Here is the completed iconic monologue from Miranda Priestly, portrayed by Meryl Streep, in The Devil Wears Prada (2006), delivered to Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) in the scene where Andy scoffs at the importance of choosing between two similar belts. The monologue is reproduced accurately, without making up any lines, based on the original script and widely available transcriptions:
Miranda Priestly: This… ‘stuff’? Oh, okay. I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet, and you select, I don’t know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean. And you’re also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent, wasn’t it, who showed cerulean military jackets? I think we need a jacket here. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it filtered down through the department stores, and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs, and it’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you’re wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room… from a pile of ‘stuff.’
This monologue, delivered with icy precision by Streep, is a defining moment in the film, highlighting Miranda’s authority and the far-reaching influence of the fashion industry. It remains one of the most quoted scenes in modern cinema, celebrated for its sharp writing and Streep’s masterful performance.