Meg Ryan in French Kiss (1995). Via Pinterest

There are a few things Meg Ryan did better than anyone else in the mid-nineties. Stare in romantic awe at Tom Hanks, cry on couches in woollen socks and, perhaps most lastingly, perfect nineties Connecticut couture. Her on-screen wardrobe of pleated skirts, twin-set knits and oversized pea coats became as synonymous with the actress and her roles as her special brand of everlasting ingenuity.

So, being in the midst of a revival revolution as we are, it’s not surprising that Meg-style is among the chosen. Romantically conservative and daintily bougie new-age fans are drawing on the shapes and cuts but rewriting the meaning. In particular, those semi-pleated, definitely wide “man-style” trousers. Ryan honed these waist-cinched, loose-cut chinos look to perfection. In French Kiss she rode the Frenchy-fashion vernacular with a creamy canvas option cuffed and tucked over Breton stripes. She played it grey and loose in You’ve Got Mail and did starchy navy with a leather belt in When Harry Met Sally. She repped it on her own time and dime as well, snapped over the years in iterations of her signature floaty pant-and-shirt combination.

Meg Ryan during Meg Ryan Sighted at LAX – February 9, 1994 at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

So now it returns and Bella Hadid is a fan. Actually, the 24-year-old model is so enamoured with pre-millennia style she could probably be credited with personally starting its high-street homage. She’s been wearing slouchy, over-fabricated trousers in addition to other era-Bingo items like teeny cardigans (buttoned by one button, to be precisely 1995), polo shirts under form-fitting sweaters and argyle print knits paired with rain-jacket outerwears.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 29: Bella Hadid is seen in SoHo on October 29, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Gotham/GC Images)

There’s much to love in this look. Comfy, cool and probably still in your mum’s wardrobe. One re-watch of French Kiss, or anything from Ryan’s IMDB list (except that one with Russell Crowe), and no doubt you’ll be planning your preppy romantic makeover. Long live Meg’s pegs.

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