Why Is Everyone in a Tizzy About Katie Holmes?

A photo of Katie Holmes going to work (considering her commute involves arriving at the Barrymore Theatre to rehearse for the Broadway production of Our Town, while mine involves making eye contact with a rat dragging a piece of moldy pizza across the third rail) is making the rounds. In the picture, Holmes wears a long fleece coat, sunglasses, and what seems to be really throwing fashion commentators into a tizzy: a pair of emerald-green silk pants with cozy turquoise socks.

This isn’t the first time Holmes’s knitwear sensibilities have set the internet on fire. In 2019, the actress was photographed while shopping around Soho in a $520 cashmere bralette and matching $1,540 cardigan from Khaite. To my eye, this looks like a beautiful woman fresh off a breakup looking rich and chic. After seeing this, I would have moved on with my life, perhaps taken out the trash, done the dishes, maybe even opened the book I’d been avoiding reading. Such was not the case with the general public, at least those with means. Holmes’s bralette sold out within an hour, and the look launched a litany of think pieces. Or what about when Holmes inexplicably wore jeans and tennis shoes on the red carpet?

Over five years later, we find ourselves at a similar intersection — mystified by a gorgeous actress’s totally normal, very expensive outfit that’s just off-kilter enough to keep everyone chanting “MORE, MORE, MORE.” To which I say, Has no one ever seen a woman wearing jewel tones before? Has no one ever seen a woman running late for work, forced to put on whatever has piled up on her chair and ruminate for the rest of the day about whether her socks clash with her pants or are the perfect match? Has no one ever seen a woman dressed just like this admiring the natural bulk bar at Whole Foods?

Listen, Holmes is a chic woman, but as a society, we must be honest with ourselves. We must aspire to salivate over more than a cashmere bralette or a pair of simple silk pants! Get a grip!