I stan so hard for Clueless. I never fully really realized it until now, during its 20th anniversary. Obviously there are a lot of movies that are near and dear to my heart, but Clueless had a very special impact on me. It came out in theaters when I was 15. I remember going to Edwards Cinema in Camarillo to watch it and falling SO deep in love. I distinctly recall the moment where No Doubt’s “Just a Girl” plays during a scene and whispering to my friend, “We have to find out what band that is!” Now, this was the nineties and we weren’t able to watch trailers or clips at our whim or just Google image a screencap of a movie. There was no way to deconstruct shit like outfits and scenes and all of that. How the hell did we find out about anything? I read a lot of Spin, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Seventeen, Jane and the long-gone Premiere magazine. I obsessively watched MTV and VH1 and Entertainment tonight. It was all about recording everything on tape with a timer and playing it over and over until we had it all memorized. To really get into a film, we’d have see repeated viewings in the theater or wait until it hit VHS a million months later.
For some reason, the outfit that stood out to me the most was Cher’s driving test outfit. She throws a fit because she can’t find her “white collarless shirt from Fred Segal!!” I was really into baby blue back then (very nineties) and decided to replicate the outfit as best as I could. This was my first foray into LA PASIÓN that is pretty much played out in the 150+ outfit replications for my film style series at Rookie. Anyway, I grew up in Oxnard. We didn’t have some boojie mall. Yes, there was a Contempo Casuals, Judy’s, Wet Seal, a RED ZONE but my shit was always the hole-in-the-wall stores: places called “Fashion Max” and “Fashion Gal” that were a few notches below Forever 21. I found a lot of treasures in those shops over the years. At one of them, I was actually able to find a sheer button down top (without the ruffles) which I wore with a baby blue sweater vest and over an a-line argyle mini skirt. Cher wears silver Mary Janes, but I went for patent leather white leprechaun shoes from Wet Seal. To this day, I can’t believe I don’t have a photo of it. The closest I have is this photo from my brother’s wedding, which had two parts of the outfit. Those leprechaun shoes were sick!!!
I took every chance I could get to write about it: Rookie, Hello Giggles and the crème de la crème, my interview with Mona May on Refinery29 where we styled the characters as how they would dress if Clueless was made today. Spoiler alert: Jeremy Scott’s Barbie collection for Moschino SS15 was SO TOTALLY AMBER. I first met Mona May about five years ago at Lenora Claire’s Bettie Page Heaven Bound show. I was wearing a hat with a spider on it that I had painted gold and she came up to me and asked if she could take a photo. I didn’t realize it was Mona May until later and freaked out. One of my heroes was asking to take a picture of MY HAT! ::flips hair:: She has designed the costumes for not only Clueless but also other faves like Romy and Michelle, The House Bunny and The Wedding Singer. It was a complete joy to talk with Mona May and to get the DEEP CUTS of the film’s wardrobe aspect. This is what she told me about my favorite ensemble:
“Cher wore a tuxedo shirt made out of chiffon, an argyle mini skirt, knee socks, silver Mary Janes and a silver crop top. The whole thing was about her having the perfect shirt for this test and she couldn’t find it. But it was a pivotal moment because it’s also when she finally realizes what’s going on—that she’s in love with Josh—so it was an important outfit for the movie. I think it needed to be a non-color. If it were bright, it would be wrong and if it was too dark it wouldn’t have been right either. It had to have the right kind of emotion. When we put it on her, it felt like the right thing for both me and Amy.”
A few weeks ago, I realized I wanted to celebrate the film’s anniversary by visiting the filming locations. I needed a partner-in-crime for this epic journey (from the Valley to Eagle Rock to Beverly Hills, LAWD!), so I enlisted the boo, Karlito, to accompany me. It was a true vision quest. Over two days, we hit up close to ten different locations. Of course, the photo above is of Circus Liquor, which is the location of the scene where Cher gets held up and is forced to lie down on her Alaïa. SO RUDE!
They filmed some of “Bronson Alcott High” at Grant High School in the Valley. I found out that Amy Heckerling named the school that as an homage to her then-boyf Bronson Pinchot aka BALKI BARTOKOMOUS!!!!
TAI ACTING A FOOL AT THE MALL. This was at Westfield Fashion Square.
The “As If!” scene in the quad at Occidental College in Eagle Rock. We pretended we were incoming freshmen taking a tour of the campus.
The LODIs generally hang in the grassy knoll over there. (Also at Occidental)
It’s like I’m in the picture with them!!!!!
Ahh the lovely Witch House of Beverly Hills, also known as the Spadena House.
And the infamous stop sign!! Something I noticed on this journey is that people actually don’t stop at the stop signs in Beverly Hills, just like Cher.
