Style Thief: How To Catch Hearts by Dressing Like League of Their Own’s Carson

Hello and welcome back to another inning of A League of Their Own Style Thiefs! I’ve already told you how to dress like femme jock goddess Greta and the dreamiest pitcher on the planet, Max Chapman, who is a champion of what I call the “casual-hot” look. Next up to bat is Carson Shaw, so has come oh so very far from this:

Carson Shaw in A League of Their Own wears a blue dress that's open with her white bra showing and wears white gloves with a sun hat and holds a suitcase while looking frazzled.

I said this in my Max Style Thief, too, but Max and Carson’s wardrobes throughout the first season are so fun because they really evolve. Their styles have an arc. Carson doesn’t shirk dresses entirely, but she does break out of the sort of demure housewife trappings of her previous wardrobe, instead turning to plaid shirtdresses and mixing in some pants as well. There’s a lot of plaid going on in her looks these days, and an abundance of plaid is also how I started coming out of the closet. You know what they say: Once you start putting plaid in the closet, you’re about to come out of the closet. (No one says this; I just made this up.)

Here we go!


Baseball Is Life

What is a catcher without her mitt, you know? But instead of carrying around a literal baseball mitt as an accessory, you can carry around a wallet made from repurposed vintage leather mitts. This whole look really does scream BASEBALL, so I only recommend rocking it if you are indeed a baseball fan and not a fake baseball fan like myself. Admittedly, even a fake baseball fan like myself is tempted to get those Keds…they’re cute!!!


Have a Catch

Photo 1: Carson Shaw in A League of Their Own wears a plaid short-sleeved shirt over gray pants and is about to toss a baseball to someone off-screen. Photo 2: A blue and brown plaid short-sleeved shirt. Photo 3: A pair of gray high-waisted pants. Photo 4: A green belt with the Nike logo on it. Photo 5: A pair of green retro Adidas sneakers.

1. Plaid Shirt ($50)
2. Gray High-Waisted Pants ($40)
3. Nike Belt ($15)
4. Retro Adidas ($110)

Are we brand-mixing with Nike AND Adidas in this look? Yes, yes we are. I don’t think Carson would really care about such things. Carson is a little chaotic, and I feel like this outfit captures some of that spirit while still at the end of the day being a cohesive look. Wear it to “have” “a” “catch” with someone cute, if you know what I mean (I don’t know what I mean).


SHIRTDRESS O’CLOCK

This really is the staple Carson Shaw look when she isn’t in something more casual like pants and a tee. What can I say, my girl loves a sensible shirtdress. The best thing about shirtdresses — especially ones that are patterned like hers — is that they’re super easy to style! Most of them have built-in belts/waist ties, and you can keep the jewelry minimalist. I found four different shirtdresses for you to choose from, so go wild!


Urge To Merge

Okay, my favorite thing about this dress is that if you dialed up the reddish brown color of it to more of a deep red then it would look…exactly like something GRETA would wear. Whomst amongst us has not gradually absorbed elements of our partner’s wardrobe? Tis a queer tradition. But at the end of the day, Carson does wear much more muted and cool-toned colors than Greta. I’ve picked four dresses that feel distinctly Carson-esque but also modern. Dresses that may be floral or patterned and yet still have a tomboy-femmeness about them. Carson straddles a lot of lines, and I like that about her. I feel like the Carson of the modern era would wear a lot of skater dresses.


Thanks for joining me on another Style Thief journey! Next up, we’ll tackle Jo!

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Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is the managing editor of Autostraddle and a lesbian writer of essays, short stories, and pop culture criticism living in Orlando. She is the assistant managing editor of TriQuarterly, and her short stories appear or are forthcoming in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Joyland, Catapult, The Offing, and more. Some of her pop culture writing can be found at The A.V. Club, Vulture, The Cut, and others. You can follow her on Twitter or Instagram and learn more about her work on her website.

Kayla has written 934 articles for us.

5 Comments

  1. If anyone in these here comments has leads for a plus-size “Baseball is life” Carson look, your assistance would be DEEPLY appreciated. Fondly, a plus-size Carson (whose soulmate is also Carson)

    • Wildfang has cute coveralls up to 2 or 3x, depending on color. Not sure how big their denim ones go, but it’s worth a shot! Note, however, that they sadly don’t fit my long torso… but they do free online fit consultation if you’re not sure about sizing

    • I’ve heard good things about Big Bud Press’s coveralls and they go up to 6XL! They’re definitely on the higher end but everyone I know who has the coveralls loves them and gets good cost-per-wear out of them.

  2. Agreed that the style evolution is so fun to watch! Cracked up at “have” “a” “catch,” that is truly one of the silliest bits of the show

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