Buffy

The very first post I ever put up was about style in Buffy. I had just gotten into blogs and was rewatching BtVS and didn't get why I couldn't find any decent discussion of how stylish the show was. Since then, I've interviewed the costume designer for the show (!) and talked here and there about how the styling influenced my own sense of style.

Thinking about these things today, about progress, about how funny life can be and what an amazing journey this little project of passion has been, I thought I'd go back to my origins a little bit. I'm gonna go back to putting the nerd in fashion every so often and show you how to style contemporary looks modelled on the inspiration provided by icons of pop culture. I'm going to talk about the things I once wished someone else would approach. And, maybe, I'll get to squee with you guys over shared loves of amazing shows and people.

As the show ran for seven seasons, we watched Buffy's sense of style evolve majorly. She went from being a carefree teen to a well-dressed outcast, to a young woman who knew what is was like to sacrifice the person she loved most, to a college student, to someone who lost a parent, to a primary care-giver, to someone back from the dead, to a person dealing with self-loathing, to leader of an army. She grew so much over the course of the show and this was always visually echoed in what she wore.

The three looks I've put together mostly reflect her style later on in the show (mostly season six and seven) but definitely reference her Valley-girl origins. Especially the first look, entitled Patrolling? This is an homage to all the totally situation and terrain inappropriate clothing that Buffy used to wear early on - super-short skirts and heeled boots while hunting demons through cemeteries and sewers, in particular. As someone who once went on a hike in heeled boots (I know), she's kinda a girl after my own heart here. The palette and aesthetic, however, are very much of her style as an older woman. To begin with, she was very much "more is more, is more" with styling the epitome of the nineties; clashing prints, crazy accessories and plenty of flesh-baring. Later, her style became more restrained with less bright pops of colour and more subdued tones. Everything here is very neutral and simple but with some sexy twists. And totally inappropriate for patrolling but who cares? Besides, if you accessorise with a mythological weapon, you'll be fine.

Look number two is along the lines of what Buffy wore out partying with her friends in later seasons when she wasn't sneaking around with Spike or dealing with serious mental health problems. Leather is present as it was in the first look and this is a fabric choice pervasive in Buffy's wardrobe throughout the show. If you wanna dress like her, invest in leather! The top has a low enough v-neck but is oversized and in a more neutral tone and does that thing that older Buffy was so good at, balancing sex appeal with taker elements so that nothing was over-done or overly obvious. Ankle boots finish the look as the Buffster was all about a good boot.

The final look is a little like a blend of season four and seven. In both season Buffy spent plenty of time on campus, for college and then as a school counsellor at Sunnydale High. It's a little lighter, breezier, referencing her brief stint as a relatively easy-going (for her) college student and then her need to be more appoachable. As always, there are interesting details to the outfit, the multitude of colours in the jeans, the attachment to the neckline of the top, but the whole is restrained overall. Buffy was always stylish and current but never had to try too hard and very much wore the clothes rather than the other way around. Besides, she would have pretty much looked great in a burlap sack, right?

Let me know what you think of these looks! Any other BtVS fanatics out there?

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