#buffyfashions

[buffystylez-blog]

Teacher’s Pet

Australian air date: No idea. Christmas Eve 1997?

Directed by: Bruce Seth Green

Written by: David Greenwalt

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Anthony Stuart Head, Charisma Carpenter, and David Boreanaz

 Oh, hi. It’s episode four, in which Buffy gets a better jacket and an attractive new teacher is revealed to be a horrible paedophile/giant praying mantis.

This episode we get quite a few ensembles, but most of them are not on full display. And one is not technically Buffy’s style. But we’ll get to that. Now. Because it’s the first outfit.

  Outfit 1

We open with Xander daydreaming that he simultaneously saves the day, or night in this case, wins Buffy’s love and performs a killer riff. It’s sort of offensive, but ok, why not. Save Buffy in a terrible outfit.

 I couldn’t find a good screenshot that didn’t make Buffy look wholly at the mercy of a dude, which also sucks. The dress is… ok. There’s a lot of red satin. It might even be relatively conservative given it’s Xander’s fantasy. I never cared for it. It’s too different from what we’ve seen her in before. Get a clue, Xander. Much like Buffy is not your personal damsel, she doesn’t really dress like this. Well, she may do in the season finale. But that’s like, eight episodes away.

Outfit 2

In contrast to Fantasy Bronze Buffy, we have a light blue combo that is much more Buffy’s style. We’re back to the Pollyanna (I’m bringing it back! I’ve decided!), knee high boots and miniskirt.

This outfit doesn’t stand out to me due to the teacher being nice and obviously marked for death. It’s like she needs a jacket…

Outfit 3

Standard definition is a bitch. Standard definition on a television series shot at night is a real jerk. This is the first of two outfits this episode I can’t see properly. This stressed out my fifteen year old brain and strains my thirty-four year old eyes.

 Is she wearing a waistcoat? Sleeveless vest? Are there buttons? Who the fuck knows? This chiaroscuro aesthetic is really charring my face. There’s a skirt, possibly a lace one.

 But who cares when Willow’s hair is working this level of magic. She’s not a witch yet but she has cast a spell on me. That was bad. I’m tired.

 Xander is blah. I don’t even care.

BUT THIS IS IT. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. Buffy will get the greatest gift of all – Angel’s jacket.

She has to know she’s channelling Betty Rizzo right now.

 Again, a dude is essentially marking his territory through fashion. Her swag now includes a necklace, bracelet and jacket. But honestly, this jacket is such a vast improvement on her previous brown nightmare scape I don’t mind that much. Also, Angel’s biceps are… look, it took me back to swoon town.

Outfit 4

The jacket is dazzling in the warm California sun. So is Willow’s hair. Is she matching her hair to her shirt? Should I do that?

Buffy’s dress is thumbs up. Giles is heart eyes smiley face.

 Xander is sad face.

You may be asking, should Xander lose the shirt? Xander should not lose the shirt. To paraphrase Tim Bisley, he should burn it because if he loses it he might find it again.

 Teen shows from Dawson’s Creek to Pretty Little Liars and the new series Riverdale (side note: Archie does NOT look like that in the comics) feature a trope that I find utterly appalling: the hot, young teacher who has a relationship with a student. Sorry, Pacey’s teacher (can’t remember the name), sorry Ezra Fitz, and sorry Ms Grundy – you’re all gross and inappropriate and should be arrested. 

In Buffy, however, I do believe the message is that if a teacher invites you to their house, run away. similar to the mine subsidence commercials of my childhood in which Maury the Mole taught us about mine subsidence safety, if you see a totes inappropes teacher, don’t think they’re hot, run in the opposite direction and report your detection. Though the message is somewhat diluted by the fact that Buffy’s love interest is a centuries old vampire who was about twenty-six when he died.

 Back to the real issues – the clothes!

 Natalie French, casual teacher/monster/child predator, is not dressed like a teacher. Office manager maybe? She’s also wearing yellow eyeshadow. It may be yellow but it should be red. As in a red flag. I’m still tired. I couldn’t be bothered screen capping her outfits. Lots of black and white. Yellow eyeshadow.

 Outfit 5

Dark. So dark. I see a rushed ponytail – the fringe has been scooped up in the madness and is trying to escape. Pants? Boots? Some sort of jacket?

 While Buffy is tangling with a vampire who has what looks like a huge fork for a hand all I can think is, ‘wait – is that brown corduroy?’

 Ms French has a good coat. But also she’s disgusting.

  Outfit 6

Confirmed spiky headband sighting. It’s… look, I could never use them properly. I kept missing spikes all of the time.

When would scientists discover that nude t-shirt bras are best for white t-shirts? And when would we discover colourful bras look sick as hell under white t-shirts? Sex and the City I believe was 1998. So it’s a coming. It’s a coming.

I like the cropped shirt. I… don’t like the pants. And again – I would have gone with an Adidas Superstar. Cos y’all know.

