All You Need to Know about Teen Movie Style

Attention class, today’s lesson will be all about teen movie style. Dissecting over 200 cult teen movies, from Footloose to 10 Things I Hate About You, Beyond Clueless is the documentary that everyone’s been tweeting about. Filled with all sorts of teenage cliques, tricks, and kicks, and described by preeminent artist Tracey Emin as "a PhD on the history of high school cinema", the film made by 23-year-old Charlie Lyne is the ultimate movie about teen movies. Narrated by coming-of-age movie royalty Fairuza Balk, and soundtracked by dreamy pop duo Summer Camp, teen angst has never sounded better. In light of the documentary’s UK release, we cast our minds back to the days of zit-popping, boy-crushing, and scrunchie-wearing with the key style lessons we learnt from our favourite high school movies. Class dismissed.

Always Dress to Match Your Clique
Whether you run with the Heathers or kick back with the T-Birds, every clique must have its signature look. Take, for instance, Sarah, Nancy, Bonnie, and Michelle from The Craft. If you wanna be in their 90s Goth gang, all black everything, from high socks to braces, tartan minis to layers of smudged kohl on your eyes, is an absolute must. Oh and an interest in the dark arts. And it’s not enough to just look like your clique. When it comes to high school politics you have to follow your clique’s strict sartorial rules. For the Plastics’ Regina George, Gretchen Weiners and Karen Smith that meant wearing pink every Wednesday, while Rizzo, Jan, Marty, and Frenchy wore their Pink Ladies jackets every day of the week.

Wear Waterproof Mascara to Prom
For some reason or another the shit always hits the fan at prom. Just after being named Prom Queen, someone pours red paint all over Carrie, spoiling her beautiful white slip dress and causing her to kill everyone in the building. In other movies, Drew Barrymore gets egged in Never Been Kissed (although her pink lamé dress wasn’t exactly Prom Queen material); Rose McGowan gets outed as a murderer in Jawbreaker, and Julia Stiles finds out the terrible truth about Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You. Prepare for the worst, and always match waterproof mascara with your dress.

Geek can be Chic
When considering the sartorial codes of high school movies, the geeks are never the ones you typically focus on. But if we’ve learnt anything from Ghost World’s Thora Birch, with her thick-rimmed glasses, dorky tees, and Doc Martens, or Michael J Fox in Back To The Future, with his red gilet, square jeans, and purple Calvins, it’s that geek can be chic too.

If in Doubt Get a Makeover
Though, of course, some geeks just don’t quite cut it, and that’s when it’s time for a makeover – the ultimate teen movie motif. Like Brittany Murphy in Clueless, who ditches her dungarees and plaid baggy shirts in favour of a cute tartan two piece, or Jenny Greer in Jawbreaker, who dyes her dark brown hair peroxide blonde and trades in her big cardis for tight pink skirts and gleaming pearls, there’s nothing better than when an ugly duckling emerges as a swan.

Top of the Crops
In true 90s style, it wouldn’t be a teen movie without a cool girl in a crop top. Whether it’s Milla Jovovich in Dazed and Confused, who teams her purple bandeau top with a brown suede waistcoat, or Bijou Phillip’s iconic rainbow striped bikini top in Larry Clark’s Bully, the crop top has become a symbol in the pantheon of teen cool.

Bad Boys do it Better
With his long black coat, leather jacket, silver hoop earring, and murderous tendencies, Christian Slater’s J.D. in Heathers is the baddest boy around. Second only, of course, to Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You, who is even dreamier (and less murderous) in his plain black tees and tank tops, together with silver earring and black leather bracelet. Bad boys definitely do it better.

Work your Uniform
As Bring It On, The Craft and Cruel Intentions have taught us, there’s nothing cooler than a girl in school uniform. Whether it’s Kirsten Dunst’s red cheerleading outfit or Sarah Michelle Geller’s white shirt, crested black jumper and grey tartan skirt combo (teamed of course with white high socks and her iconic, coke-filled crucifix), if you want to be in the with the popular kids, you’ve got to learn to work your school uniform.

He was a Skater Boy
A popular motif in so many teen movies, the skater boy was always the epitome of 90s grunge. With his baggy white tee, bulky rucksack, and beige cargo pants worn low, Justin Pierce’s Casper in Kids was the ultimate skater boy, rivalled only by the flat-cap wearing, weed-smoking Rory Cochrane in Dazed and Confused.

What to Wear to a Fancy Dress Party
While most teen movie proms feature a bevy of gorgeous girls in long gowns (think Rachel Leigh Cook in She’s All That, Melissa Joan Hart in Drive Me Crazy, and Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink), others opt for a theme. The key here is to be original: with her red corseted dress, swept up hair and décolletage delicately on show, (when all the other cool girls opted for blonde wigs and Barbie’s outfits), Drew Barrymore’s Rosalind in Never Been Kissed is the perfect example. But don't stick too closely to the theme, as Lindsay Lohan found out in Mean Girls when she turned up to a Halloween party dressed as a hairy, fang-toothed bride, and Regina George, dressed as a particularly saucy bunny, was found snogging Aaron Samuels.

Beyond Clueless is out now.