Spoilers for Season 1 of Agents of Shield below.
I’m going to be honest, I wrote most of this blog post a while ago. Like, a very long time ago. I believe Season 2 only had about two/three episodes when I was working on this originally. Yeah. Pretty bad. I never posted it because a) I didn’t have anywhere to do so and b) there were a few unfinished sections. Well, it may have taken two more seasons, but I’ve finally gone through and finished it.
So when you’re reading this, keep in mind that this is Season 1 Simmons fashion. All of my statistics are for season 1 only. (Yeah, I actually did my own statistics and then I didn’t even publish them. #ShakingMyHead over here, I swear.)
The point of this style breakdown is to have something to refer to when choosing a cosplay outfit- or even if you simply want to wear a regular-day look inspired by our favorite scientist. It’s pretty versatile. And honestly, it’s just pretty neat to break down the types of fashion a character wears throughout a season. It’s cool to see the change! (Don’t be surprised if a Season 3 Simmons Breakdown shows up later- because her style HAS changed slightly, and I really want to record her growth and progression.)
If you don’t know, Jemma Simmons is Agents of Shield’s genius biochemist who has won over the hearts of basically everyone who has watched the show with her love and enthusiasm for science. Her outfits have been the perfect mix of “fieldwork ready” and “comfortable and safe for a lab environment.” Her style is smart, sophisticated, and trendy while remaining professional. I’d suggest wearing these looks whenever you need confidence in your own brainpower or you just need to stay positive.
The Breakdown:
Dresses: Never
Tops: Blouses, Sweaters, Blazers, Collars
Pants: Blue or Black Skinny jeans
Shoes: Converse or combat boots
Jewelry: Simple, Dainty, thin Necklaces, Small wristwatch
Colors/Patterns: Darker, muted colors/Small Repeated Shapes, Stripes
First and foremost, Jemma NEVER wears dresses. Ever. It makes sense, since she’d want her legs to be protected in the lab from any accidental spills. (If she even makes mistakes, really.) She’s also constantly on the move, and dresses usually don’t cater to that type of lifestyle. Imagine climbing up the tree in F.Z.Z.T just to have everyone below seeing her knickers. It’s just not gonna work. A quick Season 3 aside: this no-dress trend has continued. I don’t want to spoil anything without proper forewarning at the beginning, but even on a fancy date she just wears a dressier top.
Usually, Jemma is seen wearing darker, more muted colors. She’s worn a few white or brightly-shaded button downs, but they’re usually paired with (and covered by) a darker-toned blazer or sweater. Honestly, the brightest thing Jemma wears is her lab coat. Aside from that baby pink blouse she wore in the pilot, the vast majority of her outfits are usually just the darkest hue of a neutral color. A lot of blue. The later it gets in the season, the more black is worn.
Here’s where you’re going to kill me. Remember how I made this big deal about having done my own statistics? Well, my data is missing. I had my numbers written down in a notebook when I was originally working on this, and now I have absolutely no clue where that notebook is. (I have a lot of notebooks, okay?) But never fear! I still have some form of my research, because I previously handmade two pie charts based on the results. It won’t be as precise as having the numbers involved, but we can work with it.
Basically, I counted up every single outfit Jemma wore in Season 1. And I counted each time a certain pattern or style appeared. Then I divided the two, and wha-la! Fashion research, complete. The following two pie charts are done to the best of my ability.
As you can see, she wears a heck of a lot of polka dots. If I remember correctly, most of these dotted outfits showed up in the earlier parts of the season. The statistic also includes smaller, repeated shapes as well; one blouse had small hearts instead of dots. She often wore solid colored tops, especially after Shield fell. Very rarely did she wear stripes or mixed patterns, but it did happen on occasion. If you’re going to nail her style down, your safest bet would be wearing small, repeated patterns- but don’t necessarily shy away from something patternless!
Now to talk about style of the tops themselves. This is where Jemma gives herself the most fashion freedom. The absolute #1 thing you can wear to give off a Jemma-vibe is a nice, buttoned-down, collared blouse. That’s the core of nearly every one of her outfits. It’s rare that the blouse is worn on its own though, because she usually pairs it with either a blazer or a sweater (pullover or cardigan.) Most of the time, it’s a blazer. She has a very lovely navy one that matches basically every blouse. Hi, me from the season 3 future again: this is also the blazer she wears at the beginning of Season 2 when she’s merely a figment of Fitz’s imagination. That means she must have worn it a lot, if that’s the automatic outfit he associates her with.
Sweaters are also very big for Jemma- usually they’re pulled over the top of a blouse. Even the ones without a blouse underneath are more often than not collared. This category also includes jackets, although she only appears to have two. A leather jacket makes a brief stint, but the one she wears most often (although still quite infrequently compared to everything else) just looks like a plaid, soft, regular zip-up. This only appears after Shield has fallen.
Also after that timeframe, she begins to wear regular, plain shirts. Nice shirts, but the important thing to note is that they’re not collared. There’s a little bit of detailing above the chest, but that’s it. This was a rare (and dark) time, so if you’re modeling her fashion I would steer away from this as an option. The collared, sweater-ed, blazer-ed tops are so Jemma-esque that wearing anything else wouldn’t be immediately reminiscent of her style.
Her pants have been skinny jeans every episode, alternating between a blue and black pair depending on the occasion. Blue is usually worn while on the Bus or in the lab, whereas the black pair is for fieldwork or special occasions (like giving a talk at the Academy!) Occasionally, she can be seen wearing a thin belt as well.
Shoes are a bit trickier to nail down since there are so few full-body shots of Jemma. There are two pairs that viewers are clearly able to see: a pair of maroon converse (also seen in her Season 1 promo pics) and a pair of black, lace-up combat boots. If she wears any other shoes, I wasn’t able to see them.
These two pairs are really cute and functional, again, for both lab and field settings. And luckily for those wishing to mimic her style, it’s relatively easy to obtain either pair without breaking the bank.
Her jewelry can be described in one word: delicate. She is guaranteed to have a watch on her left wrist. You can’t see it all the time because of her longer-sleeved sweaters and blazers, but it’s there.
The one featured most often has a semi-rectangular face. If you’re looking to nail down her look, I wouldn’t forget a wrist watch!
Jemma wears necklaces as well, but they’re only seen when wearing a lower-cut blouse. Each necklace has a really thin gold chain with a single charm in the center. Nothing too extravagant or showy, just simple and special.
She wears the U-shaped necklace in a lot of episodes, so perhaps it’s something from Fitz, her parents, or her time at the Academy? I’m taking the fact that you can see the chain of her necklace in the bottom left, inset image as proof that she wears necklaces with nearly all of her outfits, even the ones that cover her neck completely. She also has a pair of silver stud earrings that she has worn in every single episode. Nothing that could get caught in any dangers the field or lab possess, of course.
That wraps up the first of hopefully many Style Breakdowns! I feel like the overall purpose of the post was still achieved despite being an outdated mess. I hope this analysis does our beloved scientist justice and helps describe Jemma’s style well enough so anyone can copy her look! Time to go rewatch all of Season 3 and see how our girl’s style has evolved.
Feel free to tell me in the comments if you liked the breakdown! Any and all opinions are welcome. It was pretty fun to sit down and define a favorite character’s fashion, and I sincerely hope this post was helpful!
An Odd Thought 