And much like Backstreet, Angel’s jacket is back. Look, she wears it a lot. And why wouldn’t she? It’s amazing. And gifted to her by an amazing looking dude who is an inappropriate match and very unhelpful in the fight against evil.

What’s Cordelia been up to, apart from discovering the headless corpses of Biology teachers? Wearing hideous clothes!

What is this hellscape? I do like the shoes. But this dress can return from whence it came.

This is the outfit Buffy saves the day in. She rescues Xander from the praying mantis who’s a preying on vulnerable teens (again, I’m tired) and there’s some hijinks with bat sonar recordings and Giles’ personal memos. Hooray!

Outfit 7

JACKET. HAIR. LOVE.

Outfit 8

This one’s a real keeper. I enjoy the white, pink, olive combo. Would I wear the olive pants? Oh yeah, nah? But the white shirt looks great with the pink cardigan. I’m here for it. I was definitely there for it.

The eggs still lingering in the classroom remind me of these Jurassic Park toys that looked like the eggs from the movie and when you opened them they had a little dinosaur figurine inside. I used them for a Jurassic Park diorama I made in primary school. God, I love Jurassic Park. I might watch it now. No. I need to go to bed.

In summary, child predators are gross whether they’re actually shapeshifting insects or not, Xander is not that stylish, Buffy is mostly stylish, and Willow is stylish as hell.

 Et voila, friends! We made it through Teacher’s Pet! In the next episode Buffy dates a guy! And wears at least one cute dress! Also the Master is back! And we’re introduced to the series’ first super annoying child actor! Exclamation Marks!

Until next time, Slayerettes.

[oncemorewithpodcast-blog]

The excellent fashion of This Year's Girl, as modelled by Willow and Xander. So.Many.Thoughts!! #buffy #buffyfashion #tanktop #polyester #stripes #wool #jumper #hat #90sfashion #00sfashion #buffythevampireslayer #btvs #willow #xander #willowrosenberg #xanderharris #thisyearsgirl #thisepisodesfashion #buffyslays20 #fashionslayer #fashion

[buffystylez-blog]

The Harvest

Original Australian air date: probably the same day as Welcome to the Hellmouth or a week later. I don’t know.

Written by: Joss Whedon

Directed by: John T. Kretchmer

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Anthony Head, Charisma Carpenter, Kristine Sutherland, Julie Benz, and David Boreanaz

 Oh, hello. It’s What Buffy Wore season 1, episode 2, in which Buffy prevents her first apocalypse while simultaneously being grounded by her mum.

I genuinely cannot remember if this episode screened straight after Welcome to the Hellmouth. It did in the US, but I have no idea if Australia followed suit. I googled it for about five minutes and decided it probably doesn’t matter. Plus, I’m kind of in pain with gastritis, which incidentally is probably the sexiest stomach issue you can have.

 The good news with this episode is that there are three outfits. The bad news is that they’re not great.  There are highlights (Buffy’s hair) but some real lowlights (not Buffy’s hair – more like, pants and jackets).

 To the recap!

 We left Buffy at the end of Welcome to the Hellmouth in a coffin at the mercy of Luke, a huge ass vampire dude. I don’t have to say spoiler alert, right?

 In a joyous turn of events (or subtle continuity error), it turns out Buffy has put on the cross necklace her stalker (ahem, love interest) gave her and it burns the vampire, distracting him enough to allow Buffy to escape and rescue two-thirds of her new friends. Soz, Jesse. But before you can say vampires exist, Buffy discovers the Master is planning on sending Luke as his representative or whatever to the Bronze, where the teens go, to drain enough blood to make him strong enough to leave his mystical underground prison/lair.

 After trimming some dead weight from the Scooby gang (soz Jesse), Buffy and friends stop the Harvest by very slowly fighting some vampires and killing Luke with a great fake-out.

 But who cares about that! What was Buffy wearing?

 Here we see the cycle of school outfit and Bronze outfit repeated. But then, bonus! One more school outfit.

  Outfit 1

The hair has definitely improved. The fringe is less wispy because she’s parted her hair in the middle. It’s still 90s as hell, but it suits SMG better. She’s wearing silvery hoops I can’t get a good view of, but they’re pretty.

 She’s wearing the cross necklace, which, again, I’ve always liked and may have looked for a copy once or twice. But as someone raised Roman Catholic who is basically agnostic and suspicious of organised religion, the cross is still a weighty object, emotion wise. It’s why I couldn’t quite bring myself to wear Rosary Beads as a necklace when Kate Moss did that time. Even though it looked cool.

  I always thought Buffy was wearing a navy button-up shirt here. But now I can see it’s black. And not button-up. Is there a zipper at the neckline? Probably not. I think the amount of attention I paid these last 20 years of watching and re-watching suggests I didn’t really care for it. There’s a vague memory of liking it, but perhaps it was more about the accessories.

