#I already love big chunky heel boots and dark makeup but hair would probably be a miss for me since I can't style my hair at all

[alonelystargazer]

I've wanted to adopt an 'alternative' fashion style like emo/goth/punk/or grunge since I was in middle school but held myself back bc either I'm not skinny or white or too normie but it's not like I need to fully immerse myself in just one aesthetic, right? just a few pieces here and there to get a feel for it you know

[thehouseofgrey]

what do you think about magnus in neons??? *eyes emoji*

Funny you should mention 👀

As a teenager I wasn’t allowed to be like,,, emo. Like our parents just wouldn’t let us wear all black. Probably an attempt to keep our mental health from tanking but 🙃🙃🙃. Point being, since I couldn’t wear black, I went the opposite direction. I wore exclusively neons from ages 11-15. It got me bullied a lot. But I don’t care cuz I loved it then and I intend to bring it back into my wardrobe now at first opportunity. All that said,,,

MAGNUS IN NEONS IS SO FUCKING GALAXY BRAIN YOU DONT EVEN UNDERSTAND

Okay okay organizing thoughts. The first thing y’all should know is that we’ve already seen Magnus in a neon. Electric blue is a neon. This is electric blue for reference:

[ Image ID: just the color electric blue]

I’ll put a note here that pure red is also technically a neon but it’s a neon I hate with a burning passion so we will not be acknowledging her further. Magnus rocks red so really it’s rather unfortunate that neon red sucks so fucking much

But there is, I would argue, a much better much sexier sister color to red that looks lovely in neon and would look so good on Magnus I’m getting lightheaded just thinking about it. NEON PINK! Neon pink, I would argue, is the god of all neons. Even if you hate neon green, blue, orange, yellow, purple... I’ve never met someone who hates neon pink. (If you do, no you don’t ❤️ /j) Magnus in pink lipstick or eyeshadow

[Image ID One: a close up of shiny neon pink lipstick on tan white skin

Image ID Two: a close up of a matte neon pink eyeshadow with black eyeliner and false lashes on a heavily airbrushed white woman

End ID]

Like the pink eye shadow with a black dress, pink fishnets AND a pink leather jacket. God sign me the fuck up. Magnus in a bright pink pencil skirt. Good shit. Chefs kiss. Mwah. Pink heels pink heels pink heels. Especially like a pump. Or like a chunky heeled boot. God I’m getting carried away. Okay okay okay.

Right.

Let’s also talk about a underrated babe: neon purple

[Image ID Left: a very skinny white woman with a handful of small tattoos on her arms. She’s wearing a short tight dress that’s purple with blue and green glitter.

Image ID Right: a mannequin in a knee length, holographic purple A line skirt.

End ID]

We never got to see Magnus in purple of any kind which feels like a crime. But neon purple would present such an opportunity for him to play with glitter and shimmery silvers. Neon purple was made for holo silver. You can’t change my mind. I’m right. And neon purple and holo silver were made for Magnus Bane.

Right okay my next points require addressing a bit of an elephant in the room. I love hsj with my whole chest and he makes a magnificent Magnus. But, Magnus would be dark skinned. He’s Indonesian. And there are just some colors, especially bright colors like neons, which look better on darker skin. None of this is up for debate.

That said, Magnus would also rock the fuck out of neon yellow orange or green. Like there’s no color this man couldn’t own. Dark skinned people are out here in real life inventing color all the time. Magnus has had hundreds of years and all the money to perfect this. And neons lend themselves so well to mixing colors and patterns in ways that regular colors, I’m sorry to say, just don’t.

[Image ID: a Japanese teen girl standing in a brightly lit parking lot. She has her hair in two braids which she’s holding, one in each hand. She’s wearing a neon pink baret and a neon pink button up shirt with big red, yellow, green, purple and black flowers. it’s tucked into a bright yellow and white checkered skirt held with a medium sized black and gold belt. She also has on pink socks and pink platform sandals. End ID]

This is what I mean by pattern and color mixing by the way. (And Magnus in a miniskirt? Inspired. Effervescent.) Fashion, makeup, jewelry, and generally self decoration is one of the most fundamental ways humans have always expressed themselves. Magnus knows himself. Knows what fits him. Knows his colors and patterns. I’m sure he could come up with combinations I can’t even dream of. And neons provide an excellent medium for it.

