Hanna Marin is one of the main characters of the show Pretty Little Liars. She is a kind-hearted, compassionate, and strong-willed girl. She often spends time with her friends, shopping, and keeping up with the latest fashion trends. Despite her idealized perfect image, Hanna has often experimented with her looks and wasn’t always the way she comes off as. She initially is friends with the other main character, but after Alison’s disappearance she separates from the girls and becomes best friends with another unpopular girl by the name of Mona. Together, they undergo transformations and Hanna takes Alison’s place as the it girl through her newfound popularity.
This analysis will break down the style development and makeovers that Hanna goes through in relation to her identity and mental state. We will also be looking at the ‘It-Girl’ Trope and how the aesthetics of this trope function within the social psychology of appearance. In relation to her social standing, I’ll break down her placement in regards to the Four-Temperament Ensemble and how this translates to express her witty, lovable personality within her feminine, fashion-conscious, and glamorous look as she embraces or rejects aspects of her former self.
Hanna’s image is a highly curated one, style-wise she is what is to be considered a fashionista-
Meaning a person who expends a lot of energy into setting trends or eagerly follows the latest high fashion trends through their clothing and accessories. Hanna’s looks are a bit dated now, but the overall essence and presence of her looks work well on her.
Her style is highly eclectic meaning she pulls from different elements of styles, derives ideas from a diverse range of aesthetics, and curates it into her own. She has a typical flirty and feminine look, but adds a trendy edge which expresses more personality.
In terms of the four temperament ensemble: Hanna has a sanguine temperament. Meaning her personality is appealing, talkative, emotional enthusiastic, and very sincere. While the Sanguine excels in communication-oriented things, they do not relate well to tasks. They are the least disciplined and organized of all the temperaments. While they are outgoing, enthusiastic, warm, compassionate, and seem to relate well to other people’s feelings, they can be rude and uncaring.
This outgoing and proud demeanor is executed depicted through her approach to dressing, Hanna will always dress up no matter where she is or what she is doing. Her wardrobe is her creative outlet and she doesn’t care about standing out but rather embraces the attention because she is almost always put together, polished, and poised.
Earlier on though, Hanna struggled with insecurities and often hid behind her clothes.
Her first outfit is a simple T-shirt and a hoodie combination, which is actually quite odd to think of her in.
Her insecurities were heightened by her best friend Alison leading her to lack confidence, not having a voice, and possessing very low self-worth. She struggled with her body image and engaged in unhealthy behaviors to the point where she developed bulimia. She was always seen in oversized or baggy clothes, using her clothing as a tool for comfort and security which continues to be a very common action.
Hanna chooses a new identity and falls victim to the Makeover trope, which is a primary source of Character Development in the media that most usually ends in a change in a look that is linked to the character’s identity, views, and conduct. Other people’s perceptions of the character will change as a result of the transformation. Hanna’s keen interest in fashion makes it natural for her to experiment with her aesthetic. She follows trends and takes on new looks frequently, although her most severe style changes and makeovers are usually linked to her mental health.
Hanna’s first makeover does not result in a mental shift because she is still unsure of herself and uncomfortable with her new appearance. Mentally, she is in the same place, but she has chosen to adopt a new identity, which has evolved her perspectives and behaviors as she has become more accustomed to it. She then adopts the “it girl” cliché, which is defined as an attractive young woman of high status who possesses the “it” characteristic in both her personality and her appearance. People are drawn to her because she exudes a certain kind of charisma or “je ne sais quoi.”
Her environment is very encouraging of this, as her best friend participates in the same types of behaviors and her mother is supportive of her. Even stating she would buy her everything she needed to be popular. While her mother is referring to clothing as a purely tangible and surface-level object, for Hanna clothing is much deeper in this. While she does have an interest in fashion, clothing also acts as protection for Hanna. It’s much like the quote legendary fashion photographer, Bill Cunningham stated, “Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.”
According to the Journal Of Experimental Social Psychology, the term is described as ‘The systematic influence that clothes have on the wearer’s psychological processes and involves the co-occurrence of two independent factors—the symbolic meaning of the clothes and the physical experience of wearing them.’
So this “it” girl image that Hanna constantly strives for is psychologically associated with the social structure she is fully immersed in and it reinforces that this image is a physical and symbolic meaning of confidence that she saw and learned from Allison.
Hanna develops a new attitude and self-confidence because of her physical transformation, but this external demeanor is more of a facade that only showcases one aspect of her personality that she decides is acceptable to share. This is evident as she is still distressed about keeping up with her new image and maintaining the same image as her wealthier friends.
She began to develop a rebellious nature and be very impulsive, channeling all her energy into her image. Hanna begins to act out in ways so that she can develop a sense of control in her life. For example, she gets in the habit of shoplifting, not only to keep up with appearances but also for amusement and a sense of control.