We’re also back to ankle length pants that are somewhere in between straight and wide leg. They’re a silvery blue, which I think is why I thought the shirt was navy - some sort of same colour palette deal. The boots are around ankle length as well. They have buckles? We see them infrequently but she will wear them to the Bronze. Which will lead me to wonder why she changed her entire outfit except her shoes. Then I remember I do that all the time and shut the hell up about it.

 Was matching your eye make-up to a colour you’re wearing a thing? Because this is the second time Buffy is matching her eyeshadow to her clothes, pants in this case. It looks ok, I guess?

 The real stars of this outfit, however, are the sunnies. I mean, come on. Look at those babies. I would wear the heck out of these now. So. Fucking. Great.

Buffy wanders off school property to battle some vampires and rescue Jesse/find out he’s been turned into a vampire with Xander in tow and some cryptic warning from Angel, who could actually help her but chooses not to because… reasons. But now it’s time to stop Luke, Darla and friends from feasting on more of Buffy’s classmates. Outfit change!

Outfit 2

Again, Buffy chooses practicality for slayage. Does it look any good? Well… sort of? This time we have grey/charcoal pants that are slim fit, but not skinny leg (see previous post on why). She’s wearing the same boots as outfit 1, which – why change everything else but the boots? I’m sure I’ve done the same (see how I mentioned earlier that I’d say that? Is that foreshadowing? Is this a callback?).

 I keep forgetting that she wears a long-sleeved white t-shirt with weirdly placed pockets and a strange neckline. I think it’s designed to show Buffy means business and to show off the cross necklace again. It’s… ok.

  The hair is again the highlight, which has been put in a very practical high ponytail. To hide stakes, possible bloodstains and to battle both the undead and the cold weather she wears a brown leather jacket. That sounds cool, yeah? Probably makes Buffy even cooler, right?

Uh, no.

It’s baggy. It’s old and ugly. It may have been passed down by the previous slayer, or her dad, or a homeless person. I probably loved it. Jackets in the 90s weren’t really about tailoring or correct sleeve length. 

I do love an ugly jacket. You’re talking to a person who has a brown bomber jacket with navy trim and at least four different animal prints. This should be in my wheelhouse. Actually, I should search for this on eBay right now.

This look does feature prominently in the opening credits and a lot of images of Buffy on the worldwide web. She looks cool as hell. Without the jacket. And I might have worn jeans instead. But again, they’d be late 90s jeans and probably not much of an improvement. Speaking of improvement, let’s see how the next outfit isn’t one!

Outfit 3

Like, what is this? We clearly liked the 60s in the late 90s. Upcoming episodes will definitely confirm this. But did we do it well? Uh… not this time.

So we have here a cherry shift dress that looks quite cute on its own. And the boots from Welcome to the Hellmouth are back. And they are welcome. Shift dresses and knee high boots are very cute. Ask Twiggy. But then… Buffy has thrown over the top of this a purple, possibly suede shirt. And it’s… it’s… not great. She tops this look off with a magenta headscarf. 

Nothing individually is too offensive, but also nothing quite works together. You know how Coco Chanel (probably) said to always take one thing off before you leave the house? Buffy, gurl, why not roll with that and lose two-three before leaving the house. Or just start again.

So what were others wearing this episode? Giles was his English librarian best. And we all know how I feel about Giles now. Cordelia didn’t feature too heavily but her outfit at the Bronze was giving off sexy cat burglar vibes, which is good.

 There’s a scene in a computer lab in which Cordelia and Harmony discuss how awful Buffy is and Willow gets sweet, sweet vengeance. But I don’t really care about the ensemble here. It’s the guy who propels the conversation between Cordy and Harmony. I want all of us to take note of extras or supporting cast members who take their role very seriously. This guy is really into doing a good job as guy who asks Cordelia about Buffy.

See?

Xander wins with this green number. But then he loses with a wallet chain, and later a camouflage t-shirt.

Angel is now dressed like he’s going to a meeting with the New York office. Perfect for stalking teen girls and not helping them. But, like, yeah he’s really hot.

  Our actual winner, again, is Willow. Cute overalls? Yes. Cute dress with cute cardigan? Again, yes, of course. Have you met Willow Rosenberg?

Up next is Witch, where I’ll tell you all about how much I love Adidas Superstars and we finally discuss Buffy’s sleepwear. And is there tie-dye? THERE SURE IS.

 Keep an eye out for more bonus posts and the first commentary, which will be… actually, I’m gonna maintain an air of mystery and tell you later.

 Until next time, Slayerettes.

screen caps via screen capped.net.

[buffystylez-blog]

Welcome to the Hellmouth

Original Australian air date: 3 December 1997

Directed by: Charles Martin Smith

Written by: Joss Whedon

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Anthony Head, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Julie Benz, Kristine Sutherland, and David Boreanaz

Welcome to What Buffy Wore season one, episode 1, In which we meet our hero Buffy Anne Summers and are introduced to the Scooby Gang, Cordelia Chase, and season 1′s Big Bad - The Master.