Magnus could inspire even more gender envy in neons tbh. He’s not androgynous in the way of like man plus woman or woman plus man. He’s androgynous in the way of like where you’d never doubt what gender he is even though he’s made gender his bitch, y’know? He’s fully feminine, fully masculine, and fully androgynous all at the same time. Idk what this paragraph is for actually now that I’m at the end of it.

Basically, Magnus is a bit of a peacock. He’s hot, he knows it, he flaunts it. The neon aesthetic just suits the mould of what we already know him to be. Neons is the next evolution of the glitter and matte orange or blue eyeliner.

Don’t let me get started on this shit or we’ll be here all day

[Image ID One: a close up of black and white checkered lipstick. The mouth is hung slightly open so you can see the front teeth.

Image ID Two: a picture of acrylic nails. Some of the nails are painted black with rainbow roses. Some are black with abstract rainbow ribbons. Some are painted rainbow tie dye with black drip lines coming down from the cuticle. The rest are clear acrylic with rainbow splatter lines.

End ID]

Neon Magnus Supremacy.

That is all.

[sakura-blossom28]

Heartbroken

I guess I can’t stop writing! This is a more set up chapter if anything with some sweet bits at the end which I love writing! The next chapter should be fun and I’m going to jump around with the time a bit to speed this up to get to more Gaara Sakura gushy bits! Hope you guys like it let me know what you think!!

Part 1 / Part 2  / Part 3

Going out, piece of cake.  But what to wear? If she was just going to Naruto’s apartment Sakura would have just changed into some pajamas to hang out in, but they hardly went out like this, and this was barely going out.  To overdress or underdress?  Sakura did like getting dressed up but this was hardly the place to do it, and besides, she hadn’t had a reason to look nice in a while.  Even when she was dating Sasuke they never went out.  The bar scene just wasn’t for him.  Sakura didn’t mind, they went to a lot of casual dining places so there was never a need.  

She did miss dressing up, doing her hair, and using the nice makeup she got for Christmas.  Maybe with the warm weather, Sakura could convince everyone to go out to the nice rooftop bars.  Maybe even dancing!  The thought made her happy.  Even though she wasn’t good at it, Sakura still liked to dance.  It was just a fun way to let loose and feel good.  

Sakura chose to straighten her hair after her shower.  She definitely needed one after kickboxing.  She chose a chunky green turtle neck sweater that was darker than her eyes, dark jeans, and a pair of brown boots with a little bit of a heel.  Sakura looked casual but nice enough that her mother would approve of since she was going out in public.  Her makeup was light, just some blush and mascara to bring out her eyes more, and just a shiny tint lipstick to finish her look.  Sakura grabbed her off-white coat and walked out the door.  Her parents were away this weekend on a mini-vacation that Sakura couldn’t get time off of work for.  It was fine they needed some alone time.  She locked up and made her way out.

The bar was a few blocks away from Sakura’s apartment building.  She remembered going there a few times with friends in the neighborhood when they all turned 21.  Even her parents stopped in from time to time to get a bite to eat after work.  She loved their wings.  Just the thought of them made Sakura quicken her pace.  As she arrived she saw two familiar people standing outside.  

XxX

“Hey, Gaara, isn’t that the girl you’re crushing on? She’s way cute.  If you’re not gonna make a move I will,” Kankuro said to his younger brother.  At the sound of her name, Gaara looked down the street to see in fact it was Sakura.  His heart squeezed a bit at the sight of her.  His mind instantly played the memory from this morning of Sakura smiling so brilliantly at him during her workout.  She was the first girl to catch his attention in a long time.  

Sure there had been other girls before, but either they didn’t stick around, or Gaara just lost interest.  Hopefully getting to know Sakura would be exciting, he could use something different in his life.  Temari already liked her so that was a good sign.  She never liked the girls he brought around so he just stopped.  

