#18: Stacey's Mistake
I know I'm always full of excuses as to why I haven't updated ("My millionaire stepfather whisked me and four of my friends off to the Bahamas!" "I'm starring in the school production of Peter Pan!" "I got shipwrecked on a small island off the coast of Connecticut!"), but I actually have two semi-valid ones this time.
1. I just moved to my own place (it's pretty sweet, if I do say so myself) at the beginning of this month and all the pre- and post-move crap took over my life for a while.
2. I've been working on a few fashion related (though not BSC related) projects that I'm really excited about. "Sure you are, Kim," you say. And I don't blame you for that! But we can rebuild our trust. So, if you've ever wondered what my candy-filled club headquarters looked like, mosey on over to Catwalkqueen.tv and check out yours truly (okay, yours truly's closet, to be precise) answering the question of What's In [my] Wardrobe.
And now the book.
I know I'm always full of excuses as to why I haven't updated ("My millionaire stepfather whisked me and four of my friends off to the Bahamas!" "I'm starring in the school production of Peter Pan!" "I got shipwrecked on a small island off the coast of Connecticut!"), but I actually have two semi-valid ones this time.
1. I just moved to my own place (it's pretty sweet, if I do say so myself) at the beginning of this month and all the pre- and post-move crap took over my life for a while.
2. I've been working on a few fashion related (though not BSC related) projects that I'm really excited about. "Sure you are, Kim," you say. And I don't blame you for that! But we can rebuild our trust. So, if you've ever wondered what my candy-filled club headquarters looked like, mosey on over to Catwalkqueen.tv and check out yours truly (okay, yours truly's closet, to be precise) answering the question of What's In [my] Wardrobe.
And now the book.
"What should I wear in New York?" Claud asked once.
"What you wear in Connecticut," I told her.
"Exactly?"
"Believe me, you see everything in the city. Once I saw someone dressed as Batman."
"Maybe it was Batman," said Claudia, giggling. "But really. What will your friends wear to the party?"
[Where is this insecurity coming from? It's pretty out of character . . . usually she's only self-conscious about her, um, mental acuity.]
We weren't getting anywhere. "Wear your black outfit. That really cool one," I told her. Claudia has incredible clothes. And I wanted her to wear this outfit that was sleek and black and covered with silver stars and sparkles. [That is not helpful, Stacey. Even Kristy could come up with more details than that. Dress? Pants? . . . Jumpsuit?]
Later in the book, Mary Anne starts freaking out about Stacey's party and tells everyone Stacey has to tell them what to wear. Everyone's pretty WTF? about it, and Kristy suggests they wear their Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts. "They're as New York as you can get." Mary Anne then scowls at her and adds "You especially, Kristy. You wear what Stacey says." Kristy hopes that Stacey "says jeans, a sweater, a turtleneck, and sneakers, because that's all I brought. And who made you Fashion Boss of the World, anyway?"
This is an excellent question.
And this is a great example of why I love the early books. There was so much more drama!
". . . if it'll make you feel better, Mary Anne, I'll tell you what to wear. Let's see what you brought." (I glanced at Claudia's boxcar. She had just opened it and about twenty outfits had fallen out.) "And if there's anything you need to borrow," I added, "I'm sure Claudia will have it."
"Stacey," Claudia began coldly, "for your in-"
And then Dawn interrupts with some happy hippie peacemaker speech (kidding, she just tells everyone to calm down and concentrate on getting dressed, which is logical enough advice.). However, I'm not really here for recapping purposes (that little snitfit was too good to ignore, especially since it was clothing related), so let's move on to the outfits.
A half hour later we were ready. Well, maybe not ready, but at least we were dressed. Mary Anne looked at all of us (even me [!]) critically.
"Kristy, borrow an outfit from Claudia, okay?" she said. [Oh no she didn't. To quote Kathy Griffin: "I was raised right - I talk about people behind their backs. It's called manners."]
Kristy was wearing a white turtleneck with little red and blue hearts all over it [ . . . yeah, I owned that turtleneck], a red sweater, jeans, and sneakers.
"Claudia and I are not exactly the same size," said Kristy, who is not only quite short, but completely flat-chested. "Now get off my case."
"Okay, okay . . . Stacey, is it all right if Kristy wears that tonight?"
"Of course, I said.
Mary Anne continued her inspection. Claudia had on the black outfit we'd talked about over the phone so long ago. [Tell me more.] And she was wearing her hair simply, for once - [you're not going to tell me more, are you] brushed back from her face and held in place by a white beaded headband. [Blair Waldorf approves.] Dawn had chosen an oversized [
And what was Mary Anne, the fashion plate, wearing? Well, here's a clue. She looked like she'd walked right out of the pages of Little House on the Prairie. [Snap!] I had chosen a bright, big-patterned [read: Cosby] sweater and a pair of black pants for her. She'd looked at them, shaken her head, replaced them in her suitcase and put on this other outfit - a ruffly white blouse, a long paisley skirt, and these little brown boots.