A brief recap for the unfamiliar and let’s face it, if you’ve stumbled onto here you’ll be well-versed in the language of Buffy. But anyway, here goes. Buffy and her mother Joyce move to Sunnydale after Buffy is expelled from her previous school, Hemery High School in Los Angeles. The reasons for her expulsion are presumably related to the events of the 1992 film of the same name. Determined to make a fresh start, she’s horrified when she encounters new librarian Giles, who reminds of her destiny as the vampire slayer.

I was going to quote stuff here, but I can’t be bothered. Y’all know all of them, right? In this episode we have two main Buffy ensembles. I’m not counting her pyjamas - I’ll get into their cuteness later. The two main ensembles are her first day of school, and her first night at the Bronze. I believe I coveted one outfit more than the other at the time, but history is written by the winners. Or the older, wiser, more fashion-conscious.

So let’s do this!

Outfit 1 - First Day at school

Forgive the quality. I’m new to screen caps or whatever you kids call them. Let us marvel at a time when 4:3 was the only aspect ratio in town.

Buffy’s outfit is a white t-shirt and a-line miniskirt with knee high boots. She’s wearing a light blue short-sleeved cardigan over the t-shirt, prompting me to wonder throughout the episode whether the t-shirt was not in fact a singlet. And was the cardigan light blue or mint? I’m pretty sure it’s light blue.

I’d always assumed the skirt was a mulberry or burgundy colour but tonight’s viewing lead me to wonder if it wasn’t dark brown like her boots all this time? But I’m 97% it’s the berry colour I assumed as a 15 year old. I mean, 5 year old! ahem. In a later scene Buffy asks Willow to help her with school and it’s decidedly purple in tone. I always applauded this colour combination. I still do. The costume designer at the time was Cynthia Bergstrom and I salute her. She had me searching high and low for those white v-neck t-shirts she had SMG in all of the time.

The plastic rings were already a crucial part of the wardrobe along with varying shades of nail polish. I believe Buffy went with a pastel blue to match the cardigan and her second outfit. Makeup is a smoky eye with pinks and blues. And were we in a glossy brown/nude phase lipstick-wise? I can’t remember. It’s taken a good twenty years for me to actually wear lipstick on the regular and it’s always matte.

Buffy’s first outfit was a triumph for me. It still is. What may not be a triumph is the hair. Before SMG got this gig she had really long brown hair. For this role she went for a dark blonde shade with a shorter length and more layers. The bangs were wispy. I hate wispy bangs. I believe a terrible, life-ruining hairdresser may have tried to convince me its the only kind I could have. But I’m not bitter! The hair clip featured in Buffy’s hair above was one already in high rotation at my place.

I remember twin sets (knit top and matching cardigan) being the height of fashion at the time. I may have asked mum to purchase me a few. Being chubby and afraid of short skirts I probably went for a knee length version of the above. So when Buffy also moved to knee length skirts I was the praise emoji before I even had a mobile phone. Or the Internet. 

But twin sets. I had a purple one I loved so much. The top was sleeveless and the cardigan long sleeved. There may have been some floral embroidery as well. I may have also paired it with a checked or charcoal bootcut pant. Are pants technically bootcut? Or is it just jeans? Either way, this was the land before the skinny jean or slim leg pant. That wouldn’t get to us until the mid-2000s. I know what you’re thinking: a land before internet, mobile phones and a skinny legged pant? How did you survive? Well, it was all we knew. We couldn’t know then what we know now and if we had, then perhaps things would have been different. Better, even.

Perfect segue to Buffy’s second outfit!

I’m still not quite sure what the above is. PVC little black dress? Some sort of corset? One of Julia Roberts’ prostitute dress from Pretty Woman? Don’t slut shame yourself, B. Wear whatever you like, because you’re a strong woman who shouldn’t be bound by cultural and societal notions of purity and femininity. But also, the dress is a no from me.

What has always fascinated me is her next option. Done with the whore, she tries the virgin and finds she doesn’t like that either.

Photo credit

I’ve always wanted to know exactly what that floral dress looks like. Is it a maxi dress? High neck? There’s a tie - is it worn around the waist? Is it a pussy bow neckline? I MUST KNOW AND THE INTERVENING YEARS HAVE NOT REDUCED MY YEARNING.

So after apparently agonising over something that was second nature in her pre-slaying days, Buffy goes with the below.

Photo credit

I mean, deal with that shirt for a moment. Much like the dude’s outfit she will use to identify him as a vampire, this outfit is not just dated, it’s carbon dated. I might have preferred whatever the black unknown was.

Eschewing dresses altogether for her first night out with the living - er, lively people, Buffy goes with a white singlet, blue shirt with one button done up like a jacket, black pants, and black boots. The boots are undoubtedly knee high. It was just a thing, guys. This was also before we had pants slim enough to tuck into said boots, remember? Dark days. What’s darker is that the pants, not satisfied to just be a type of bootcut monstrosity, are ankle length. Society will tell you that this makes a short girl look short, as though being short were the worst thing in the world. It’s not. I’m 5″2′ and I’m fine with looking every of inch of that. But these are... look, it’s not my favourite, ok? But what did I think of it then?

