I am inspired by many things: great movies, great actresses, great music and so on and so forth. I have very good taste and choose my inspirations wisely. For example, my obsession with Audrey Hepburn and Leslie Feist; if that’s not classy, what is?

That said, there is an entirely different side to some of my admirations. I’m not proud of these idols, many who lacked taste and a pulse, but damnit, they were fashionable. The characters who have inspired my fashion tastes the most are Betty and Veronica, the Sweet Valley High twins, and Jem and the Holograms.

Betty had that high, swishy blond ponytail and was the sweetest girl this side of Riverdale. She embodied the sporty look without looking like Serene Williams. However, no amount of “I just threw this on and I still look great” talent can change the fact that she was a doormat and always Archie’s second choice. For me, it was all about Veronica. Her long, dark hair was always shiny and perfectly groomed. She always had the nicest (and most expensive) clothes and drove all the Riverdale boys wild. Sure, she may have been a bitch, but aren’t we all sometimes? Without Veronica, I may have never turned into the demanding perfectionist, spender of hard-earned money and lover of expensive clothes that you know and adore today. But at least my boyfriend doesn’t drive that god awful jalopy.

The Sweet Valley High twins may have been born four minutes apart and been as different as night and day, but they equally inspired me. Elizabeth was so nerdy ? Jessica always said she did crossword puzzles for fun ? but she stuck to who she was and really, isn’t that the coolest thing of all? Elizabeth made me believe my excessive reading hobby was cool, not loser-ish, and her career as high school newspaper editor influenced my drive to co-edit sections of my high school newspaper. Even so, when it comes to fashion, what was even cooler than editing a paper were all of Jessica’s black leather miniskirts. Jessica had long blonde hair, big blue eyes, and a million boyfriends. She wore lime green bikinis and killed as Lady Macbeth in the high school show (no pun intended). Hands down, Jessica Wakefield is the reason my eight year old self always dreamed of being sixteen years old with long blonde hair, black leather miniskirts, and driving a Jeep around Sweet Valley.

I don’t know how many of you know who Jem and the Holograms are, but trust me, you are missing out. They were this all girl band who, like, fought crime or something. Actually, I think they were just locked in this perpetual competition with an evil rival band called The Misfits. Or something. Jem represented the best and worst of the eighties ? she may have had shoulder pads up to her ears and eye shadow down her cheekbones, but she also had the greatest pink hair and these little wrap dresses that would have made Diane von Furstenberg proud. She had a mild mannered alter ego, so by day she got to wear three piece colour coordinated hair and be a cool blonde. Jem made me want to throw away my glasses and front an all girl band for most of my childhood, until a cruel bitch named Julie told me I couldn’t sing. I hated that girl.

There are a million more influences and idols ? DJ from Full House, Claudia from The Babysitters Club ? but there isn’t enough time to list them all. Sometimes I get embarrassed by all the childish things I still love but honestly, you can’t deny how fabulous our childhood inspirations are. Even if we don’t own black leather miniskirts or have pink hair, we all know our favorite fictional characters kicked fashion ass.






Related Stories: