the shot at $1 million dollars remains to be seen, but at least she got this silk dress off in the meantime! While the hair reads a bit flat, I love the color of the lip and the way her bust is perched in that plunge. That said, can we officially retire the triangle cutout above the navel? I don’t want to see another dress or top with it as long as I live!
Photos courtesy of Bravo/NBCUniversal