Buffy The Vampire Slayer

The 7 Seasons of Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer just so happened to coincide with my formative years; I was 13 when the first season aired, by the time it ended I was 19, heading out into the world on my own for the first time for university.

I liked Buffy for the witty writing, the girl power message, and the powerful stories; the hot guys didn’t hurt either. I loved the outfits! Here was a girl doing a messy, physical job, but in some serious wardrobe. Yes sometimes they were completely impractical choices, and looking back some of them haven’t exactly aged well, but Buffy’s look was always an integral part of who she was, and often had a part to play in the story.

Join me, now a fully-fledged grown-up (well I try) working in the Style and Image industry, as I look back on the key wardrobe moments of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, starting, naturally, with Season 1.

So, Welcome to the Hellmouth, and welcome to 1990s fashion! The outfit in which we meet Buffy Anne Summers for the very first time sets the scene for the rest of the Season (oh, and I’m not counting her jammies as she tosses and turns whilst engaged in a slayer dream in the opening scenes of the episode!). Buffy wears a short-sleeved light blue cardi, white cami (with the white motif becoming a bit of a running theme, but more on that later), maroon mini skirt and knee high boots. This look is reminiscent of the popular girls of Clueless and the other typical High School dramas of the time. Her ‘hot girl’ outfit (and Xander, at least, appears to agree) only serves to emphasise Whedon’s wish to subvert the image of the pretty little blonde thing who wanders down a dark alley at the beginning of a horror film only to get herself horribly killed. If the skirt length is ill-suited to the ever-present threat of imminent slayage, at least the footwear is a little more practical. Yes, she’s wearing heels, but they are the typical very chunky heel of the era, which definitely have increased comfort factor (and I speak as a dedicated shoe enthusiast), and her leather knee-highs must lend some protection to the ankles and the carves!

With all the tight and midriff bearing tops and short skirts of this season, you do have to wonder where she keeps her stakes. Luckily the outfit for the first slay of the series involves black trousers, sturdy shoes and an electric blue shirt – a little easier to fight in! This is also what Buffy wears for her first trip to The Bronze, a scenario where we see how much clothes mean to this girl – she agonises over what to wear, a scene all too familiar to most of us, but more importantly is able to identify her prey through his own poor sartorial choices. (“Trust me, only someone who had lived underground for ten years would think that was still the look.”)

The vamp who was to play an oh-so-important part in our Slayer’s life also gifts her with a couple of fashion items this season. I, of course, refer to Angel’s cross necklace (in Welcome to the Hellmouth), and leather jacket (in Teacher’s Pet). I do wonder how many girls went out and bought crosses purely through Buffy’s influence, or badgered their boyfriends into getting one for them. I also wonder how on earth a jacket that fits Angel’s 6’1”, rather large (although slighter than in later seasons) frame manages to only be fashionably outsize on Buffy. I suppose it must be the Hellmouth messing about with the fabric of space and, erm, leather. Both the jacket and the cross, and Buffy’s wearing of them during later episodes, go on to symbolise the growing relationship between the two.

So if that’s the general sphere of clothing and accessories covered, shall we talk about the hair? Buffy’s usual big and bouncy layered look wouldn’t actually look too amiss today, but throughout Season 1, when the time calls for action, the Slayer favours a high ponytail with chin length bangs that is pure 90s. I can remember myself and several of my female friends at the time having these pieces cut into our own hair. Unfortunately, glam as they looked on Buffy I seem to remember that on real life teenagers they were not quite as flattering (teenage greasy hair on top of teenage oily face not necessarily a good combo).

If we’re thinking iconic Season 1 though, it has to be that junior prom dress from Prophecy Girl. At first sight the white, layered confection seems strangely old-fashioned and unflattering, a little too demure for our Buffy. However as the episode unfolds it becomes more obvious that this is the perfect robe for the sacrificial virgin she is about to become at the hands of the Master. In true Buffy style, she adds her own edge to it anyway, with her protective armour of Angel’s cross and jacket.

There you have it, my picks for Season One. What do you think? Aghast that I’ve missed your most favourite/reviled outfit? Wishing for a revival of kneeboots and microminis? Discuss!