rockfashiondoll

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left: US Vogue, January 1985. Norma Kamali dress.

right: a model cel from rockjem.com of Roxy wearing an outfit that was never produced for Jem dolls and did not appear in the cartoon.

Vogue says that this dress is “actually a flat piece of stretchy jersey that wraps and ties in a variety of knockout ways.”

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Fini Lignarolo ad in U.S. Vogue, August 1986.

Screenshot from TubiTV of Jem wearing her embellished yellow and blue jacket fashion, which is first seen in “The Treasure Hunt” (episode aired Oct 5, 1987).

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Alaïa denim jacket in U.S. Vogue, April 1986.

Alaïa leather jacket in Harper’s Bazaar, January 1986.

Screenshots from TubiTV of Minx wearing her yellow jacket fashion, which is first seen in “The Stingers Hit Town: Part 2” (episode aired Feb 3, 1988).

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90s Aja by @meekasalamb

Aja

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Doll scale printed fabric designs inspired by Regine Cesaire. Rock Fashion Fabric, 2014.

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The Holograms are shown here in poses very closely resembling those on the model sheets for their transformed outfits.

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1. Advertisement: Flora Kung. US Vogue, Feb 1985, p. 73. The twinset featured here is likely cut from printed silk, consistent with Flora Kung’s signature style.

2. Shana wears this printed blouse and matching jacket ensemble for the first time in “The Rock Fashion Book” (aired Sep 27, 1986), but the screenshots above are from the episodes “The Princess and the Singer” (left) and “Old Meets New” (right). (Jem screenshots are from TubiTV).

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1. Advertisement: (Byblos Inc.). Harper’s Bazaar, Feb 1986, p. 48.

2. Although this fashion is first seen in “Father’s Day,” aired Oct 1, 1987, this screenshot (taken from TubiTV) is from “Aztec Enchantment,” aired Oct 7, 1987. Directed by Ray Lee. Jem. Hasbro/Marvel Productions/Sunbow Productions, 1987.

3. Additional looks from the Byblos Spring 1986 Ready to Wear fashion show. They happen to feature a print that closely resembles that of Clash’s blouse. Getty Images. Date created 11 Oct 1985.

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Alain Mikli's iconic asymmetrical sunglasses, photographed by Helmut Newton for the June 1983 issue of US Vogue.

Screenshot of Rapture from the music video "Take it or Leave It" (The Mitigating, YouTube) from the Jem episode "The Stingers Hit Town: Part 2," aired Feb 3, 1988.

Alain Mikli plume eyewear, 1986. (Alain Mikli, official Facebook page.)

Shoes advertisement featuring Mikli eyewear, Pancaldi for Delman, Sept 1985 US Vogue.

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Sept 1984 US Vogue. Criscione (by Joan Criscione) ad photographed by Rocco Laspata. Source: The Vogue Archive.

Screenshot from TubiTV of Jem episode "Hot Time in Hawaii," aired Oct 18, 1986.

The contrasting, ruched straps of the Criscione design resemble those on Aja's blue cocktail dress. Although there are some differences—such as the Criscione bodice's cowl neckline compared to Aja's sweetheart neckline—I think this 1984 look could have served as a reference for the Jem cartoon wardrobe designers.

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Advertisement for Saks Jandel. Designer: Claude Montana. US Vogue Sept 1984. Source: The Vogue Archive.

Screenshot from TubiTV of the Jem episode "Journey to Shangri-La," aired Nov 24, 1987.

Illustrations of Roxy's Shangri-La Winter Wear (with and without coat) by Pranceatron.

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Pizzazz’s version of the Mondrian dress replaces the white sections with pink, green, and lavender. The silhouette of her dress looks slightly narrower at the waist compared to the A-line shift dresses of the 1960s.

1) US Vogue Sept 1965. Piet Mondrian-inspired wool and silk jersey dresses that Yves Saint Laurent presented as part of his spring 1965 collection. Source: The Vogue Archive.

2) Example of a turtle-neck version of the style. Photographed by Christa Peters, 1965 (as cited on Pinterest, source unverified).

3) Felicity Chan’s scan of model sheet P-38 (as cited by Pranceatron) from the Jem episode "Intrigue at the Indy 500," aired Feb 1, 1987.

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1) Jean Paul Gaultier’s soft black felt beret with charms, souvenir keyrings, and buttons. Pictured in the January 1985 issue of Vogue. Source: The Vogue Archive.

