Katie Holmes Pioneers Pilgrim Chic in a Leather Skirt, Layered Vest, and Denim Slingback Heels

Katie Holmes in a layered top with a leather skirt — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Katie Holmes is a lot like Marie Claire editor-in-chief Nikki Ogunnaike in that she's never really cared for capsule wardrobes. A theater kid at heart, this is a woman who takes immense pleasure in letting whim and whimsy guide the way she gets dressed. Her personal style is rooted more in a feeling than a clearly defined aesthetic—an exuberance that can sometimes lead to puzzling results. But every so often, she lands on something truly inspired.

On Wednesday, Nov. 20, the Dawson's Creek star blazed a new trail with a pilgrim-chic ensemble that felt perfectly timed to next week's Thanksgiving holiday. Dressed from head to toe in under-$400 separates from New York-based brand Cinq à Sept, the Broadway star devised an unlikely combination of textures in a black leather midi skirt and light-wash denim slingback pumps plucked from the line's first-ever footwear collection.

With a pointed toe and a saddle brown leather ankle strap, the freshly launched shoe—which dropped today in tandem with the brand's Resort 2025 season—is undoubtedly destined to join our running list of the best slingback heels. The same style also comes in two other colors: dark wash denim and sandy beige canvas. But if the mere notion of walking in anything taller than a kitten heel sends a shooting pain down your calves, Holmes has already found a slingback flat alternative from Franco Sarto that you're sure to love.

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A photo of Katie Holmes wearing a vegan leather skirt and denim slingback pumps from Cinq &agrave; Sept. — Katie Holmes steps out in a vegan leather skirt and denim slingback pumps from Cinq à Sept.

Cinq à Sept Veena Skirt

Cinq à Sept Sylvie Denim Slingback Pump

Fabulous shoes aside, the piece I truly can't get over is her layered pullover featuring a crisp poplin Peter Pan collar shirt sewn beneath a cropped black knit vest. With a pre-styled piece like this, anyone can be the CEO of fall layering.

Cinq à Sept Mara Shaker Pullover

So call it Plymouth Colony-core if you must. Without pioneering minds like Katie Homes, the state of street style would very dull indeed.

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Hanna Lustig is a staff writer at Marie Claire, where she gets to gab every day about the topics she holds most dear: fashion, beauty, and celebrity. Hanna’s editorial journey began with formative internships at Elle and InStyle, where she was lucky enough to work for some of the smartest women in media while she was still in college at the University of Tennessee. Hanna then accepted a digital culture reporting fellowship at Insider, where she helped carve out a new beat dedicated to covering influencers. Those experiences later served her well as a staff writer at Glamour, where she developed a knack for spinning quick turnaround celebrity news and trend reporting into juicy feature stories. Some of her greatest hits include an earnest ode to the no-pants trend, this meticulously reported feature exploring the rise of endoscopic facelifts, this snappy take on the Chanel-designed fantasy of Sofia Richie’s wedding, this tribute to WAGs past and present, and this timeline of Katie Holmes’s life and career as told through her denim collection.

Diane Keaton once hung up on Hanna during an interview, but thankfully that mishap did not derail what has otherwise been a deeply fulfilling career writing for and about women. As one of Marie Claire's resident experts on style and culture, her current coverage ranges from exploring TikTok's contrast makeup theory and the return of the boat shoe trend to interviews with costume designers for hit shows like Nobody Wants This and The Penguin. When she’s not at work, Hanna can probably be found listening to pop music, talking to her dog, and gossiping with her best friends. For more of Hanna’s perfect opinions on pop culture, you can follow her on Instagram and X.