So much love to all these awesome guides on los internets that helped me figure out where to go!
Glamour, Curbed, the awesome website I Am Not a Stalker and the latest one—this amazing, fully-detailed guide that the woman who runs the I Am Not a Stalker site wrote for Discover LA.
Happy Clueless-versary!
OH YAS. That’s right my dudes. Finally, POISON IVY!!!!! I’ve talked about my love for big, beautiful, 90’s hair before, so it was only a mere matter of time for us to explore that particular adoration even more. Enter the 1992 masterpiece, Poison Ivy. First of all, look at that poster on the left. I’m sorry, but don’t you think I should take a picture like that and put it on a business card? Whose faces would be undulating in my luxurious hair though? John Stamos, Justin Bieber, and Kathy Bates? Emmanuel Lewis, Charlton Heston, and the maid from Will and Grace? Or maybe just me, me, me and a Doritos Locos Taco?! I will NEVER be able to decide.
When Poison Ivy came out, Drew Barrymore was only seventeen. She had released her autobiography, Little Girl Lost, a couple of years prior and was in full-fledged, rebellious teen mode. This was also a few years before she became the iconic, still-rebellious-yet-sassy Saint Drew, which, as I’ve said before, is how we lovingly refer to her here in the barracks of Agent Lover. SIDEBAR: ~~CONGRATULATIONS POP CHAMPAGNE~~ for Drew’s recent wedding and bun in the oven! I still remember an old interview from the late 90’s/early 00’s where she talked about her boyfriend’s (who was Luke Wilson at the time) brown shoes like they were “camels she’d trek across any desert to follow.” OH DREW U ROMANTICA. She’s always been just a nice girl looking for love. AREN’T WE ALL? SIDEBAR OTRA VEZ: Do you like how I can remember old Drew B. articles word from word but can’t remember the names of people I knew before 2006? MEAN BUT TRUE…
Anyway, we meet Ivy swinging from a rope, all wild hair, reckless, and wonderful. I mean, just peep that airbrushed jacket lookin’ straight from the county fair. INCREDIBLE. Someday I will have to get a painting commissioned of this exact screencap. Or maybe just an airbrushed jacket of her wearing this airbrushed jacket?!
Alas, for every crazy troublemaker, we need some some sort of balance to her character. A YIN TO HER YANG. Here comes Darlene from Roseanne starring in the best gif I have made this week.
~~ LIVIN’ LIFE SO WILD AND FREE~~~
Finally the two meet in the principal’s office. Darlene/Sara/Sylvie is giving Ivy the up close and personal lurkdown. She notices her SEXY THIGH TATTOO…
Ivy is like “It’s totally faux” and peels it off her milky thigh like a Fruit Roll-Up.
She then weasels her way into a carpool with Sylvie and her dad, played by Picket Fences’ Tom Skerritt.
DARLENE I C DAT PINK MANSION BEHIND YOU
Eventually, Ivy charms her way into the Cooper household as well as into Sylvie’s sick mom’s (played by OG Charlie’s Angel, Cheryl Ladd) designer closet.
Better make sure the door is closed before you apply your Abreva, girl. TOM SKURRT IS A-LURKIN’
I bet you guys weren’t aware of my cameo in the movie as an annoyed maid who is sick of these crazy rich people’s hijinks.
OBV I HAVE SEEN IT ALL IN THAT HOUSE. I wish they had given my character a spinoff sequel.
OKAY. ::slams down the phone:: WHOSE LEG IS THIS?!?! First of all that doesn’t look like the Fruit Roll-Up tattoo. IT LOOKS REAL UNDER ALL THAT FUR. And we don’t see Drew going natural in this movie…I feel like for some weird reason they thought it was a good idea to get a close-up of this fly, and ended up filming it an old biker bar. NO OFFENSE TO ANYONE IN THE WORLD!!! I am just saying I think this is Drew’s thigh’s stuntman, OK…
You know what I’m going to say here. “I wish this was me tanning.” (BTW I am so annoyed that Birchbox sent me fake tan jelly this month. How ’bout you send me a plane ticket to a tropical locale instead, thanks.)
Here comes Ol’ Boy drinking his O.J., just lurkin’ again like Gargamel.
He comes over to Ivy and ends up knocking her NEW BOOTZ off the balcony like the clumsy ass butterfingers he is. I swear….
“Those cost a hundred and fifty bucks.”
Annnnnnd here is the MOST nerd chills scene of the movie IMHO…
A flirtatious cash money tug-o-war betwixt Drew and Tom Skurrt. WHYYYYYYYY
I HATE IT! I just don’t believe in the attraction here. Even Robe Lowe as that creep Drew Peterson in Lifetime’s UNTOUCHABLE was sexier.
