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Christa Miller, who plays consummate mother and opinionated neighbor Liz on “Shrinking,” has one piece of advice for parental dressing: Step away from the athleisure.

“You’re not going to feel confident in workout wear,” says Miller. She and the show’s costume designer, Allyson B. Fanger, are very intentional with Liz’s outfits, a master class in effortless yet accessible casual chic: Bold colors, layered tops, cheeky accessories and a liberal use of stripes. “The character totally could have been [in] Lululemon, but I didn’t want to fall into that trap.” Instead, Miller says they chose to spotlight Californian brands like Clare V, Jennifer Meyer, and fittingly, Mother, styled “a little off” for looks that have become so popular that Fanger created a LookLikeLiz hashtag on Instagram for fans.

Miller is just one of the stars pulling focus for their characters’ distinctive style on shows that are contenders in the Emmys race this year: Keke Palmer (“The ‘Burbs”), Sarah Snook (“All Her Fault”), Lucy Punch (“The Audacity”), Elle Fanning (“Margo’s Got Money Troubles”) and others all have fans buzzing about their fashion. And costume designers and style experts agree that the inspiration goes both ways.

“There was this expectation that once you became a mom, the attractive parts of you got set aside because you were just a mom,” says Shana Draugelis, founder and CEO of lifestyle and shopping website the Mom Edit, which recently ran a detailed feature on Liz’s wardrobe. “With the advent of Instagram, the whole style game has just completely leveled up.”

Liz’s looks, which Miller says are inspired by “Brentwood mom” style, reflect the character’s personality. “She’s not going to work, but she does want to have a certain element of presence,” says Fanger, who is a five-time Emmy nominee for her work on “Grace and Frankie.” “But there’s also a casual component to Los Angeles dressing. Mixing levels [of designers] lends itself to uniqueness, a strong point of view and a general coolness. You never look like you’re trying too hard.”

As Samira, a city native who moves to “The ’Burbs” with her husband and baby son, Keke Palmer stands out from the cul-de-sac crowd.

(Elizabeth Morris / Peacock)

Another character with a strong fashion POV is “The ‘Burbs” Samira (Palmer), a city girl and new mom who moves with her husband Rob (Jack Whitehall) and their baby son from the city to the idyllic (and fictional) Hinkley Hills. Clad in bright, slouchy-cool separates and statement accessories, Samira quickly makes a splash among her more blandly dressed neighbors.

“She’s the only Black woman in the neighborhood,” says the show’s costume designer, Trayce Gigi Field, who pulls quite a bit of, yes, Mother, but also likes to sprinkle in some lesser-known designers like Good ’Ol Whats-her-face jeans. She also paired Samira’s Howard University sweatshirt with biker shorts a la Princess Diana. “Showing her jewelry and her vibe and just having cooler clothes … it’s a great contrast to the other characters, except for Rob, [who] had the Black wife glow-up.”

Less brightly colored but no less interesting are Marissa (Snook) and Jenny (Dakota Fanning), who bond after the disappearance of Marissa’s son in an affluent Chicago neighborhood in “All Her Fault.” Their wardrobes are more subtle, yet show that there are different strata in the quiet luxury landscape. Publishing exec Jenny is well off, but nowhere near as wealthy as Marissa, who owns an accounting firm. (Perhaps not coatless “Succession” rich, but still.)

Sarah Snook, left, and Dakota Fanning connect as working moms in “All Her Fault,” albeit with subtle class distinctions between them.

(Sarah Enticknap / Peacock)

Costume designer Gypsy Taylor pulled “silks and beautiful fine wools and cashmeres” in warm toffee, chocolate and peachy tones by designers like Max Mara and Armani for Marissa, while Jenny “was a little bit more street: leather coats instead of cashmere. Or a beautiful J. Crew turtleneck as opposed to a Saks Fifth Avenue” one.

But perhaps the most amusing depiction was how Taylor contrasted the stay-at-home moms (and dads) with Marissa and Jenny, with most of the sartorial showdowns taking place during school pickups and dropoffs. “We just went hard yummy mummy on her,” says Taylor of PTA President Sarah Larsen (Melanie Vallejo). She used “too much Lululemon,” as well as Alo and PE Nation to round out the athleisure.

