Before cottagecore had a name, Practical Magic had already filled a Victorian house with dried herbs, a generational curse to break, and one of the most enviable wardrobes in witchy cinema.
The 1998 cult classic dressed Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as sisters, Sally and Gillian Owens, but their fashion could hardly be more different. Sally likes romantic layers and laidback aesthetics, while Gillian brings the alluring dresses, deeper colours, and considerably more trouble.
Nearly three decades later, the Owens sisters' attire still looks suspiciously wearable. Boots, crop cardigans, bias-cut dresses, and distressed denim could walk straight out of the film and onto a 2026 moodboard.
So, before Practical Magic casts another sartorial spell, we're opening the Owens wardrobe and revisiting some of its most enchanting looks.
Run, Sally, Run
Not many kisses have made gardening boots look this romantic.
For Sally's famous run-and-kiss moment, Bullock races towards Michael (Mark Feuerstein) in a fitted pale blue cropped T-shirt, dark denim cut-off shorts, and rugged Wellington boots. The tiny floral motif across the chest gives the otherwise simple top a distinct '90s sweetness, while the frayed shorts and boots keep everything gloriously unfussy.
Moreover, those boots deserve their flowers for being the practical choice for a romantic sprint into the arms of your soulmate. Sally is not attempting an emotional sprint across uneven ground in stilettos. She has a man to kiss and ankle function to preserve.
The outfit is uncomplicated and timeless. Twenty-eight years later, throw on the exact combination at a summer festival, and nobody would even think you're a time traveller.
From the looks of things, true love sometimes requires running shoes. Practical Magic, however, requires Wellington boots.
@warnerbros It’s the way you love me, Practical Magic 2. 💛
♬ original sound - Warner Bros.
Green With Envy
If Sally Owens dressed for the life she was trying to build, Gillian Owens dressed like she might ruin yours beautifully.
Nicole Kidman's green velvet Monah Li dress, also known as the X-dress, has become one of Practical Magic's defining fashion moments. Costume designer Judianna Makovsky reportedly found the piece at Fred Segal before altering it into the iconic velvet ensemble seen on screen. The styling proved that sometimes costume design is simply knowing exactly where to put the scissors.
The '90s Monah Li design hugs the body in mossy green velvet, with a low scoop neckline and delicate trim giving Gillian the romantic, slightly rebellious allure that runs through her entire wardrobe.
And then there is Kidman's cascading red hair against that green. Colour theory essentially wrote the scene itself.
With Practical Magic 2 coming soon, the dress has people hunting for its origins, recreating it, and adding it to witchy autumn moodboards. Some costumes become nostalgic. This one became magic.
Perhaps the most endearing chapter in the X-Dress story is that Monah Li herself did not realise just how beloved it had become. In a 2024 Instagram post, the designer revealed that she had not even watched Practical Magic until a pretty woman in her twenties asked her to recreate Gillian's green dress. Li explained that the X-Dress, named after the velvet ribbon detail across its front, had actually been one of her most successful designs in the '90s, regularly appearing on celebrities and in magazines.
Decades later, a whole new generation is apparently under its spell.
