Olivia And Paula's Style On "The White Lotus" Was Hinting At The True Dynamic Of Their Friendship The Whole Dang Time
Matchy-matchy galore.
There isn’t enough time in a day to unspool the very strange and toxic dynamic that best friends Olivia and Paula display on HBO Max’s The White Lotus.
Throughout the series, we watch the college sophomores "mean girl" their way around an island whose culture is deeply rooted in colonialism while disdainfully interacting with the people around them.
They’re certainly not a best friend pair that anyone in their right mind would describe as healthy, and yet they manage to steal just about every scene with their punchy styles and location-relevant wardrobe picks. Case in point:
1. Their Sun’s Out, Unis Out Lewk of Episode 1.
Right off the bat, Paula and Olivia do well in getting the audience to buy that they have a close friendship. After all, throughout the first episode of the season, the two friends manage to go matchy-matchy galore. While they aren’t exactly twinning, the one-piece suits they decide to wear for their first poolside hang suggest that they’ve carefully coordinated their outfits to present a united front.
While points go to Olivia in this scene for committing to a look enough to wear Air Force 1s and thick socks to the pool despite the summer heat, Paula 100% gets it right by going barefoot.
2. The aloha print dresses featured in Episode 1.
For their first dinner in Hawaii, Paula takes on the night in a pink Hawaiian print minidress, while Olivia dresses up in a maxi printed with similar vibes that also read a bit dark on edge. Gotta love the commitment they put in here by attempting to dress on the same wavelength despite being in different mindsets: Paula being in crush with the local Kai, and Olivia in perpetual insecurity over her friend’s loyalty and affections.
3. Paula’s life-giving flora watercolor sports bra in Episode 2.
In a rare moment, Olivia goes pretty lax with an oversized shirt while Paula chills in their hotel bedroom in an enviable floral sports bra. We know these two have some pretty loaded backstory, but one can’t help but wonder if Paula’s ability to outshine Olivia in this moment with a simple sports bra and a great hair day is what prompts the drama that’s soon to come.
4. Olivia’s blue lace mini and Paula’s black jumper and red bra contrast in Episode 2.
If you’re curious as to whether or not there was a specific outfit pairing that could have predicted the moment the two BFFs begin to part from being on the same page in the series, pay attention here! Sure, while one could argue that the two friends are mildly coordinating (both wear outfits that are summery and cut off above the knee), the contrast in color and mood for both outfits suggests the friends have come across those fateful two roads that diverged in a wood. Paula is in dark denim, and Olivia wears frills and a light blue dress. (Funny enough, Olivia wears Free People’s Mixed Emotions Dress in this scene, which only really says something.)
5. Paula’s laid-back statement tees meet Olivia’s Guatemalan two-piece in Episode 3.
It’s unclear what the reason is behind Paula’s two outfit changes in this episode, but it’s interesting that Olivia finds herself committed to a flattering and fitted two-piece. Paula wears a vintage Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Junk tee and later swaps it out for an upside-down smiley face shirt by Scooter LaForge (that screams volumes about her increasing sense of displeasure in the scene). Meanwhile, Olivia does us proud in her vintage woven Guatemalan two-piece, which features a hoodie and shorts.
6. Vintage inspiration revives a potentially expiring friendship in Episode 4.
While Olivia suits up in a cute one-shoulder that reminds us of our moms in their heydays, Paula straps on a stylish Speedo à la the '90s. It’s interesting that this coordinating/not-so-coordinating look hints at how the two BFFs might have just found themselves on the same page again in the shape of two common enemies: Armond, the hotel manager that stole their drug loot, and Olivia’s mom, who rubs them the wrong way while lecturing them about how bad straight white men have it these days.)
7. Crops for a relationship cutoff in Episode 5.
Toward the close of the miniseries, fallout from both Olivia and Paula’s differences cause a rift that seems beyond repairable. Oddly, while their motives and mindsets clash, Paula and Olivia manage to coordinate outfits in terms of cut. While Olivia opts to coordinate her sports bra with her cutoff sweat shorts, Paula wears a jaguar-print bikini top beneath a cropped blue tan and also goes for shorts.
8. Shades for shade in Episode 6.
In the final episode of the miniseries, it’s clear that Olivia and Paula have a friendship that’s so far beyond what we’d assumed it was in the first few episodes. It’s revealed that Paula deeply resents Olivia for her problematic views, actions, and family, while simultaneously Olivia has figured out that Paula contributed to the pilot to steal from family. The two best friends are no longer coordinating with their clothes at this point, but they do don sunglasses, and Olivia wears a cute embroidered bucket hat from Urban Outfitters to block all of that shady shade the two have to give.