Clueless
It all boiled down to one inevitable conclusion. I was just totally clueless.
In Jane Austen’s 1815 novel, Emma, Emma Woodhouse is passionate about matchmaking, even if she doesn’t know as much about it as she initially thinks she does. The novel was brought to life on screen several times, including in 2020 with Autumn de Wilde’s film starring Anya Taylor-Joy as the titular character. However, 25 years earlier, the film was adapted into a 90s Romcom starring Alicia Silverstone as Emma, now named Cher Horowitz. She notes that she and her best friend Dionne “were both named after great singers of the past who now do infomercials.”
In Amy Heckling’s film, Emma (Cher) is now a 15-year-old high school student living with her stern but very comical father and former stepbrother turned love interest in a Beverly Hills mansion. In LA fashion, her mother died when she was young due to “a fluke accident during a routine liposuction.” Heckling turned Austen’s character into someone girls of the 90s could relate to and aspire to be, making Clueless a hit film to be enjoyed by generations down the line.
Cher Horowitz: Fashion Icon
I love analyzing how certain aspects of films contribute to their allure. For Now and Then and 13 Going on 30, I discuss the importance music plays in its storytelling. Clueless has several defining songs like Kim Wilde's "Kids in America," Tai's makeover song, "Supermodel" by Jill Sobule, and, of course, Coolio's "Rollin' With My Homies," played while the ever-full-of himself Elton dances at the Valley party.
But more than the music, the fashion is what makes the film. Like Cher the singer, Cher Horowitz is a fashion icon and much of what she wore not only defined the film but the decade. In the same way, people remember the fashion of the 90s based on Kurt Cobain's oversized plaid shirts or big white glasses or Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" music video schoolgirl uniform, Cher's many ensembles come to mind in every discussion on 90s fashion. In the time I've been alive, anytime 90s fashion has come back into style, it's always been Cher from Clueless we've all tried to emulate.
"As If,"-Cher, Clueless.
Cher's wardrobe is defined by sweater vests, button-down shirts, and plaid. Most memorable is Cher's opening outfit: a yellow and black plaid skirt and matching blazer, with a yellow button-down sweater underneath and white over the knee socks. Cher decides upon her outfit using technology that somehow, with everything we do have today, still has yet to become popularized in society. Before iPhones and iPads, Cher uses a touchscreen desktop computer that seemingly uses AI technology to help her decide on an outfit for the day. Along with her computer, she has a massive closet, with a wall lined with shoes and a rotating clothing rack.
According to Clueless costume designer Mona May, she initially had Cher actress Alicia Silverstone try on the plaid suit in blue and red. I can't imagine it in any other color than yellow now that it's become so iconic that everyone, from Iggy Azalea in her "Fancy" music video to Kim Kardashian for her 2023 Halloween costume, has recreated it. As May explained, when Silverstone tried on the yellow version, it was evident that it was the right choice. "That yellow was like a ray of sunshine, like she was the queen," May told The Guardian in 2020.
I couldn't agree more. LA is known for its sunny weather and lack of rainfall. What better way to express Cher as this Beverly Hills teenager than in a bright yellow ensemble as her first look in the film? Of course, it would be incomplete without her best friend Dionne in her own plaid look that represents her unique personality. This one was once recreated by Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o for Halloween. Of course, one of the other most iconic outfits is Cher's red Alaïa dress she wears under a feathery jacket when she goes to the Valley party and later, unfortunately, gets mugged while trying to call a cab.
However, I believe that two of my favorite outfits are overlooked. Cher wears a black and burgundy plaid dress with a matching jacket, over-the-knee black socks, and a black beret. She wears this as her peers at school cheer her on for setting Mrs. Geist up with Mr. Hall and, therefore, making everyone's class experience more enjoyable now that both teachers are happy. Another is the outfit Cher wears when she fails her driving test. Here, Cher wears a transparent, oversized button-down shirt and a sparkly baby blue cropped sweater vest with white knee socks and an argyle print skirt.
While Cher goes to school in Beverly Hills and many of her classmates are dressed well, Cher doesn't dress the way a typical high school student does. She very clearly stands out amongst her peers, and this tells us a lot about who she is before we really get to know her.