I remember loving her school outfit more. But does that mean I didn’t wear button up shirts as jackets over t-shirts and singlets? No it does not. Because I did it all the time. Because not only is it the perfect item for a balmy evening that may turn cold, it’s also great for girls too fat for most button up shirt offerings from Jay Jays, Kmart or Target. So, me. I think she also deserved snaps for her courageous decision to wear pants instead of a slinky dress, as a Cordelia Chase might. Or did.

From a logistical perspective it also makes perfect sense. Buffy will battle some members of the undead in this number later in the episode, so range of movement is essential. She can lose the shirt if required but it can also hide any potential bloodstains. The pants seem comfortable and the boot heel low enough that running isn’t out of the question. Her hair is up in a french roll so no need to worry about flyways or accidental self-scalping, a constant worry for me when people fight evil with their hair down.

Photo credit

See?

With 90s fashion making a resurgence, the reappearance of ensembles like these seem almost inevitable. Just the other day I saw a young girl wearing a shirt I wore in the late 90s. This was not a new version or knock-off. No: this shirt had the unmistakable wear and tear of an original. Someone had, gulp, bought this secondhand. It may have even been marked ‘vintage.’ My only hope is that it was a low/reasonable price at Savers.

But would I wear any of this stuff now? Possibly. I’ll return to the boots later, much like Buffy does. And the pants. I would definitely wear the burgundy(?) miniskirt. But what about the others in the Buffyverse? Whose wardrobe might influence me today?

Darla’s ambiguous school uniform should seem out of place. There’s no mention of private schools in Sunnydale anywhere. Also she looks at least 26. Perhaps her cover is an adult entertainment venue and I’ve been thinking about this all wrong for 20 years.

At school Cordelia wears a sheer black shirt with lime pants in a fabric that surely must be the most evil to escape the Hellmouth. So that’s a no.

I think the guys were wearing cargo pants. Also no. David Boreanaz’s performance as Angel was too distracting. He too was fond of button up shirts and black pants. Why would you wanna wrestle with the undead dressed like you’re going to a job interview at Coles?

No, the wardrobe modern day me would most covet actually belongs to... Willow. Lose the white tights and chunky shoes and her tweed dress with white button up shirt worn underneath is a revelation. Mindy Lahiri would wear the heck out of that. And her floral dress and cardigan at the Bronze is cute as hell. Willow would go on to carve out a sense of style befitting her wonderful personality in later seasons but we can clearly see elements of it from the beginning. We were just too blind to see.

Up next will be The Harvest, technically part two of Welcome to the Hellmouth. I hope you’re as desperate for the next post as I was for the next episode. You’re probably not. But I’ll still do it.

Until next time, slayerettes.

[buffystylez-blog]

What Buffy Wore - Unaired Pilot

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 3, episode 1 – Anne.

 Having experienced the trauma of having to kill her boyfriend, reveal her identity to her confused mother and being expelled from another high school, Buffy Anne Summers (understandably to a teenager experiencing the trauma of not having a driver’s licence) ran away to Los Angeles.

 We were all curious to see how she had coped, or indeed if she had coped at all. Upon its premiere on channel 7 (or was it Prime?), we all tuned in to see Buffy working as a waitress named Anne and begged her, our cries in vain, to return to the people who cared about her most and tell them the horrible truth about Angel’s demise.

 ‘Oh my god!’ I exclaimed, riveted by the magic, the flashes of light, the Whedonverse. ‘Her hair this season is so great.’

 Though it seems so horribly 1999 now, I wanted it. I wanted shoulder length blonde hair, with wispy layers. Did they frame her face? You bet! Did the layers give her more volume at the crown? Naturellement. And did those piecey layers at the front form incredibly thick streaks making it appear they were a much lighter shade of blonde than the back? Yes, they did, and before you say ‘what the fuck?’ just know that it. Was. Incredible.

Credit

Credit

Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered in Australia during the Summer ‘non-ratings period’ of 1997. I’d awaited this television series since I’d first read about it in TV Hits. I knew there was a possibility Buffy would have a love affair with a (gasp!) vampire, and I had a guide on her fellow crime fighters. I also had a handy translation guide for terms such as ‘can you vague that up for me?’*

I was interested in fashion but I was never as inspired by fashion magazines as I was by film and television. Or Claudia Kishi from The Babysitters Club. I bought Adidas Superstars and a denim skirt with a satin insert because Dharma Montgomery had one. I wanted to cut my hair off because Jen Lindley did. I went through a phase of watching There’s Something about Mary to cross-reference with clothing items available at my local Kmart.

 So when Buffy Summers came along I found myself one of the finest, longest running style icons to emulate at Thursday night shopping. From the first episode I was hooked. And so began many years of watching, shopping, fashion success and fashion failures.

 Which is what this blog is about. This is where I go through the iconic ensembles for every episode of Buffy’s seven season run and its effect on me and my wardrobe. It may be good, it may be bad, it may not matter to a single person but me. Let us watch Buffy and say to one another, ‘deal with that outfit for a moment. It’s carbon-dated.’