In “The Audacity,” Silicon Valley parents Duncan (Billy Magnussen) and Lili (Punch) portray a different kind of luxury, a casual minimalism that belies the residents’ mind-boggling net worth. “The focus is not so much showing off the wealth, but at least, you know, it’s still there,” says the show’s costume designer Farnaz Khaki-Sadigh. “So you see people like wearing a T-shirt, but it’s not your average T-shirt — more about the quality of the fabric than the designer name on it.”

As the wife of a tech magnate in “The Audacity,” Lucy Punch’s costumes tap into the ultra-minimalist luxury of Silicon Valley.

(Ed Araquel / AMC)

Finally, on the other side of the economic spectrum, there’s Margo (Elle Fanning) and her mother Shyanne (Michelle Pfeiffer) in “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.” When college student Margo unexpectedly becomes pregnant, Shyanne and Margo’s estranged father Jinx (Nick Offerman) step in; the series follows their struggle to support each other after baby Bodhi arrives.

Costume designer Mirren Gordon-Crozier says via email that her conversations with Fanning “centered around making Margo feel emotionally truthful rather than overly styled.” This meant vintage Levi’s, worn tees, thrift-store knits, “pieces that feel inherited or accumulated over time.” As for her mother, “Shyanne is much more performative. She understands the power of presentation and uses fashion almost as armor.”

But it’s not just the distinctive clothes that are uniting the people on these shows — it’s the fact that parenthood is just one aspect of these characters’ very full, very busy lives. “What does feel good to me is the fact that so many of these moms are being portrayed in Hollywood for something other than being a mom,” says Draguelis. “It just feels like being a mom is a continuation of who you are.”

Ministers in France are meeting to assess the country’s preparedness for heatwaves, while tennis number one Jannik Sinner bowed out of the French Open after suffering from the heat. Meanwhile, Italian authorities issued a red heatwave alert for the capital, Rome, where it topped out at 32C on Thursday.

Temperatures will continue to soar across the bank holiday weekend following the hottest day of the year so far on Saturday.

Temperatures reached 30.5C at Frittenden in Kent, beating the previous day’s maximum temperature of 28.4C in London.

The Met Office said it was very rare for the UK to record temperatures above 30C in May, with the last time being on 25 May 2012.

The heat is forecast to intensify throughout the long weekend, reaching heatwave criteria in a number of locations.

Daytime highs are forecast to reach the upper 20s Celsius in many areas, with the low 30s Celsius likely in the week ahead.

Amber heat health alerts remain in effect for the Midlands, eastern and south-east England.

Amber alerts mean there is a risk of a significant impact across health and social care services, with children and those aged over 65 at risk of negative health implications.

The remainder of England is under yellow heat health alerts, meaning adverse weather is “likely to affect vulnerable groups”.

GEMMA Collins’ had a damper put on her bank holiday fun as she received a parking ticket in Essex this weekend.

The former Towie star looked horrified as she returned to her flashy Range Rover after lunch to see that it had been slapped with a hefty fine.

Dressed in a vibrant two-piece for the hottest day of the year so far, Gemma was snapped outside of Italian pizzeria Bel-Sit in Woodford.

However, it seems as though the parking ticket didn’t get her too down as Gemma was seen beaming upon ripping it off of her windscreen.

She appeared to be enjoying the British sunshine, too, as temperatures reached 28 degrees Celsius on what was the hottest day of 2026 so far.

The reality star’s outing comes just days after she was involved in a campaign that was branded “tone deaf” by the public.

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Gemma appeared in videos in collaboration with the Department for Education.

The clips, released earlier this week, show Gemma marching into an office to discuss learning with the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.

In one instalment, she prattles on about King Richard III and states “not many youngsters would know who he is today”.

The “GC”, who left school at 16 with a single GCSE — a G in maths — goes on: “Whatever you’re learning, make sure you concentrate because you’re going to be taking it into your future career.”

The videos have been ridiculed by mums and dads, with one joking: “I hadn’t thought of just saying ‘concentrate’. All will now be well.”

A second wrote: “What’s next? Joey Essex visits the Ministry of Defence?”

“It’s tone-deaf,” said a third.

Another said: “Many of us have had to fight every step of the way for our children to stay in school, for EHCPs, for specialist placements, and simply for our children’s needs to be recognised and understood.

“The SEND system is exhausting, adversarial, and often leaves families feeling unheard and unsupported.

“So to see the Department for Education use a celebrity with no lived experience of navigating this system feels disconnected from the reality SEN families face every day.”