2) Minx wears a similar style of beret in the Jem episode “A Change of Heart,” which aired Feb 18, 1988. The screenshot is from TubiTV.

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It's my 11 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳

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Here’s another version of the two-tone graffiti leggings by Stephen Sprouse. I planned to include this image in my earlier post on Roxy’s original outfit but couldn't remember where I saved it.

It's from the December 1984 issue of US Vogue, while the first Jem episode aired in October 1985. They look very fun to wear! Perfect for running around and making mischief.

Image 1) Elgort, Arthur. "Fast Tracks." Vogue, Oct. 1985, pp. 508-513. The Vogue Archive.

Image 2) Pranceatron. "Roxy Original Outfit." Jem's Cartoon Wardrobe, The Beginning.

Image 3) Roxy doll by Integrity and custom pants by Rock Fashion Doll.

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Roxy loves Stephen Sprouse—or at least, someone on the Jem design team loved to dress her in his style! I think it’s even possible that Roxy’s look was influenced by Debbie Harry, a close friend and muse of Sprouse.

Earlier, I shared a Dep hair gel ad that I found in US Vogue which features an outfit that reminds me of Roxy’s arrows vest look. The vest itself is by Sprouse and features graffiti-style arrows.

Roxy’s original look, with the pink and green pants, seems to draw from Sprouse's work as well. It looks like it comes from his AW 1984 collection, which had graffiti-style lettering on vibrant silks, sometimes covered with transparent sequins. This mix of glamour and punk feels like a perfect fit for The Misfits.

I see the 2013 Integrity Toys Roxy doll as an homage to the sequins that Sprouse used frequently in his designs:

A Jem fan friend of mine really wanted their doll to look more cartoon-accurate, so in 2014 I made them a scattered lettered version of Roxy's original pants in faux leather:

In Jan 2021, in a Jem fan group on Facebook, a Jem fan (Krista) shared a screenshot from the David Lee Roth music video "Just a Gigolo,” where Roxy’s inspo pants make an appearance. Another fan in the group (Heather) immediately identified the pants as Sprouse pants, saying they always wanted a pair. Here’s a gif I made of the video:

Here’s another fun fact: Sprouse's influence expanded to the Archie universe as well. Here's a scan I did of a 1985 comic book I bought a couple years ago:

A character named Dexter creates colourful graffiti-sprawled outfits for Betty and Veronica for their upcoming Archies tour.

References:

Betty et Véronica. No. 170, Les Éditions Héritage, inc., 1985.

David Lee Roth. "Just a Gigolo." YouTube, uploaded by Ryder276, Apr 10, 2009, Link.

Fury, Alexander. "The Great American Fashion Designer Who Never Quite Was." April 16, 2018. anOther Magazine. Link.

"Integrity Toys 2nd On-line Presentation 2013: The Misfits (Jem and The Holograms)." April 1, 2013. The Fashion Doll Chronicles. Link.

Pranceatron. "Roxy Original Outfit." Jem's Cartoon Wardrobe, The Beginning. Link.

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Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, Summer 1987.

Note the similarity to Stormer's one-shoulder striped top and "scissor" wrap skirt. She is first seen wearing this fashion in the episode “The Fan,” which aired in Sept 1987. Stormer wears her belt with the buckle centered, not to the side. The Stormer drawing above was provided by Pranceatron.

This was the very first Jem fashion I spotted while doing research in American Vogue's digital archive in 2013. I shared it on Twitter in 2013, teasingly noting that Stormer was getting her fashion cues from YSL or that perhaps he had been inspired by Stormer!

As someone who likes to make cartoon-based clothes for Jem dolls, I appreciate finding images like these because they show extra details in the fabric and garment construction that are inevitably lost in 2D animation, no matter how meticulous the animators are. And for me, knowing Jem’s cartoon wardrobe was based on ‘the latest’ makes me love it even more.

References:

"Spring '87 International Report: Paris Legs, Legs, Legs!" Vogue, Jan. 1987, pp. 180-186. The Vogue Archive.

Madden, Kathleen. "Changes: Spring Shapes Up." Vogue, Dec. 1986, pp. 228-230. The Vogue Archive.

Pranceatron. "Stormer orange/blue one-shouldered striped dress." Jem's Cartoon Wardrobe, The Fan. http://www.pranceatron.com/jem/cartoonwardrobe.htm

Screen grab from "The Fan" (grabbed from TubiTV), where the outfit first appears on the Jem show. The episode aired Sept. 29, 1987.