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10 Reasons We Love the Original ‘Devil Wears Prada’
The 2006 comedy is filled with moments big and small that have stood the test of time, thanks in no small part to Meryl Streep’s turn as Miranda Priestly.
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Meryl Streep in full Miranda mode in “The Devil Wears Prada.”
Credit...
Barry Wetcher/20th Century Fox
By
Maya Phillips
April 30, 2026,
5:04 a.m. ET
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Twenty years ago Andy Sachs, an eager journalist fresh out of Northwestern University, stepped into the office of the most fashionable devil in movie history, the Runway magazine editor Miranda Priestly. Since its premiere in 2006, “The Devil Wears Prada” has been, unironically, one of my personal favorites. I’m not the only one; the comedy has become as iconic as the many luxury brands featured in it. On the occasion of “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” due Friday, here are the most memorable moments of the original film that make it such a fan favorite. Gird your loins.
Those Withering Glances
Image
You can feel the judgment even if Miranda doesn’t voice it.
Credit...
Barry Wetcher/20th Century Fox
Of course Meryl Streep is a masterly actress. And yet her every particular combination of peaked eyebrows, steely stare and grimace here is its own minute masterpiece. Take the slow top-to-bottom survey Miranda gives an unfashionable Andy (Anne Hathaway) on her first day as an assistant, or the look of amazement and icy glare when Andy mistakenly creeps up the stairs of her fancy townhouse. The most chilling moment, however, might be when the designer James Holt shows Miranda a dress with an oversized bow so repellent that her whole visage deflates and her mouth puckers as though she has caught a whiff of some musty bargain basement shop. Even when she chooses to withhold judgment, it’s nevertheless still apparent.
That Rare Smile
Conversely, Miranda’s few looks of amusement prove there’s some humanity beneath that arctic exterior. You can see it when Andy talks her way into the assistant position and Miranda peers curiously over the rim of her glasses. But it’s not until Andy has quit Runway and they spot each other across a street that Miranda’s hidden affections for Andy become apparent, a full smile creeping across her face before it’s upended by a scowl and a sharp “
Go!
” to her driver.
That Sweater
Video
20th Century Fox
If there is one scene that encapsulates the film, it is the cerulean-sweater conversation. When Andy scoffs at a room of Runway employees choosing between two very similar belts, Miranda soundly decimates her with a monologue about the ubiquitousness and utility of fashion. Streep plays the scene with such a savory mix of dryness, drollness and casual superiority that the moment becomes about so much more, including how seriously Miranda takes her position and how knowledgeable she truly is (even if, yes, the “history” itself is a fabrication by the filmmakers). It’s a moment that also shows Andy isn’t perfect either. She took the job already dismissive of it, not even bothering to look up the name of the editor in chief. So, yeah, Miranda’s a jerk, but Andy should’ve just kept quiet and taken notes.
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