Spring flowers? Very unoriginal. Asking a lot of questions? Bear someone else with those. No matter the circumstances, expect Meryl Streep’s Runway boss to deliver stabs and brutal honesty.
Everyone, “Girdle your loins.” Miranda Priestly is back.
Meryl Streep is stepping into Miranda Priestley’s elegant shoes once again The devil wears prada 2was released on May 1st. In the original 2006 film, Andy, played by Anne Hathaway, works for fashion mogul Priestley and her friend. Runway magazine but soon learns that working with Miranda comes with some challenges, sacrifices and indignities.
Throughout the original film, Streep’s Priestly delivers a number of signature lines that serve as punchlines, reflecting her frank honesty and extensive knowledge of the world of fashion.
Are you designing a spring photo shoot with flowers? Very boring and unoriginal. Asking a lot of questions? Bear someone else with those. Do you need energy to work while sick? You are likely infected with viral plague. No matter the circumstances, Miranda is never shy about sharing her thoughts.
Before Miranda returns The devil wears prada 2Which also sees the return of original stars Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, Hollywood Reporter It takes a look at Streep’s famous Miranda lines from the first film.
Cerulean jacket monologue
Image credit: Everett When reviewing outfits for a photo shoot, Priestley asks about belts, and an assistant brings her two while pointing out: “It’s a difficult task. They’re very different.” Watching the interaction, Andy laughs, which attracts the attention of everyone in the room. After arguing that the belts looked similar but she was still “learning about this stuff”, Miranda was not pleased and indulged in fashion education while insulting Andy’s tan jacket.
“You go into your closet, and you pick out, I don’t know, that blocky blue jacket, for example, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself so seriously that you don’t care what you put on your back, but what you don’t know is that that jacket isn’t just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis lazuli, it’s actually heavenly. You’re also unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta designed a collection of blue gowns, and I think it was Yves Saint Laurent, wasn’t he the one? Military blue jackets then quickly appeared in the collections of eight different designers, leaked into department stores and then moved into a tragic casual corner where, no doubt, you took it out of the clearance bin, and yet, that blue represents the millions of dollars of countless jobs you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry, when, in reality, you’re wearing a jacket that was chosen for you by the people in this room… from a pile of “stuff.”
“Tales of your incompetence”
Miranda makes sure to remind everyone that she doesn’t have time and doesn’t care to worry about your excuses. When Emily Blunt’s Emily needs to reschedule an appointment due to a medical emergency, Miranda doesn’t bother to listen to the rationale. Instead, Miranda blames Emily for the rescheduling, saying, “Tales of your incompetence don’t interest me.”
“Moving at a glacial pace”
Miranda needs to get things done efficiently. When she asks Andy for something, Andy searches her bag to retrieve it. However, when it doesn’t go fast enough for Miranda, the fashion head tells Andy: “By all means, move at a glacial pace. You know how that turns me on.”
“Flowers? For spring? Major.”
Image credit: Everett When an employee mentions flowers as a possible topic during a spring issue meeting, Miranda points out how boring the idea is. “Flowers? For spring? Major.” That employee knew they had to go back to the drawing board immediately.
Helper with “viral plague”
Sick at work? Miranda could care less. Before Emily can accompany Miranda to a benefit, Emily comes down with the flu. Despite his attempt to gain power, Miranda asks Andy to go to the event, which Andy is skeptical of since the “first assistant” is the person who usually attends. “Only when the first assistant decides to become an incubator for the viral plague,” Miranda replies, clearly showing no sympathy for the squirmy Emily.
“Dirty, tired and exhausted” models.
Miranda is a picky boss and the staff constantly works in fear and desperation to make sure everything is close to perfect for her. When Miranda is offered a modeling gig for a new campaign, she doesn’t mince her words. “She asked for a clear, sporty, smiling face. She sent me dirty, tired, and puffy,” Miranda says of one model.
“Is she dead or something?”
“Is there a reason my coffee isn’t here? Is she dead or something?” is a question Miranda asks after sending Andy on a list of errands but struggling to get them all done in time — well, according to Miranda’s schedule. Getting her coffee order was one of the tasks. When Andy returned, Blunt’s Emily was exhausted and told her she was holding her urine so she could come back to be there in case Miranda needed something.
“That wasn’t a question.”
Image credit: Everett When Miranda states her opinion, don’t mistake it for a question or an assumption. When interviewing Hathaway’s Andy for her first interview, Miranda stated her observations including direct criticism of Andy that she “has no sense of fashion”. When Andy stepped in to defend herself, Miranda interrupted, saying, “No, no. That wasn’t a question.”
Don’t ask questions
Not only are Miranda’s harsh criticisms unquestioned, but she also doesn’t care to hear anyone else’s list of queries for her. When giving Andy tasks to complete, one of which is getting her skirts from Calvin Klein, Andy tries to ask questions to get clarity on which skirts Miranda wants. But that was the wrong move, since Miranda ignored her and told her to bore someone else with her questions.
“That’s it”
Arguably one of the most iconic pieces of dialogue in the franchise is Miranda’s signature line “That’s it.” She first said it when she ignored Andy during her interview for the assistant job. She later said this when Andy asked her if she needed anything else after surprising Miranda with her accomplishment of obtaining an unpublished Harry Potter manuscript for her twin girls.
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