Since Hanna is so image-oriented, she will often turn to clothing to cope when in distress which establishes a new sense of control and gives a different channel of control through energy, financial, and image-driven expenditures. Retail therapy is often joked about but is actually a very real phenomenon. According to financial psychologists, there is a psychological connection between your emotions and how you spend money, which explains how retail therapy can have such a positive, uplifting effect on our state of mind. However, retail shopping often happens when one is vulnerable, and that is when impulse control often goes unchecked.
Hanna also begins to bully others that she used to be similar to, hence becoming who she dreaded because she lashes out as a defense mechanism to combat her inner turmoil and regain her own sense of superiority.
The consistent rejection cast upon her by her friends, family, schoolmates, and boys gives her a need to consistently create a state of perfection that is untouchable so that she can never be hurt again, but obviously, this is a very flawed and unhealthy approach to healing so it does not work.
But once she reconnects with her old friends, she begins to rekindle her kind and funny personality as she becomes more in touch with herself rather than constantly curating an image that she cannot keep up naturally.
In Season 3, before the start of senior year, she cuts her hair to bob-length. She also wears fewer accessories and begins to wear flats. This isn’t her rejecting her glamorous look, but rather relaxing and letting go of her “it” girl status.
This here is a mental shift, Hanna continues to sport the “it” girl look, but begins to develop her own sense of self since she is finally embraced by those who love her for who she is, rather than what she has to offer. She slowly lets down her guard and regains other aspects of her personality that she hid away in order to achieve the social standing she coveted so badly.
After her priorities change and develop when she focuses on her popularity less, Hanna proves that she is incredibly intelligent and capable of more than people gave her credit for due to her girlish looks. She still loves fashion and dresses up, but this is just one part of her life now that she enjoys rather than self-confinement and unhealthy coping. She begins to look truly confident in her style, rather than a picture-perfect girl she is more expressive and lovable. She becomes a person people can go to and depend on. Her image is now very welcoming due to her soft pieces and warm heart.
This style transition is quite subtle and very natural, but Hanna does undergo more forced transformations since this is how she learned to cope on her own. In Season 5, Hanna cuts her hair short and adds black highlights. She begins wearing edgier clothing such as ankle boots, ripped jeans, dark off-the-shoulder tops, and darker makeup. She explores and experiments with this look, which isn’t necessarily true to her which is apparent since she isn’t even aware of what she wants, she just wants to be different and reject the it girl look that was connected to Allison.
Hanna has an inability to properly communicate her feelings or humor the same way as her peers due to her past and influences that aided in the development of her worldviews. So though Hanna is much kinder now, she often copes with pain visually by image shifts to instantly give her a sense of control by physically creating a new state of being or mentally by making jokes or snide remarks and having a nonchalant attitude.
The biggest turning point is when Hanna’s relationship with Caleb Rivers forces her to open up and let someone in for the first time since her father’s abandonment and Alison’s manipulation. So an aspect of this look is true, the nature of rebellion aligns with Hanna, but she ultimately drifts back to her soft feminine look which seems to align with her more as she has a heart of gold, but is complex and dimension. The eclectic style encompasses this as it allows her to express different sides of herself, while still having the glamorous look that she feels most confident with.
As an adult, Hanna has the same type of style, but in a more mature simplistic way. Her clothes no longer attract as much attention, she wears less saturation and has more subdued tones in her wardrobe. She still utilizes patterns but makes these the main focal point of her outfit since her accessories are toned down as well, but still very style aware in nature. Rather than many statement pieces, she is turning more to staples and creating elegant balance rather than bold balance.
Her last outfit is a nod to many of her styles as she is wearing leather leggings and a bold patterned, flowing top with her hair in loose curls and simplistic jewelry. It’s very open and carefree, but still trend conscious of Hanna’s true nature.
In her last look, she has really come into herself and has a healthy relationship with clothing and still has a deep love for fashion as she is a stylist. Channeling all the knowledge she has acquired through her multiple style shifts into helping others with their image.
Through growing and powering through her insecurities Hanna has overcome so much and grown into a person that her loved ones can depend on since even though she is the picture-perfect girl, her quote-unquote imperfections allow her Hanna has shown a heartfelt and selfless side to be there for others, use her sharp wit to actually help people rather than tear them down, and create beauty in a world full of distressed for her loved ones.
Enclothed Cognition- http://www.utstat.utoronto.ca/reid/sta2201s/2012/labcoatarticle.pdf Linking Aesthetics and Social Psychology of Appearance- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0887302X0101900303?journalCode=ctra& Fashion as Armor of Everyday- https://www.missmalini.com/2019/03/09/heres-why-fashion-is-an-instant-power-armour-for-all-of-us/ Five Temperaments- https://fivetemperaments.weebly.com/sanguine.html Hanna Marin Bio- https://prettylittleliars.fandom.com/wiki/Hanna_Marin Hanna Marin Style- https://www.collegefashion.net/inspiration/how-to-dress-like-the-pretty-little-liars-hanna/ Retail Therapy Psychology- https://bigthink.com/personal-growth/retail-therapy-psychology?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3
