By Maddie Gissler
When it comes to finding the latest looks, it’s no surprise that Americans take cues from the media – but what some might not realize is that television is a major outlet that prompts these trends. We don’t just get our looks from our favorite celebrities, but from some of our favorite characters. Here’s a brief selection of different shows and characters in the last 50 years who have added style to our lives.
In the early 1960s, The Dick Van Dyke Show was a hit sitcom about Rob Petrie (a comedy writer played by Dick Van Dyke), his beautiful wife Laura (played by Mary Tyler Moore) and their son, Richie. Laura Petrie often wore capri pants on the show, setting off one of the most enduring trends to hit America. Today, women and girls alike favor the midcalf pant in Spring and early Summer, and we have Laura Petrie to thank for its popularity.
With the 1970s came Farrah Fawcett’s influential hairstyle. Feathered and layered to perfection, the style was popular not only among Charlie’s Angels fans but female TV viewers of all tastes.
In the 1980s, Dynasty inspired an entire line of clothing by Norman Miller, who was the show’s designer. He featured major shoulder pads, monochromatic outfits and other hot 80s trends on the popular nighttime soap opera, and women began to buy accordingly.
In the 1990s came “The Rachel,” one of the most popular hairstyles of the decade. Named after Jennifer Aniston’s character Rachel Green on the hit sitcom Friends, the trend caught on quickly after first making its TV debut around 1994. More than eleven million women have requested to have their hair cut in this blunt, layered fashion, and the cut is considered one of the most influential hairstyles of all time.
In the late 1990s through the early 2000s, Sex and the City, which focused on the lives of four best friends living in New York City, featured a largely fashionable cast. Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) was always dressed to the nines in funky color, print and designer combinations. The Sex and the City characters became major fashion icons due to their ability to make contemporary fashion real and accessible to all women.
Within the last two or three years, the Mad Men mod look burst onto TV. The show about a 1960s advertising agency captures the polished look of the 60s with shirtdresses, dropped waists, pearls and fantastic heels. This inspired a number of clothing lines, including the Limited Edition Mad Men line at Banana Republic last year.
An InStyle Magzine online piece in 2009 speculated the next hit to be “The Blake.” Blake Lively, who plays main character Serena Van Der Woodsen on Gossip Girl, has long, golden waves that were being requested in salons all over.
In 2012, one of the most popular looks stems from Jess Day, the lead character on New Girl played by Zooey Deschanel. Interestingly enough, Deschanel said that she thinks her personal style influences her characters’ style in an interview with Collider. Jess’ key pieces (nautical striped sweaters, popping prints, colorful flats and bright dresses) reflect a retro yet modern, feminine style that appears easy and fun to wear.
Here are some characters that Naperville North girls are taking fashion cues from:
Jess from New Girl: “It’s really peppy, cute and energetic,” –Hyla Overturf
Jenny Humphrey from Gossip Girl: “On the show, she’s really into fashion and she’s trying to become a teen designer so she wears a lot of edgy clothes that she makes.” –Maddie Jordan
Spencer from Pretty Little Liars: “She always wears really cool scarves, vests and sweaters. It’s mature clothes but she totally pulls it off.” –Elayna Weston
The Kardashians from Keeping Up With the Kardashians: “All three of them just really own their personal features, and they all wear clothes that have the best fit to their bodies.” –Cassidy Herring
Angela Montenegro from Bones: “She wears really cute dresses and boots all the time, and that seems to be what I like to do, too.” –Cary Murray
