Gracie Abrams’ ‘Daughter From Hell’ Style Is All Pants, Stripes & Brooches

The wait for Gracie Abrams fans is over: Daughter from Hell is out today, July 17. Her third studio album, as she’s divulged in interviews leading up to the release, is about her fraught relationship with being a teenager and the title track serves as an apology to her mom. While she battles with demons past and present, she’s taken the opportunity to hone in on a new sense of personal style that is slightly British boy, slightly California girl, and full of color and quirky brooches. Call it carefully considered adornment, expert styling, or call it hellacious daughter style.

The album art sees Abrams crouched down in a purple and red outfit from Talia Byre, adorned with a frond-like floral brooch, something that crops up again with Chanel’s classic camellia brooches worn on a crystal-covered Dries Van Noten jacket, or quirky beaded pins worn on a striped rugby shirt in her “Hit The Wall” music video. It lends a preppy air to the proceedings; both the striped collegiate sweaters she wears and the accessories feel like vintage treasures, which align with the folksy guitar-forward production across the album.

But the boyish wardrobe choices have deeper ties than just aesthetically matching her sound. In her Spotify conversation with Olivia Rodrigo, she says “I don't know that I will ever perform in a dress ever again,” saying it doesn’t align with who she feels like in this moment. If The Secret of Us was all about flowing gowns, Daughter from Hell is a pants-and-top record. She’s stepped out in some excellent trousers, most notably in London when she paired a rare Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2003 top with capacious striped trousers and Chanel shoes. It’s an outfit formula she’s relied on in both videos and for the street; see her wearing a vintage “Vote” T-shirt with Chanel shoes, bag, and sunglasses in New York.

Her performing pants have mirrored her desire to feel free on stage; for both her underplay at Bowery Ballroom and an appearance on The Tonight Show, she wore a tight Chloé bodysuit and track pants. Her hair was pushed back with a headband, and the outfits are both boyish and unfussy. Her mix of designers also speaks to the indie-meets-headlining vibe the music has; she’s worn a lot of British designer Stefan Cooke, New York-based label 6397, all mixed with her beloved Chanel, with a sprinkling of new Celine and Loewe. Her and stylist Spencer Singer have worked together closely for years, and they’ve honed in on an androgynous-leaning style that works for Abrams. His best work is in her music videos; for “Look at My Life,” they layered neon garter belts from Fleur du Mal with lacy skirts; they paired a red bodysuit with dancerly tights and shoes, and parachute pants for her big scene inside a hot air balloon. It’s situational dressing that isn’t trying to do too much.

She’s also not totally against dresses: She showed up for her interview with Jimmy Fallon in a tight Alaïa dress, and walked out in a kelly-green Chanel skirt from the Cruise 2027 collection. She immediately made me think of the woman Gabrielle Chanel herself in the latter look; her short hair and, most importantly, her laissez-faire attitude make her move through the world with fashion as a tool and weapon. If she is the daughter from hell, at least we know they have great style in hell.