“Not a chance Kankuro,” Gaara said and moved off the wall he was leaning on and walked up to Sakura.  

“Oh hi, Gaara!  I thought I would be the first one here! Hey Kankuro, nice to see you again,” Sakura said and peaked around Gaara to say hi to his brother.  

“Sakura! Long time no see! You’re looking great as usual,” Kankuro said walking up and putting his arm around Gaara.  She was taken aback by his comment.  Sakura had never been comfortable with people complimenting her, especially not guys.  She decided to brush it off, he was just being nice.  Sakura was too flustered to notice Gaara practically shoving Kankuro into the street after his little comment. 

“Let’s go inside and grab a table,” Sakura suggested with a nervous chuckle as she walked inside.  Gaara quickly followed right behind her, making sure to close the door right in Kankuro’s face.  The bar was quiet like Sakura expected.  It would be very easy to push some tables together for the nine of them.  After about twenty minutes everyone was finally there.  

Sakura managed to be sitting next to Gaara, thanks to Temari, and across from Naruto and Hinata.  For a while, everyone was chatting nicely, but then her conversation with Hinata stopped when she got up to go to the bar.  

“So how are you feeling? You were doing great for the first time,” Gaara said casually leaning back into his seat to talk to Sakura. 

“I actually really enjoyed it.  I’m pretty tired, but I feel great!  Do you always teach the beginner’s class?”  

“No, I don’t usually teach all that much.  I was filling in for one of the instructors since they were sick,” which wasn’t true, he wanted to see Sakura again after the other day.  

“Aw, that’s too bad.  I think you’re a great teacher,” she said with a smile, and Gaara smiled back.  

“Do you think you’ll be coming back?”

“Definitely.  The gym’s pretty close to my job so I can go right after work.” 

Their conversation went forward from that point without an awkward pause or break.  Gaara was really easy to talk to.  They covered everything from their day to day, to what they enjoyed doing in their spare time.  Sakura was happy to find that they had a lot in common.  They both like to take it easy by reading and watching movies.  Gaara was very intrigued in her cooking and baking efforts.  

“I need to start cooking more. Kankuro can’t even boil a pot of water to save his life.  And I’ve been staying late at the gym most nights that I can’t cook for him,” Gaara said throwing a sideways glance at his older brother who was happily chugging down his beer.  

“I like to keep myself busy after work so I’ve been trying a lot of new things, and I have to say my cooking has gotten a lot better!”

“And why are you trying to be so busy?” Gaara regretted the question as soon as he said it.  He could see Sakura stiffen at the question while her eyes widened.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to pry.” 

“No, it’s alright.  I was seeing someone who preoccupied almost every thought I had and how that I’m not seeing him anymore I realized how much time I had once he was gone. So now I’m trying new things that I want to do,” she said with a small smile.  

“That’s actually really cool.  And good for you to focus on yourself.  Most people would spiral out of control.  I remember Temari did that after her first serious boyfriend dumped her.  What a mess that was.  If she hadn’t gotten her own version of revenge I would have probably punched the guy if I ever saw him again,” Gaara said with a smirk.

“What did she do?”

“She didn’t do anything.  They were both applying to the same tattoo shop at the same time, but she got the job over him.  And the best part was that they were both told at the same time so he knew he lost to her, and as he was leaving he bumped into someone and they spilled their smoothie all over him.” 

“That’s actually hilarious! That’s what he gets for whatever he did to her,” Sakura said trying to hold in her laughter.  

Their night went on much the same way, exchanging different stories or embarrassing things that have happened to them.  Gaara steered clear of any more talk of relationships.  Clearly, something bad had happened to Sakura and he didn’t want to upset her any more than he already did.

Sakura was feeling really happy.  Talking to Gaara felt really natural and they seemed to be clicking.  She was having a really nice time with him.  Letting her guard down for once felt so freeing.  She definitely noticed that she had been smiling more.  It felt really good.  Was she finally ready to put herself out there? Should she take a chance on Gaara?  Worst case she just gets to know him and they stay friends before it can develop into anything more.  Better to play it safe.

