It’s another Friday, so time for another Fashion Analysis post! Last week I analyzed Dionne, and the week before that I analyzed Cher, so to wrap up this Clueless miniseries, I’m analyzing a few of Tai’s outfits. If you’re new here, in my Fashion Analysis posts I analyze 5 different outfits and explain how they do or don’t work for the wearer’s body type. If this is something that interests you, keep reading! Note: There will be some spoilers for the movie Clueless in this post.
Tai’s Body Type
I’m going to be honest here, I’m not 100% sure what body type Tai has. Tai was played by Brittany Murphy, who was definitely a Flamboyant Gamine as she got older. However, Clueless was released when Brittany was 18, and I find that Brittany looked softer in the movie than she did when she was older, so she may have been a Soft Gamine at the time the movie was filmed.
This is because the female body still goes through changes in the late teens and early 20s, which is why I recommend reassessing your body type every once in awhile if you’re young and still developing.
To play it safe, I’m going to assume that Brittany was already a Flamboyant Gamine at the time of filming. Remember that it’s very easy to borrow from the lines of a body type that’s within the same family, so with little tweaks these clothes can also work for a Soft Gamine or Gamine.
Also, if you’re not familiar with the Kibbe body types system, I suggest taking the test and finding out your own body type, and then reading my basics of the body types post before returning to this post.
Outfit #1
The Grunge Look
The first outfit that Tai wears in the movie is a rather baggy, oversized, kinda grunge look. Here Tai is wearing:
- Oversized plaid shirt
- Troll graphic t-shirt
- Baggy brown pants
This outfit is cute but… it really doesn’t work. Nothing fits right, and since everything is a bit oversized it looks like the clothes are wearing Tai, rather than Tai is wearing the clothes.
But just because I don’t like the whole outfit doesn’t mean there aren’t good parts! When it comes to Flamboyant Gamines, wearing oversized pieces is all about the mix and match of silhouettes. When you’re wearing something oversized, it’s best to pair it with something really slim-fitting, to emphasize the mixture.
As a fellow Flamboyant Gamine, if I were to style this outfit, I would ditch the baggy pants for something more form fitting (I’m partial to black skinny jeans myself), and I would tuck in the graphic t-shirt to create a bit of a boxy shape, especially since the fabric of the t-shirt looks perfect for a boxy look. I would leave the plaid shirt as is though, as the looseness is unique and adds charm to the ensemble.
Outfit #2
The Makeover Look
The next outfit I’m analyzing is one that Tai wears during her makeover scene. I have a feeling Dionne chose it, because it closely resembles something she wore earlier in the movie, both in color and silhouette. Also, I just want to take a moment to appreciate that Tai seems genuinely giddy at the end of the makeover scene, it’s so wholesome. Here Tai is wearing:
- Blue shirt with a wine red heart
- Wine red skirt
- Mary Jane shoes
I love this outfit so much! I don’t even really know where to start with it, so let’s go with the silhouette.
First off, the whole ensemble is much more fitted than the previous one. The skirt is fairly straight in shape, and the neckline of the shirt is high, so even though it’s a simple outfit, it hits pretty much all the things a Flamboyant Gamine outfit should when it comes to the silhouette.
Next up is the color blocks! I love seeing color blocks in the outfit of any Gamine, and this one delivers. First there’s the color block created by the wine red skirt against the blue shirt. Next up is the white outline around the red heart on her shirt. And then finally the collar of her shirt is white, which creates another small color block.
Before we move on, I also want to draw your attention to her hair. It’s not often that makeover scenes leave the girl with her curly hair, so I’m really glad they did, because those curls suit Tai so well!
Outfit #3
The Preppy Look
I have a feeling this outfit Tai wears at school was influenced by Cher, as Cher tends to favor the more preppy looks with lots of plaid and cardigans. In this outfit Tai is wearing:
- Blue-green cardigan
- Grey t-shirt
- Black and white plaid skirt
- Brown tights
So many color blocks in this outfit! And it doesn’t look busy at all on Tai, which goes to show that members of the Gamine family look great with lots of different colors or shades in their wardrobes.
When it comes to the silhouette, not much has changed from the previous ensemble. The only big difference is the different colors. In total there are 4 different blocks of color (the tights, cardigan, t-shirt, and t-shirt collar) plus one pattern (the plaid skirt), so I think this outfit mainly serves as an example of just how busy a Flamboyant Gamine’s outfit can be, without it looking overwhelming.
Outfit #4
The Christmas Party Look
So, unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a picture of the whole outfit, so you’re just going to have to trust me on this one. In this outfit, Tai is wearing:
- Black and silver flower choker
- Red striped crop top
- Green and red plaid shirt
- Black wide leg pants
This outfit reminds me a lot of the first one I analyzed, and I’ll explain why. Something to note is that in this ensemble Tai is wearing a crop top, but we know she generally feels uncomfortable with showing her tummy (it was shown in the makeover scene, right before the heart outfit was revealed. Cher was trying to convince Tai to wear a crop top).
I think that in order to compensate for feeling insecure about showing her tummy, Tai decided to wear wide leg pants and a plaid t-shirt as sort of a return to her comfort zone.
But this time, I like the outfit! Why? Because it’s balanced. The pants fit her well, rather than just being baggy, and the plaid shirt looks like it fits her better too. The tightness of the crop top balances out the looseness of the pants, so overall this outfit works a lot better than the first one.
Don’t worry if you’re a Flamboyant Gamine who also doesn’t like showing your tummy via crop tops! This outfit would work even if the shirt wasn’t cropped, as long as it’s still form fitting. Remember, it’s about that mix and match!
Outfit #5
The Other Party Look
The last outfit I’ll be analyzing in this post is pretty different from all the others. In this outfit Tai is wearing:
- Blue headband (which is actually just a sheer baby blue shirt that Tai wrapped around her hair)
- Pink long sleeve shirt
- Patterned overall shorts
It’s pretty interesting how when Tai wears lighter, more pastel colors, she tends to go for a more youthful, almost childish look (there’s another outfit in the film where she does the same to an extent, it’s just not included in this post).
Overall I think this outfit is cute! It’s one of those looks that’s good, but not great, so I don’t have much to say on it. If I were to change anything, I’d make the shirt more fitted, as the overalls are pretty loose, and I’d probably ditch the blue shirt/headband. It doesn’t do anything for the outfit, either as a shirt or a headband.
That’s all for this week! Next week I’ll be doing something a little different for my Fashion Analysis series, so if you enjoyed this post then stick around. Thanks for reading, and thanks to my friend Samia for helping me with line edits!
Cozy Rebekah 