Have you ever been distracted from a TV show or movie plot by a character's outfit? I know I have. Sometimes a character's outfit just feels so unrealistic that it makes the show hard to watch. I understand that clothing and style are subjective, and there's no one way a person should dress. My personal opinion on a character's outfit could be different than someone else's. I also understand that some costumes are supposed to fit a time period. However, there are times when it is clear that an adult chose the outfits for the teenage actor in a show.
The popular Netflix TV show Heartbreak High just aired its third season. The series explores relationships, sexuality, queer storylines, and social issues. Although I haven't watched the prior seasons, I sat down with my friend as she binged the third season. My first questions weren't about the plot, but about the characters' outfits. Based on my personal experience, most teenagers do not wear what the people in the show were wearing. Although the show is set in Australia, and I'm from Los Angeles, and I can't speak for all teenagers, I can say that I personally found the clothing very unrealistic. One of the characters, who my friend informed me was queer, was wearing a crop top with a jacket over it and jeans with his underwear showing, to me it felt forced. It felt like his clothing was trying to prove that he was gay, and it was very different from the other characters' clothing. I understand that the character may just be expressing their style, and again I haven't watched enough of the show to know if that's the case, but to me it felt in a way disrespectful, like a cliche rather than a reflection of individuality.
Heartbreak High. Image credit: RUSSH, 2024.
Another example of a show with clothing that has caught my attention is Ginny and Georgia. The main characters' outfits do not seem authentic whatsoever. I've never seen a teenager wear clothes like those characters. I also don't feel that the outfits really reflected the characters' personalities well. In one episode, Maxine, one of the main characters, is wearing a blue and white long-sleeve turtleneck with a bright yellow skirt and sparkly tights. To me this outfit is not something a sophomore today would wear, even a sophomore a few years ago. I do enjoy watching this series despite the fact that certain outfits have made me cringe and distract me from the seriousness of the show's themes. When outfits are so unrealistic it can make me feel less connected to the show as I watch and less emotionally involved in the plot.
Ginny and Georgia. Image credit: IMDb.
I've found that movies and TV shows from the 2000s seem to have more accurate clothing for the time period. A show that follows teenagers, The OC, seems to have realistic clothing. No outfits catch my attention for being very strange or distracting. The authenticity allows me to focus on the plot, and feel more engaged in characters, the dialogue and what’s at stake each episode.
The OC. Image credit: British Vogue, 2023.
Trying to find up to date, recent shows and films with accurate teenage clothing is very difficult. The first film that comes to mind when on the topic of realistic clothing, is Ladybird, another early 2000s movie. Maybe it's the simplicity of all the costumes, there's no flashy colors or daring styles, it's all relatively simple and fits the aesthetic of the film. When I imagine Ladybird wearing the clothes Ginny wears in Ginny and Georgia I can't help but laugh because it would completely take away the magic of the film and just would not make sense. When it comes to accurate clothing in film and TV, it's hard to know what works and what doesn't. Of course, my opinion on an outfit doesn't speak for everyone, maybe one outfit I find shocking is seen as more normal to other teenagers. Despite this, I think clothing is very important. Clothing can reflect and express a character, add to the realism of a show or film, and contribute to our emotional engagement with what’s most important - the story it has to tell.
Anna Ross
Anna Ross is a first-year Communication Studies student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a former Youth Media Representation program intern at the Center for Scholars & Storytellers at UCLA. She is currently a member of the Youth Alumni Council at CSS and Digital Creator Academy Council. She is passionate about film, television, social media, and authentic youth representation.