 I’ll write about episodes, I’ll write about clothes, I might even branch out into other series of the era like Clueless or even Sweet Valley High. I might record some commentaries. Feel free to ask me to do stuff. Or just to ask y tho.

 You can do that here or via email at whatbuffyworeblog@gmail.com  

 And don’t forget:

*I believe that meant, ‘you are being vague about this matter, leading me to use sarcasm in response.’

[buffystylez-blog]

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Written by: Marti Noxon

Directed by: James A. Contner

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Anthony Head, Charisma Carpenter, Kristine Sutherland, David Boreanaz, Juliet Landau, Robia LaMorte, Elizabeth Anne Allen, Mercedes McNab, and Seth Green.

Welcome to Episode 16, in which Xander acts completely out of character by trying to force women into doing what he wants and getting angry when they won’t.

Outfit 1

I love a scarf. Patterned, knitted, silk, bandanna, all of them. They were one of my most frequent op shop/vintage purchases. Mostly because you find some amazing stuff but mostly because a scarf always fits. One of my favourite vintage scarves is a Carla Zampatti one I bought at Glebe Market in Sydney. It’s paisley and it’s wonderful.

It’s a fun take on her patrol look. What’s not fun is the baggy pants and loose coat. Or that Buffy thinks Xander is too good for Cordelia.

Outfit 2

I was wrong about cowl necks being more early 2000s. Trends took a long time to get to us so if I was wearing cowl necks in the early 2000s they probably did start in, like, the 90s. This seems like a lot of velour. Brown velour.

There’s also brown pants. They’re baggy. Are they culottes? Gaucho pants? I... uh, they’re ok.

But her hair is crazy good.

Xander’s friends don’t approve of his dating Cordelia, but he doesn’t really give a shit. Cordelia’s friends, however, really disapprove and Cordy gives a bit of a shit.

I give a shit about how great she looks here.

I am living for these 70s style wrap dresses on Harmony.

Outfit 3

Buffy’s Valentine’s Day Dance look is ‘staying at home because ex-boyfriend is literally a psycho.’ And I dig it.

In a shocking twist, Angelus acts completely out of character by stalking Buffy and giving her creepy gifts. This time it’s flowers with a card that says ‘soon.’

It’s a scary gift, but it’s also scary how good her hair is.

Cordelia looks amazing.

If Harmony’s hair was pulled back with butterfly clips this would have been absolute perfection.

Xander mentions Buffy picked this outfit and it feels like he looks like someone else...

Oh, and Cordelia breaks up with him after he gives her a necklace that is actually quite pretty.

Outfit 4

This is a classic Buffy look and I love it. Between this and rewatching Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 I’m ready to consider an animal print mini.

The hair in this episode is so fucking good.

Swoon.

Xander’s wearing some really terrible velour, but I suppose it’s ok because he’s experiencing a break-up. Meanwhile, Harmony and her mean friends look amazing. I mean, can I get that dress the blonde girl is wearing?

Cordelia’s look is way off. Proof she’s grieving. She’s giving the necklace back to Xander because he wants to do a love spell to humiliate Cordelia for the crime of not liking him the way he likes her. Except she does and this obviously backfires terribly but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Oh, and Amy’s a witch or whatever.

Outfit 5

This is cute. I’m ok with it. I’m more than ok with the hair.

Xander fucked the love spell up because Cordelia’s necklace somehow protected her from it. Basically, every woman who comes into contact with Xander falls under the spell and it’s... painful to watch. Buffy here is under the influence of said spell. I think these are black pants. I wanted them to be jeans, but hey. Life is full of disappointments.

This feels like a standard response to having to talk to Xander.

So can Willow make anything infinitely cuter, or is it that Xander’s clothes just look terrible on him?

Outfit 6

Xander’s dream scenario is quickly becoming his worst nightmare because the spell has nothing to do with love and everything to do with obsession and the dark side of women being socialised to compete for the attention of men. Having said that, this is one of Buffy’s best coats.

And the hair. Is. Amazing.

Oh, and Amy can turn people into rats or whatever.

Meanwhile. Cordelia can’t win with Harmony and her friends. She is winning with me, however, because this dress is pretty great.

This wrap dress also wins.

This was actually a look. I may have wanted this hair. I read the novelisation of this episode and I think she was described as having hair that made a U at the ends. Or something. It was a long time ago when I thought Xander was cute and funny.

Oz punched Xander and it was hot but I think Willow can handle herself. I also hope she’s stolen Xander’s flanno forever because it’s way better on her.

Oh, and everyone goes even more nuts for Xander, including Drusilla and Buffy’s mum and he and Cordelia are almost mobbed to death. Luckily, Giles convinces Amy to help him reverse the spell and Buffy is human again and everyone except Cordelia comes to their senses and remembers Xander sucks. 

