The Carrie Diaries! It’s Sex and the City meets the 1980s! Teen Carrie is going to don terribly awesome (or awesomely terrible?) ’80s fashions and show us just how she grew into a woman who was so clingy and bad at life.
But back to the fashion! In fitting early-’80s style, the show (to premiere this fall on the CW) will be full of slouch socks, high-top sneakers, side ponytails, shoulder pads, snap-crotch bodysuits, acid-wash jeans, and t-shirts that say “FRANKIE SAYS RELAX.” Right? Right?
Maybe not. Judging by the paparazzi snaps that have captured actress AnnaSophia Robb shooting the pilot around New York City, seventeen-year-old Carrie Bradshaw lives in a 1982 that bears a very striking resemblance to 2012.
Seriously—Colorblocking? Colored denim? Knee-high boots? Sequins? Neon leopard print? Did the costume designer (who also styles Gossip Girl) hit his head and forget what decade what he was in? With neon, bold florals, envelope clutches and platform sandals, teen Carrie & Co. feel just as of this particular time as grown-up Carrie in her giant flower brooch did in 2000.
Since the target audience of The Carrie Diaries is teenage girls, I got to thinking…Do teenage girls not like ’80s fashion? If not, who’s hanging onto the past—us or them?
No, seriously though. They obviously like the 1980s, since we’re in the midst of a giant ’80s revival, as demonstrated by the scores of crop tops currently crowding the racks of Forever 21 and the curious popularity of Isabel Marant wedge high-top sneakers. They like the ’80s just fine. Maybe the problem is that since they’re so far removed from the actual 1980s—having not existed during any part of them—they can’t actually recognize them. The costumers are sanitizing the decade, making it more palatable and relatable, because real ’80s fashion in all its frumpy glory would look so odd and outdated that it would be jarring for the youngs. Might as well put her in a poodle skirt or a bustle, in terms of young-person-relatability. Carrie’s supposed to be a fashion plate after all, so it might be hard to convince a teenager, No, back then, shoulder pads were considered high fashion!
Those of us who not only were alive during the ’80s (myself for all but two months and twenty-four days of them) but also have real, concrete memories of how teenagers dressed, recognize this interpretation of the ’80s as completely and utterly fraudulent. If there are no mismatched slouch socks and sweatshirts tumbling off of shoulders, I’m not buying it.
Love the curly hair, though.
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