As you can expect, all kinds of shit goes down once Drew manages to seduce Ol’ Boy. Even though she is PSYCHOTICA, I feel like Drew gave a certain VULNERABILITY to the character of Ivy that I think is hard to do with these kinds of roles (I usually get super annoyed at these evil chicks.) Now let’s just drool a little over how hot she is in this movie.
We also can’t forget about Sylvie’s amazing hairdo.
And WHY were there so many gratuitous shots of her infected Yin yang tattoo? Alright, the symbolism is quite clear, but in between gagging from this and the Tom Skerritt sex scenes, I honestly felt my eyeballs barf one too many times.
FRIENDS 4 EVA
Whenever New Year’s Eve rolls around, I always imagine myself in a big furry coat, flashy stockings and fun shoes and it’s always because of Christina Ricci’s character in 200 Cigarettes.
“VAL, CALL YOUR MOTHA!”
Loved Courtney Love and Paul Rudd’s characters in this movie!
HOW FUUUUWINE IS HE WITH CHOPS!? UGH
I also try to wear a good hat on NYE as well. I was going to wear one of Grandma Marie’s hats today but I had no time to fix up my weave before coming to Pygmy Hippo (where I am blogging from today btw!) ! I’ll post a picture of my outfit tomorrow.
HAVE A SAFE, FUN AND FABULOUS NEW YEAR’S EVE BOOS! Can’t wait for a totally badass 2011!!
,
BADA$$ BROAD
The only reason I’d want a baby: So I could do it’s makeup like this.
Then we met Elvira!
My cleavage meeting her cleavage’s idol!?! Oh me oh my!
Shaun and I with Peaches Christ, who hosted the event, and Squeaky Blonde.
With my lovely ladies Michelle and Tiffany
Best pic EVER:
I’d like to discuss THIS aka SOMEBODY trying to steal my title of Best Bangs of 2009. Nicki H handed down the title of Best Bangs when she cut her hair but now Nikki P tryin’ to steal my crown!? WHY I OUGHTA. You better watch your back SON. I’m gonna cut off your glorious bangs in the middle of the night you mutha…Perhaps we should have The Society judge?? Hehe.
And now my very gawth lolita outfit.I was kind of bummed not many people were dressed up. I expected to see lots of Elvira clones running around. At least there was your favorite clown with cleavage, ME.
{Details}
- LouLou Loves You striped bow headband! <3
- H&M black wrap top
- white corset belt from local shop
- Papaya fake fur gorilla jacket
- Charlotte Russe skirt
- Cloven Hoof Eye of the Beholder ribbon brooch
- knee socks
- H&M heart purse
- Corso Como wedges
PS. I’m so sad because I lost my camera!!! UGH So sorry no more pictures until I can buy a new one. WAH. THAT SUCKS GUYS.
But on the bright side, here is one of my favorite scenes, the Flashdance parody:
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And for your ears’ pleasure:
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I was recently recommended the 1966 Czech film Sedmikrásky or Daisies, by a lovely lady and what a fantastic recommendation it was! Vera Chytilová’s famously banned film is about two sisters who one day decide that since the world is bad, they should become bad too. They engage in a number of conscience-free high jinks ranging from fake dinner dates with sugar daddies to setting their apartment on fire. There is plenty of food gluttony in this film. Those bitches are HONGRY! Visually stunning and fucking weird as fuck are two of my favorite ingredients for foreign cinema. On top of that I felt like I was on drugs! This was one of those films I couldn’t stop screencapping because every scene looked like celluloid dessert, so allow me to now force feed your eyes. Open wide!
Since we always gotta talk about FASHIONZ up in here, I just have to say that the girls looked cute in every scene. 1966 will of course bring some cute dresses. This movie makes me want to wear a daisy crown.
Naturally by the end of the film I was left trying to analyze everything: the girls being portrayed as robotic dolls in the beginning, their constant fixation with scissors and cutting things paperdoll-style throughout the film, the basic theme of female rebellion and then up until the very end when they are outfitted in pieces of paper [what does that symbolize?!] during their attempt to clean up the destruction of the dining hall, a scene which was voiced-over by some spooky OCD-type whispering, followed by their meeting with fate. However, the lack of plot and character exploration along with the faux-high feeling it produced just made me do an F U middle-finger-80’s style at the television and just sit back and enjoy the imagery. The end scene in the banquet hall also reminded me of something that would happen IN OUR COMIC BOOK WORLD by the way.
Anybody else loved this movie as much as I did? How are Vera Chytilová’s other films? Anything as good as Daisies to recommend to your dear friend Miss Marie?
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