Outfit 7

Buffy’s giving Xander a bit of shit for this stupid spell, particularly for how much it hurt Willow’s feelings. But she’s also pretty lenient with him because he chose not to take advantage of her while she was under the spell. Like every single man should ever all the time.

This hair is a bit of a disappointment after such a dream run, but you know I love a scrunchie.

Cordelia is back and in charge. You can tell this from the popped collar. Harmony also looks great but it’s obvious from the muted colours and cardigan that the power dynamics have shifted.

I mean, her choice is bad. But it’s her choice and she’s standing up for herself and it’s good, I guess.

Up next, bad things happen. Really bad. It’s... not gonna be fun.

Until then, Slayerettes.

[buffystylez-blog]

Halloween

Written by: Carl Ellsworth

Directed by: Bruce Seth Green

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Anthony Head, David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, and Seth Green

Welcome to episode 6, in which the biggest scares are reserved for Feminists.

Let’s do this.

Outfit 1

The lighting on this series is very spooky. I cannot see a fucking thing. Luckily this is Buffy’s standard Patrol to Bronze look. Blue top, black pants, boots, leather jacket.

This is nice. I was never much into Buffy’s patrol looks. It was probably the boots. Still feeling a little tender about not being able to fit into knee-high boots. Here she sees Cordy trying to cut her grass with Angel again and wonders if she’s not ‘ladylike’ enough for him. Ugh.

Outfit 2

I had to get in how cute these slides are with the pants.

Willow’s boho look is beautifully Willow-ified with the Gazelles. I want red Gazelles. And light pink ones. All of the Gazelles.

They’re in the bathroom having stolen diaries about Angel from Giles. This is where Buffy gets it into her head she should change everything about herself to appeal to her boyfriend. Despite 1) Him never suggesting he doesn’t like her the way she is and 2) The fact it doesn’t matter what he thinks. Patriarchy, am I right?

The hair here is wonderful. I still love this hair the most. Buffy and Willow are perplexed by Cordelia - she refuses to believe Angel is a vampire.

Meanwhile there’s nothing perplexing about how amazing Cordy’s preppy look is.

Outfit 3

Behold: the Halloween costume. I never understood why people don’t dress in scary costumes for Halloween. All of my costumes have a requirement of shit-tonnes of fake blood and scary makeup. Ideas I’ve come up with so far:

- Zombie girl

- Serial killer victim

- Crazed surgeon

- Murderous prom date

- Miranda’s corpse (if they’d found her) from Picnic at Hanging Rock

I’m still waiting for the chance to do murderous prom date and crazed surgeon. This is why I really didn’t understand Buffy’s choice of costume. It’s just a princess costume.

I have written about this costume in a previous bonus episode about hair. Look, it’s perfectly fine to want to dress feminine or masculine or neither or both. 

When I was a teenager I desperately wanted to see Buffy dress as a princess. I endorsed her efforts to secure Angel as a paramour. Now I watch it and cringe and find it scary but I see that this is all a part of finding yourself and accepting the love you deserve. The love you deserve is one that you don’t have to earn or don’t have to change for. 

Meanwhile, Buffy tells Willow the true meaning of Halloween is to dress as something different to yourself. Which is her very diplomatic way of telling Willow that Halloween is a time to ‘dress slutty.’

BTW, dressing like a ‘slut’ is perfectly ok if that’s what you want to do. Also being a ‘slut’ is ok too. I mean, Regina George looks sick as hell here.

As does Willow. I thought Willow looked amazing here as a teen. And as an adult, I still think she looks insanely good. Buffy’s advice to Willow is a little off, because I think she wants Willow to be confident so she can attract the attention of boys. But she’s also actually right about the confidence thing. Too bad she’s not really following her own advice. Also last time she inspired Willow to step out of her comfort zone she was almost murdered.

But Willow feels uncomfortable and goes with her original idea:

Also fine, if a little more constrictive than her previous getup.

FIERCE.

So everyone’s fine and taking kids trick-or-treating or whatever and nothing’s going too badly.

Except this fuck’s starting some shit and turning everyone into their costume.

It makes Buffy...

Fucking useless.

Earlier in the episode Xander tries to defend Buffy to a bit of a jerk at school. Then when she can actually defend herself Xander gets upset with her. So he decides his costume should be super masculine and goes with army dude.

And annoyingly I like him better this way.

Angel’s shirt is scaring me.

Willow and Giles realise Ethan Rayne is responsible for all these shenanigans.

Giles is so hot when he’s just punched someone. 

He and Willow fix everything and Buffy goes back to kicking ass having learned a valuable lesson about being yourself.

And Willow learns she’s pretty good, no matter what she looks like.

Oz concurs.

Outfit 4

Tracky dacks are beautiful no matter the decade.

I wish Angel would take this shirt off. Mostly because I don’t like it.

Happy Halloween or whatever!

Next up, Buffy reconnects with an old friend and discovers sometimes that’s a bit shit.

Until then, Slayerettes.

