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The discovery of a person (or persons) whose every last outfit you love and want to imitate is comforting and alarming in equal measure. Comforting because it’s nice to feel understood, even from a great distance, and because it’s a relief to find a clear point to navigate toward. Alarming because we all like to believe we’re individuals with unique taste and free will.
For me, and probably for a lot of people, the sisters of the band Haim — Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim — have provided that sense of direction since their first album, Days Are Gone, came out in 2013. And for the past few months, they’ve been on an absolute fashion rampage while roaming the world on their “Sister Sister Sister” tour.
Haim’s tour style is what I’d describe as “everyday-plus-plus.” It’s cooler and more eccentric than what you’d wear to go grocery shopping, but you’d never call it costumey (like, say, a Katy Perry concert look). You could dress like this for dinner with a friend or a party, and you’d probably get second looks, but nobody would question your judgment. It’s low-key drama.
“Este is my go-to skirts-and-dresses girl,” Haim’s stylist, Rebecca Grice, said in an interview with Racked in 2017. “She’s got incredible legs and is very tall and lean, so she looks great in that silhouette. Danielle is kind of my suiting, menswear-inspired cool girl, and Alana wears a lot of trousers and tees. But they’re all really willing to try new, different silhouettes as well.”
The sisters are still wearing a lot of high-waisted miniskirts and trousers, heeled boots, loose blouses, and suits — pieces you can easily find at Asos or Topshop — but they’ve dialed up the intensity with black patent leather, sequins, metallics, and super-saturated colors. When I saw them play at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in early May, I spent most of the concert transfixed by Danielle’s sparkling silver Erdem top and shiny black pants, which reflected the light in a way I can only describe as ... religious?
The only bummer about their tour looks is that they’re expensive, which is what happens when you’re wearing custom Chloé, but that brings us back to the concept of everyday-plus-plus: You can find definitely something similar elsewhere, for a fraction of the cost.
Anyway, let’s dig in.
The Haims have mastered the art of coordinating without looking like clones of one another. While visual harmony can come from working with similar color palettes or wearing one piece that binds everyone’s look together (here, a heeled boot), it’s most easily achieved by just wearing the same brand — in this case, Acne Studios. (Este, left, is wearing Acne’s sage jacket and wrap skirt; Danielle, right, is in Acne’s jade green jacket and trousers. Alana wears a jacket as a dress.)
Alana wears a key Haim item — a pair of high-waisted patent leather pants — with a Priscavera embroidered corset.
Haim wore custom Chloé at Coachella, and in doing so, threw their support behind the brand’s new creative director, Natacha Ramsay-Levi. The silver bottoms, light-years ahead of the metallic leggings you used to buy at American Apparel, are the clear standout here.
More Coachella, more Chloé. From left, these looks are good for a Saturday afternoon movie, lunch with your grandmother, and your five-year college reunion.
Another concert, another opportunity to support a recently appointed female designer (this time, Clare Waight Keller at Givenchy). On Danielle, Givenchy’s long sleeved sweatshirt. On Este, the striped knitted top. Once again, Alana’s third of the coordinated look proves difficult to locate online.
Actually, let’s zoom in on Este’s full look (skirt by Maje, boots from By Far) because this is peak Haim approachability. You know this girl. You are this girl.
The sisters wore some fiery red looks in the promotional imagery for their 2017 album Something to Tell You, and they applied that same vibrant hue not just to their tour wardrobes but to their shows’ lighting and video design. The effect is overwhelming in the best way, just like a concert should be. Here, all three wear Sandro: Este in a slip dress, Danielle in a suit and trousers, and Alana in a lace-up jacket.
For their first night in New York, Haim went full-on Paco Rabanne.
This is the outfit I was talking about earlier, the one that felt like a religious experience. If you look closely, Danielle’s Erdem top is dotted with crystal and faux-pearl details.
This is clearly a personal obsession, but I think this Sandro jacket and pants combo is perfect (shoes by Adidas, obviously) — for the office, for a casual wedding, for your own funeral. It’s versatile!
What’s truly amazing is that Haim wears a lot of stuff that’s technically very trendy — like that style of boot that’s a little higher than a late-aughts ankle boot and has a thinner heel — without ever looking like followers. They wear big-name designers but look like themselves. That, perhaps, is the real achievement here.