Before they knew it, it was almost 11 PM.  Tenten, Neji, and Lee had already left without them noticing.  Their chemistry was so noticeable that even Naruto picked up on it.  

“Hey guys, we’re gonna head out, but stay as long as you want!” Naruto called out with a big smile while quickly shoving everyone else out of the bar.  

Sakura just had to laugh.  Naruto was just so not smooth.  They paid their bill and followed the crowd outside.  

“Well, I’m the other way so I’ll see you guys soon,” Sakura said to the group as they were heading towards the parking lot.

“Did you walk here?” Gaara asked starting to go in Sakura’s direction.  

“Yeah if I walk fast it won’t be too bad.”

“Would it be okay if I go with you? It’s pretty dark.” 

“It’s alright you don’t have to! I’m in the complete opposite direction of you anyway!”

“I really don’t mind. Plus I would feel better knowing you got home safe.”  That was the same thing that Sasuke would say.  Text me when you get home.  It was the only thing he said to Sakura that showed her he cared.  Even when he dumped her the last thing he said was get home safe.  It was nice to hear again. 

“Yeah okay.  Thanks that’s really sweet of you,” she said with a smile.  

The night wasn’t too cold, but some of the street lamps didn’t seem to be working so she was happy that Gaara was tagging along.  They were talking quietly when they heard loud shouting coming towards them.  

“Hey girl what are you doing out here? Come over here!” came from a group of what seemed to be three drunk guys stumbling behind them.  At first, Sakura didn’t register what was happening or who they were talking to.  The next thing she knew Gaara had his arm tightly around her shoulders and pulled her close.  He picked up the pace and it finally clicked in Sakura’s mind that those guys were talking to her.  

“Hey! We’re talking to you! Come back!” one of the more sober men started to say.  Gaara stopped under the next streetlight still holding on tightly to Sakura.  He turned to look at her, clearly, she was shaken up and understandably so.  He couldn’t believe she almost walked home by herself.  

“Stay right here where I can see you.  I’ll handle this,” Gaara said in the calmest voice he could use to make her feel better.  

“Please let’s just go,” Sakura begged.  Her hands were already shaking.  Any confrontation wasn’t her strongest point, especially with drunk men.  

“I don’t want them knowing where your apartment is.  I’ll be right back,” and he was gone.

It felt like hours that Gaara was gone, but Sakura knew that was impossible.  She strained to hear, but could only hear muffled voices.  The next thing she knew Gaara was walking back with his hands in his pockets.  

“See I told you I’d take care of it-,” Gaara said.  He would have said more but Sakura ran up to him and tightly grabbed him into a fierce hug.  He knew she was scared, but feeling her shake against him was even worse. He gently wrapped his arms around her.  She felt so small in his arms.  When he heard her start crying, his heart dropped into his stomach.  He did it again, someone good was scared of him.  

“I’m so sorry.  I didn’t mean to scare you-” he said while he tried to back away from her, but she was holding on too tight which surprised him.  She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, but he didn’t see any fear.

“You didn’t scare me! They did! I-I- That never happens I swear! It’s just awful! How do other girls deal with that all the time? Look at me I can’t stop shaking! I hate it!” Sakura looked so upset, but Gaara didn’t know what to say.  

She realized how close they were, she got embarrassed and let go of Gaara.  Sakura blushed but kept talking, “I just get so angry that I can’t stand up for myself.  That’s why I started kickboxing classes.  I thought if I physically got stronger I would feel it too.” 

Sakura led the rest of the way to the apartment, keeping a little closer to Gaara as they walked.  The whole time she was thinking to herself and having a small argument with herself that she almost forgot Gaara was next to her.  Gaara was fine with the silence.  He really had no response to give to Sakura’s statement.  He felt he didn’t know her well enough to put her mind at ease.  

Her apartment wasn’t too much farther and she was only on the second floor.  She got her key out and opened the dark silent apartment.  At that moment she forgot that her parents weren’t home.  

“Oh right…” she quietly said to herself.  

“Are you home-alone tonight? I thought you said you lived with your parents?” Gaara asked as he looked into a dark hallway.  