[buffystylez-blog]

Reptile Boy

Directed by: David Greenwalt

Written by: David Greenwalt

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Anthony Head, Charisma Carpenter, and David Boreanaz

Welcome to episode five, in which Buffy deals with a whole bunch of dudes telling her what to do. Not unlike Wonder Woman, which I just saw and actually enjoyed despite it being a DC film.

Buckle up, because S’about to get political, y’all.

Outfit 1

Whatever it is, it looks comfortable. I do love Willow’s overalls. Overalls. Keep that in mind. Overalls.

I believe they’re watching a Bollywood film and are confused. What’s not to get? There are wonderful musical numbers and it’s all a beautiful rollercoaster of emotions. Geez. Please watch my favourite Bollywood film Om Shanti Om immediately if not sooner. 

Outfit 2

I loved a patterned pant. Is this technically giraffe print? I had a red jumper very similar to Willow’s and I loved it. LOVED. IT.

I’m sure I had wrap tops like the one Buffy is wearing. I definitely had a black one I wore with, yep, you guessed it, bootcut jeans.

We’re in the middle of strappy shoe season. I’m trying to embrace it because before too long we’ll be back to boots. I wanted all of them but knew instinctively the heel was too high for me. I had a steep driveway to navigate.

Also I love Willow’s skirt. And that she wears tights and sneakers.

Anyway Buffy’s avoiding Giles who is being stuffy as hell and is about to meet some new boys:

The Trump brothers! Seriously. These guys look like they’re involved in a scandal. Run away immediately, Buffy. And Cordelia.

Incidentally the one on the right would go on to play Dan, the Halliwell girls’ neighbour on Charmed.

What I love about Cordelia is the work she puts into every task. She’s got her preppy senator’s wife look and she’s reading a book on how to snag college dudes. Unfortunately she didn’t need to work that hard. And also there is no reward of any kind.

Outfit 3

Buffy’s training gear is getting more practical. She must love this shirt because she has them in several colours. I do not love these shirts.

There’s been some solid Adidas representation throughout the series so far.

I like these nails. They could be Buffy’s or a stand-in.

Buffy patrols in her training gear, which seems very reasonable, and runs into Angel.

They have the weirdest, awkwardest, bad dialogue-filled encounter in which Angel halfheartedly tells Buffy to stay away from him. Maybe stop stalking women, you jerk. Also stop telling them what to do or acting as though you know what is best for them. But also he’s right - Buffy should stay away from him.

Outfit 4

The hair is off. I think they’re trying to save time by keeping her hair the same for the second half of the episode. I never really liked her hair curled at this length. The shirt is cute as hell.

Cordelia has abandoned the highlights, which I think is great. I think the darker hair works so much better. I can’t wait until the fringe follows suit. Again, Buffy’s shirt is lovely.

I loved this ensemble.

It feels very 90s to take a patterned shirt and match different pieces to it. Buffy did it in School Hard as well. It’s to better effect here, I think.

Buffy lies to Giles about going to a Frat party with Cordelia because he’s being a pain and one of the Frat douches was nice to her and Angel was a dick to her and Xander’s being unhelpful as usual because he’s hurt she doesn’t like him like that. It’s a shit-storm of dudes being fucking dickheads.

Outfit 5

I thought black was Cordelia’s thing?

They both look cute. I love Cordelia’s dress so much. The lighting at the Frat house is so dark and she’s a beacon of beautiful light... blue dress that is easy to see.

I couldn’t get a better shot of the shoes. They. Are. A. Delight.

Xander sneaks into the party and the douches humiliate him by dressing him like a woman. Because get it? Femininity is ridiculous and looks really stupid on boys! HAHAHA. I get it.

So it comes as absolutely no surprise that the Frat Boys see women as commodities to be traded in for elevated status. In this case, offering them to a weird looking demon. Didn’t these guys realise that they don’t need the demon, just their male privilege? Silly billies.

Luckily Buffy is great and the Scooby Gang are pretty good and they fuck these bros off.

Giles is the hero of the dudes because he actually sees that he has oppressed Buffy by assuming that his perspective on being a Slayer is the better one and hasn’t taken her abilities or experience into account. Good work, Giles. You relatively woke bae, you.

Outfit 6

Sparkly jumper alert.

Xander reads the flow-on effect of exposing these idiots for the murdering psychos that they are. I’m pretty depressed these guys getting punished to the full extent of the law seemed like the most unrealistic part of the episode.

This look is killer. The curls, while being very 90s, are right. And the make-up - perfecto.

Buffy really is at its best when the monster of the week speaks to a real high school experience. Admittedly this episode’s brilliance is somewhat diluted by a love interest who stalks underage girls and one of the main characters comparing female characters to sex workers in a negative way.

At its core, the message of Reptile Boy is a very important one: beware of the ‘nice guy’ because he’s usually the worst.

Amen.

Next up, it’s Halloween in Sunnydale. It gets scurrrrrrry, guys.

Ugh. Until then, Slayerettes.

[oncemorewithpodcast-blog]

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