Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Posted by
Colleen Shirazi,
Sunday, May 15, 2005
11:26 PM (Eastern)
I can admit I'm a Buffy neophyte. I did watch the show when it first came on...at the time, it was a series based on what was roundly considered a bad movie.
The virtue of Buffy are not those first few episodes...it's what happened as the show continued on. The characters developed, changed...grew, even. It was not the same show, particularly toward the end.
Since I'm new to the phenomenon, I suppose I've been blind to whatever fashion influence the show has had all of these years.
There is a Buffy style. It's quintessentially Californian; you never see Buffy sweating in shorts and a tank top, nor laden with a heavy winter coat and earmuffs.
For the record, I've never been disappointed that the women on Buffy (and Angel, for that matter) always appeared in new outfits, on what was supposed to be a limited budget. I would have been bitterly disappointed had that not been the case. I did find it odd they didn't swap clothes though. Even two women of the same size constantly trade clothes, and Buffy featured Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Tara, Anya...it should have been a veritable clothing market.
The first few years, Buffy herself did not have a style as such...perhaps that was fitting though. How does a vampire slayer really dress? During this period, Buffy sported a series of cross-shaped pendants, the occasional really odd blouse; sometimes too much frou-frou, sometimes an impractical-looking skirt.
Somewhere toward season 5, I'd say, the Buffy style finally emerged. It occurred to me at one point. Buffy dresses the way an engineer would, if an engineer knew how to dress.
Season 5 Buffy onward, featured a sublimely stripped-down, minimalist style. Buffy wore pants. Not just any pants. These were the perfectly fitted pants, suitable for moves that would make Jet Li look like, well, a little girl.
Buffy's shoes got heavier...more practical, certainly, but not any less sexy.
The seemingly endless series of Buffy blouses improved...more and more feminine, sheer and beautiful, while actually showing less skin. (Again with the practicality; balancing demon-kicking with the desire to look nice.)
I've never seen another television character who managed to evolve such a style. Perhaps the closest would be Chris Noth's Mike Logan on the old Law and Order...with the series of plaid ties, the American flag pin (long before 9/11), and long brown leather coat (the same one, always, looking slightly more battered each season)...but that doesn't really count. Melding style with functionality is much easier for men; the work is already half done.
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