Icon of Class: Fran Fine, The Nanny

Before Carrie Bradshaw green-lighted the idea of spending your barely there salary on designer goods instead of paying bills and rent, Fran Fine of The Nanny had dragged us into the same reverie way back in 1993. 

At one point, Miss Fine made us believe that being a live-in nanny could mean very good money. Well, judging from the way she looked in the show.  

Produced by lead actress Fran Drescher and her then husband Peter Marc Jacobsen, The Nanny revolved around the life of Fran Fine, a beauty school graduate who was kicked off from her job in a New York bridal shop. 

Fate brought her to the Sheffield household where she was immediately hired by British Broadway agent and widower Maxwell Sheffield (played by Charles Shaughnessy) as a nanny to her three kids. 

Instead of being depicted as your garden variety nanny, Fran redefined the term with her outrageous personality and sense of style.  As the show progresses, so is her style. Each week, we were dying to find out what she’s going to wear instead of the outcome of that not-so-secret love relationship between her and Sheffield.

And voila, Fran did keep her promise: her clothes were directly culled from the runways (think Moschino and Versace) and her guest actors include the legendary Elizabeth Taylor, Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion! And of course, the episode where she became the new Mrs. Sheffield was the series’ cream of the crop. 

Though more than 20 years have passed, it can be said that the series has remained relevant and Fran Fine is, without the doubt, the style icon who defined the roaring 90s.

Alluding to her outrageous and irreverent sense of fashion, we juxtapose it with the current trends and create a look that perhaps, will receive a nod of approval from the original Nanny herself. So, here we go …

(L-R): Logo-patch striped cotton cardigan, RM2680.00 by Rochas; Button-embellished tweed mini skirt, RM3950.00 by Balmain; Niki crystal-embellished over-the-knee boots, RM31940.00 by Saint Laurent

 

(L-R): Colour-block textured-knit sweater, RM2355.00 by Sonia Rykiel; Kan I logo-print velvet shoulder bag, RM21955.00 by Fendi; Paperbag-waist straight-leg cropped trousers, RM2570.00 by Isa Areen 

(L-R): Judy snakeskin-effect leather mules, RM2690.00 by Charlotte Olympia; Open-shoulder floral-print crepe de Chine dress, RM1220.00 by Self-Portrait; Meylin woven-toquilla cross-body bag, RM1245.00 by Sophie Anderson

(L-R): Sequin-embellished open-back top, RM4635.00 by Halpern; Medusa crystal-embellished bracelet, RM1155.00 by Versace; One-shoulder striped sequin dress, RM8635.00 by Diane von Furstenberg

*Product photos courtesy of Matches Fashion. The Nanny opening scene image courtesy of Petermarcjacobson.com; The Nanny stills courtesy of vogue.com.au and The Good Housekeeping. 

All items featured here are available now at www.matchesfashion.com or in the brands’ respective stores and selected mixed brand retailers worldwide.