Guest post written by Please Be My Star author Victoria Grace Elliott
Victoria Grace Elliott is the creator of two graphic novels, Yummy: A History of Dessertsand Tasty: A History of Yummy Experiments, and balderdash!, a webcomic. She previously worked at Powerhouse Animation Studios. Victoria lives in Austin, Texas, with her partner and enjoys attending concerts and making collages of her favorite idols and actors in her free time. Visit her online at vgeportfolio.com.
In your coming-of-age teen story, how do you make a seemingly everyday character stand out? Simple: an iconic look. To me, fashion is the way you make your main character look like a main character. Or your mean girl look like a mean girl. Maybe I’m just a fan of over-the-top aesthetics, but can you blame me? I’m a comic artist! Character design is key! Here’s a look at some of my favorites.
CLUELESS — Cher & Dionne
To me this is probably the most worldwide iconic look of them all. The plaid blazer, vest, and pleated skirt with the knee-high socks is SO cute, and Cher and Dionne match with slightly different color-ways! It’s such a strong aesthetic it gets used time and time again in popteen music videos.
CRUEL INTENTIONS — Kathryn
Specially, I’m talking about the deeply 90s yuppie funeral look Sarah Michelle Gellar wears to a midday picnic, complete with pitch-black sunglasses, where she gives an unwitting bimbo played by Selma Blair her first kiss. What else can I say? Of course she was dressed for a funeral. People died that day.
HEATHERS — Veronica & The Heathers
Winona Ryder truly looks good in ANYTHING, but as a huge fan of 80s blazers, I have to call out her terrifyingly preppy, incredible broad-shouldered look as Veronica Sawyer in Heathers. Also, I have to mention the color coding here, with each Heather having a signature color. Just so fun, so poppy.
KAMIKAZE GIRLS — Momoko & Ichigo
Deep, DEEP in their respective Gothic Lolita and and sukeban aesthetics, Momoko and Ichigo are an odd couple pairing of fashion and that’s exactly their charm. Every lavish frill and ruffle and bow of Momoko’s pink flouncy dresses contrast perfectly with Ichigo’s sleek, long-skirt delinquent schoolgirl silhouette or draping tracksuits.
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL —Sharpay
I’m listing here a LOT of 90s and 80s movies, so if you want the cream of the crop of post-Y2K 00’s chaos fashion, it’s literally anything Sharpay wears in High School Musical. The glitz, the 3+ layers of different tones of pink, the rhinestones, the platinum blonde bump. It even goes outside the movie: Ashley Tisdale AS HERSELF was wearing some of the most incredible looks from this era.
MEAN GIRLS — Regina George
While I’m on the topic of 00s mean girls, I can’t leave out the one and only Regina George. I really, truly, love a cute mean girl more than anything, and Rachel McAdams is the cutest AND the meanest. Easily my favorite Mean Girl on this list. A fashion icon that everyone wanted to emulate, even when her cami had holes cut out on the boobs.
HAIRSPRAY — Tracy Turnblad
The beauty of nostalgia is what fashions it can elevate and transform decades later. Ricki Lake is adorably decked out in the best of 1960s kitsch here from her two-tone, high-as-heaven hair to her cutesy pink satin cockroach dress. And as a bonus, every Divine looks is, of course, divine, especially in their mother-daughter matching fake flower garden dresses.
ROMEO + JULIET — Romeo & Juliet
This one is such over-the-top perfection it almost feels like it can’t be set in the time period it was made in. I simply cannot list all the looks that are pitch-perfect in this movie. John Leguizamo’s red Jesus vest. Harold Perrineau’s open, flowing blouse and silver ankh. Who didn’t want to be 90s heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio, languishing in exile in his floral shirt??? But, of course, the most iconic of all is their costume party looks: Romeo as a knight and Juliet, his perfect angel.
RUSHMORE — Max Fischer
Though Max is required to wear a uniform at Rushmore, Jason Schwartzman makes the Rushmore uniform HIS aesthetic. The red beret. The horn-rimmed glasses. The blazer. No one else at Rushmore even wears a blazer!! I’m also a huge fan of the velvet green suit and pastel pink tie he wears for the premiere of his hit play. A theater kid to his core.
PRETTY IN PINK — Andie & Duckie
Sorry to Breakfast Club fans, but Pretty in Pink is the John Hughes Brat Pack movie for me. It’s already an absolute all-timer with Annie Potts’ punk looks and James Spader’s inexplicable yacht semi-formal suits. But I ADORE every Molly Ringwald look in this movie, even the final prom dress! Her mixing and matching of lace and floral, sometimes livened up with punchy black pieces, is SO perfectly lovely.
And I simply must mention Duckie, one of my favorite characters of all time. His round sunglasses, his bolo ties, his fedora, his creepers. But, most of all, dearest to my heart: that grid-print yellow cuffed blazer.
In fact, I loved this blazer so much, it was the original design of the blazer I give to my own main character, Erika Early! I changed it over to a rich green with a lighter green grid print to give her her own distinct identity, but you can see the Before and After here.
To be completely honest with you, this list was originally going to be “Blazers in Teen Movies,” but that felt a bit…specific. I can’t help it. It’s what I love. If you’re also a fan of blazers, cute mean girls, theater kids, or graphic novels that feel like teen movies, you can pick up a copy of my book PLEASE BE MY STAR, written and drawn by yours truly, coming out October 1st from Scholastic/Graphix.
Cheers!