“They’re away for the weekend. They won’t be back until Monday,” Sakura said in a small voice.  She turned on the hall light, but it still seemed pretty dark in her home.  “Thanks for walking me home.  I’m really glad you did.  And thank you for taking care of it.  Are you going to be alright by yourself?” 

“I should be fine,” Gaara said giving her a small smile to make her feel better, but she didn’t look convinced.  

“Can you come in for a bit?” Sakura asked without looking at him.  She felt utterly embarrassed for even asking such a question.  She didn’t want him to get the wrong idea about her, but she was still pretty shaken up by what happened.  

“Yeah absolutely.” 

They walked into her small apartment, but it was big enough for 3 people.  Sakura never minded that she lived here, she actually enjoyed it.  She never had to take the garbage out in the rain, or shovel snow in the winter.  The front room was spacious with cream walls and red accents all around the house.  Gaara was jealous of the size of the kitchen.  His apartment wasn’t as nice, but he couldn’t complain his commute to work was zero minutes.  

All around the home were pictures of family, friends, and Sakura through the ages.  The most recent one being her college graduation.  She looked tired but happy.  On one wall was an empty picture frame.  It was an odd sight, but Gaara could put two and two together.  There must have been a picture of Sakura and her ex in there that her family happily hung up.  They really must have liked him.  He would be noisy and ask Temari later on.  

“I think I’m gonna call Naruto and Hinata and see if they can come over.  I don’t think I want to be alone tonight,” Sakura said from the kitchen. “I’d ask you to stay, but I thought that would be creepy and rude of me to ask since we just met.”

“I think that’s a good idea.  And I wouldn’t mind staying if it made you feel better,” Gaara said still wandering around her living room.  Sure it wasn’t Gaara’s usual style to stay over a girl’s house, but seeing her cry like that she could have asked him for anything and he would have done it. 

“Thanks.  I really appreciate it Gaara,” he turned at the sound of Sakura saying his name.  He saw that she relaxed a bit and she stopped shaking, which was a good sign.  “I’m just gonna go get changed.  I’ll get you some clothes.” 

Sakura wasn’t gone too long when there was a knock on the door.  On the other side were Naruto and Hinata.  They rushed past him with small a small greeting and went straight towards Sakura’s room.  If he really wanted to go home and sleep in his own bed this would be his chance.  He turned back around to see Sakura come out in her pajamas and holding some for him.  

She looked so innocent in a matching outfit of light blue button-down pajamas with little cupcakes all over them.  Sakura was even rubbing her eyes like a little kid.  She just looked so cute that Gaara could feel his legs moving back towards her as he shut and locked the door.  

As Naruto and Hinata were fussing over her and asking a million questions, Sakura looked towards him and blushed slightly. Handing him a pair of grey flannel pants and a black long-sleeved shirt, she blushed more handing him the clothes.

“I hope these fit. The bathroom is on the left.”

“They’ll be fine. Thanks.”

When he came back, Naruto and Hinata were already set up on one reclining couch tucked in.  Sakura was on the other and was waiting for him, barely staying away.  He settled in and reclined the couch for them.  Sakura’s eyes were heavy with sleep, but she seemed like she was trying to fight it.  

“You’re okay now, get some rest.  Do you want to sleep in your bed?” Gaara said as he pulled a blanket up around her.  

“No no I’m okay. I feel better that you’re here,” Sakura mumbled, eventually slumping onto Gaara as she fell asleep.  It was so strange to be close to someone else like this.  It felt nice, it felt right.  Sakura was a good person.  She was interesting, funny, smart, and kind.  She was someone he wanted to get to know better.  He wouldn’t deny that he was already interested in her but knew good things took time.  

Gaara knew she went through something pretty rough, but he was a patient person.  Looking at her sleeping so peacefully he realized that waiting would be worth it if she wanted to get to know him.  He knew he was getting ahead of himself, but for the first time in a while, he felt excited about the future.  Maybe getting close to someone, dare he say romantically wouldn’t be the end of the world like he always thought it was.  If everyone else around him seemed okay with a partner, he could give it a shot.  

Part 5  

[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.