Why We Love The Popular Girl Protagonist
Films truly connect with audiences when they portray main characters as relatable underdogs. In The Princess Diaries, Mia, the self-proclaimed "invisible" underdog, navigates the challenges posed by mean girl Lana Thomas. In 13 Going on 30, Jenna's desire to be as popular as Lucy "Tom Tom" Wyman, only to later realize she wants to be nothing like her, resonates with many. Despite her dark side in Lisa Frankenstein, Lisa still manages to win our support. These films, among others, showcase main characters who are proud losers, and their struggles mirror our own.
However, when so many movies have trained us to villanize the popular girl and resonate with the nonpopular girl, how do movies like Legally Blonde and Clueless garner such a strong fanbase that love and root for their main characters? For starters, Elle Woods and Cher Horowitz aren't mean girls. Although Cher may often have ulterior motives for her actions, she does love to help people. When Tai arrives at Cher's school, she welcomes her with open arms, even though she dresses like a stoner and talks in a heavy New York accent, making her far less sophisticated than Cher and her posé.
"D, don't you want to use your popularity for a good cause?"-Cher, Clueless.
Clueless also has a different mean girl character, Amber. Although she and Cher are in the same social circle, Cher doesn't like her. By having Amber play the villain role, the film allows us to see Cher as the victim, even if she's the most popular girl in school, making it easy for us to see ourselves in her.
Cher's also not the perfect character; she's heavily flawed. She's not a star student, she doesn't have a clear life path for her future, and she has an extremely strict father she has to deal with at home. What's so likable about Cher is that while she's not school-smart, she's incredibly intelligent in other ways. Since her father is a lawyer, she's picked up on his argumentative skills and driven attitude. Cher never gives up. She's ever determined, and she knows just how to get her way, whether she's convincing her father to let her do what she wants or getting her teachers to raise her grades in class.
However, I think most of the appeal of characters like Cher is that audiences aspire to be like them. Cher is rich, beautiful, popular, and well-dressed, and despite her cluelessness and sometimes self-fish behavior, she is a good person. Her true kindness shines through in the end when she helps out with the Pismo Beach Relief drive and realizes how much she enjoys helping the world, not because it benefits her in any way, but because it feels good to make the world a better place. Just like Mia at the end of The Princess Diaries, when she overcomes herself to grow into a hero, Cher is a role model, and that's why we love her.
How Can We All Be Less Clueless?
The premise of the appropriately titled film Clueless is that despite how much Cher thinks she knows about everything, she is clueless in the grand scheme of things. Cher is likable throughout the whole movie, but it’s clear one of her biggest flaws is that she’s so invested in her own life and the lives of her friends that she has no clue what’s actually going on in the world; Josh calls her out on this. To be blunt, Cher is pretty vain and selfish. She only helps her teachers fall in love so that it will help her grades. She only gives Tai a makeover so she can pride herself on how much better she made Tai’s life. Then, she starts to resent Tai once she becomes more popular than she is.
“I decided I needed a complete makeover, except this time, I’d make over my soul. But what makes somebody a better person?”-Cher, Clueless.
Cher never really considers what other people want, but only what she wants. When Tai likes Travis, Cher steers her away from him because he isn’t cool enough and instead attempts to set her up with Elton, who she later learns is “a snob and a half.” It’s not until Cher realizes that she has feelings for Josh, someone who genuinely cares about the world and is older and more aware of the world than Cher is, that she realizes just how clueless she’s been.
Kind of like how Elle Woods initially goes to Harvard Law School to win back Warner, then learns how passionate she is about the law, Cher becomes interested in what’s going on in the world to get Josh’s attention, only to realize she really does like doing good without needing to get anything out of it. Cher learns to accept Travis, and when Tai apologizes to her over a fight they had, Cher takes responsibility for her role in the disagreement and apologizes, too.
In order to be less clueless, we all need to become a little more responsible and considerate. We need to pull ourselves out of our own lives that we get so caught up in and see the bigger picture and all the good we’re capable of. When we’re acting from a place of goodness and not selfishness, we will be amazed by what we’re capable of and who we’re capable of becoming.