Indie-cool outfits inspired by Violet Harmon outfits from American Horror Story.

Honestly, American Horror Story is some pretty good television if you’re into spooky vibes.

Season one starts off with a family living in a house haunted by ghosts and paranormal beings that over time the family comes to learn that the ghosts play a lot of dirty tricks on them and manipulate them during their time there.

This show premiered and came into popularity in 2011, just before the mega launch of the hipster and indie era, and the vibes of the show as a whole as well as certain characters in the main roles really fit into this aesthetic and were likely a part of the new style movement.

Creepy and dark aesthetics really are the basis of indie and hipster, even though the vibe itself isn’t too dark. Dark academia and earthy aesthetics bloom here.

Two outfits with oversized sweaters

Violet Harmon, a main character in this season, is especially on this trend train.

Let’s dive into her style and how we can channel some Violet Harmon outfit style inspiration into our closets!

Who Is Violet Harmon?

A photo of Violet Harmon from American Horror Story

In the first season of American Horror Story, Violet the daughter of the couple who buy the Murder House. Each season changes plot, so this is the only season that Violet makes an appearance in, except for a single episode in season eight, “Return to Murder House.”

She is a high school student that lives in the Murder House with her family, meeting the paranormal entities that live in the house with her family, and beginning to unravel the mysteries happening behind the closed doors of her own home.

I won’t give away too much about the plot, but she really was the style icon of her time! She was our indie queen on Tumblr and Twitter, and everyone wanted her style.

Now with the indie style returning, though it looks a little different in 2022, Violet Harmon is still the ultimate indie vibe with her Doc Martens and Mod mini dresses.

What Is Violet’s Style Called In American Horror Story?

Again, we called her style indie at the time!

Indie fashion really is the style that’s a little different, a little quirky, but ultimately just isn’t following trends.

We use the term indie in the music and film industries too to indicate that an artist is on their own, and working without an agency. This is its own category of music.

Indie in the sense of fashion means the same. Independent from current trends, creating their own style.

So obviously the “indie” concept changes all the time, as trends change all the time. But when I look at pictures of Violet, I totally get all the indie vibes from her.

There are some subtle hints of dark academia and twee, with the cardigans and tights, but ultimately I would call her style indie.

Where Are Her Clothes From?

A lot of her pieces come from Free People! The stylists for the show used a lot of neutral and dark toned hippie style pieces and layered them with more grunge accessories and it created the perfect look for Violet Harmon.
Some of her other dresses and tops were sourced from Gap, Urban Outfitters, ModCloth, and Splendid. She generally wears white, low top Converse for her shoes.

These are all pretty accessible brands, and a lot of us may have even had some of the same or similar clothes that she had without knowing it at the time!

Many of the exact finds are for sale all over the internet on Poshmark, eBay, et cetera. Eleven years after the show premiered, people are still searching for “Violet Harmon Free People Dress Exact” because we’ve all wanted to steal her style at one point or another!

I know I did! I wanted to be her so badly. She was the it girl of indie fashion.

Indie grunge outfits

Violet Harmon Inspired Outfits

It’s pretty clear in this post so far that Violet Harmon was the it girl. We all wanted to dress like her. We didn’t necessarily want to be her as her character goes through a lot in her one season, but ultimately, we wanted her closet.

Check out these inspired outfits to see how others have put together outfits that remind us of our favorite indie queen on our favorite creepy horror show.

1. Fit Board
2. Cropped Sweater
3. Floral Midis
4. Plaid Babydoll
5. Layers
6. Striped Sweater
7. Chunky Sweater

These outfits were the dream in 2011, and you could probably find some #ootd from back in the day with some outfits just like this!

If you were into this style then, you know exactly what I’m talking about! So let’s bring it back. It’s an iconic style and so comfy cozy.

Exact Matches To Violet Harmon Outfits

It doesn’t take a ton of searching online to find listings on resale sites like Poshmark and eBay to find exact matches to the pieces that the AHS stylists put her in. They’re everywhere, and the resellers know exactly what’s up with current trends to know how to market the pieces to get them sold.

I collected some of the most iconic pieces for you here, being sold around the internet so you don’t have to.
Style it with inspiration from the rest of this post and you’ve got yourself a Violet Harmon outfit!

Shopping exact matches from a show can be so fun– sure it’s a typical 2011 Free People dress, but how much more fun is it to wear when you know it’s an exact match to one of your favorite characters?! Especially from a show that aired eleven whole years ago. What a score!

8. Trapeze Slip

This is the most iconic piece from her wardrobe! This dress was everywhere then.

9. Gap Floral
10. Floral Maxi
11. Banana Republic
12. Striped Sweater
13. Plaid
14. Free People Tank

Gothic grunge outfits

Inspired Outfit Ideas

These outfits are inspired by Violet herself.

The academic cardigan style is always my favorite for fall, so I’m excited to personally incorporate these into my own style.

The 2022 version of it might have the platform converse instead of the regular low tops, and it might use some regular black tights instead of the patterned tights or leggings that were popular layering pieces in 2012. Then again, if we’re bringing that era back, bring it alllll the way back.

15. Skirt And Sweater
16. Gothic Lace Dress
17. Stockings And Plaid
18. Maxi And Plaid Layers
19. Y2K Indie Top
20. Sweater And Skirt
21. Oversized Knit

Getting into the indie comeback, I think we’re going to see a resurgence of a lot of these TV shows and movie characters that executed our dream styles perfectly.

In 2011 like when American Horror Story premiered, we didn’t really have social media, let alone social media influencers to show us what styles were trending. We had characters in movies and TV shows that had their own personal styles and when we found one that we loved, that’s whose style we would mimic. Not a fashion blogger.

It was a different time, and I’m excited to start digging into character styles for influence again!

The Violet Harmon style is perfect for fall– Docs, Converse, and cardigans layered over tights and hippie dresses, it doesn’t get better than that for an indie fall vibe.

If you’re looking for more earthy inspiration, green and brown outfits are perfect for you!

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