In Mary Anne's defense, maybe she just borrowed Claudia's time machine for an afternoon. It seems like the fashion world is moving on from the 80s to the 90s right now, (which . . . I'm not sure how I feel about this, to be honest. I guess it's an excuse to start wearing my big clunky Doc Marten oxfords again? I don't know.) and she's pretty much got Sharon's look down pat. Stacey's opinion? It was very mature and attractive but, well, Mary Anne was the only one of my friends who, when dressed up, actually looked like she came from Connecticut. [Double snap.] We could tell, though, that the clothes were new and that she really wanted to wear them, so no one said anything to her, despite the grief she'd given us earlier.
Okay, one last pimp before I end this entry: my good friend Courtney Summers just released the book trailer for her debut novel, Cracked Up to Be. Ch-ch-check it out. And now I'm off to watch Big Brother, because that show is like crack to me.
I've retained a troubling amount of information about books I read during my childhood.
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25 comments
HA, I had this book and I loved it. I remember those scenes so well, too. :) Loved your nod to Blair. And Dawn's outfit actually sounded cute.
by Unknown on 8:59 PM. #
I just found this blog through Courtney's link, and I adore it already. YES. I was a huge BSC fan!
by Little Willow on 11:00 PM. #
"peach-colored sweater-dress"--you have no idea how hard i looked for my interpretation of this dress when i was nine years old.
i think i wound up with a dress that was fleecy inside, looked like it was sweatshirt material outside, and had puffy kittens on it.
i am bad at describing clothing.
that's why i leave it to ann m martin and her wily team of ghostwriters.
by alicia on 11:53 PM. #
OMG, I had this book, too. It's all coming back. I wonder if it's stashed away in my basement...
by Sarah AJ on 12:37 AM. #
Thnx for the shout-out, bb!
I hero-worshipped Stacey when I was younger! Now you are making me question myself!
"Kristy, borrow an outfit from Claudia, okay?" she said. [Oh no she didn't. To quote Kathy Griffin: "I was raised right - I talk about people behind their backs. It's called manners."]
LULZ!
Man. You never let me down for the LULZ, I'm telling you.
by courtney summers on 1:52 AM. #
i actually like what dawn is wearing. shockhorror!
i wish for my wardrobe to be half as organised as yours. i literally just throw things in mine then slide the doors shut so i can pretend i didn't do it.
by Kirstie Sequitin on 3:51 AM. #
Whoa, whoa, whoa...how can you possibly recap this seminal fashion moment in BSC history without including the arrival of Laine Cummings later in the evening? To this day, my friend Kate and I still talk about her single bangle bracelet and silver squiggle pin. I mean, I know this blog is really about Claudia, but this was an important moment for her as well, being upstaged by Stacey's other best friend. (After all, Laine did look 18, while Stacey deemed Claudia only "15, tops.")
I did enjoy reliving Mary Anne's clothing dictatorship and Nellie Olsen fashion statement in all their glory, though. This was definitely one of the better books for outlandish BSC fashion.
by Anonymous on 1:46 PM. #
Oh Mary Ann...Mary Ann. LOL Yeah, the dress flaring above the hips...not so sure about that one.
Please GAWD don't let big clunky Doc's come back in style. Ugh.
by Anonymous on 11:37 AM. #
I'm in love with CatwalkQueen and all things Shiny Media! I thought it was a typo when you had it here because it was too perfect to be true!!! What a glorious world we live in that What Claudia Wore and Catwalk Queen could come together in harmony.
and I too had that turtleneck
by boppo on 8:47 AM. #
So I just wanted to tell you this blog is one of the best things that's happened to my favorites list. My BFF linked me when I mentioned that all of my major purchase were named after the BSC. The most important, my sparkly blue Altima, is named after Claudia.
by Unknown on 9:57 PM. #
yeh I used to read this.. and the boxcar children (!!!)
by Phone with a Cord on 12:47 AM. #
Boppo, thank you for making my day with that comment!
And Kim, a belated thank you for being part of the wardrobe feature. I *love* snooping in other people's closets.
Gemma, CQ ed. xx
by Gemma on 9:50 AM. #
gawd i luv this
by ashleigh nankivell on 2:32 PM. #
wait wait WAIT though, what happened at the party??? i am forgetting, even though i read this book probably 900 times. maaaaybe because i read it in 1987.THAT's possible.
doesn't mary anne meet a boy???
maybe i'm making this up.
and stacey's dress makes me picture that american apparel ice skater dress....
by White Lightning on 9:38 AM. #
Ha ha - funny stuff. I can't tell you how many times I've read that one. I still have my whole collection.
by Emily on 11:03 PM. #
brilliant, dear. My thoughts exactly. alejandra of "always order dessert" sent me your way. I'm oh so glad that she did. :)
by Moe on 5:47 PM. #
I blame you for my obsession with Gossip Girl.
by denise on 2:01 PM. #
Also, I want to start a band called Blair Waldorf Approves.
by denise on 4:28 PM. #
Is this the same book where Laine wore al black with a silver squiggle pin? I remember thinking that whatever a silver squiggle pin is, it must be the height of Big City Sophistication!
by Unknown on 3:23 PM. #
The silver squiggle pin was possibly THE fashion highlight of the entire BSC series. Scholastic should have manufactured them and made a fortune selling them to preteen girls all around the English-speaking world.
by Jennie on 7:32 PM. #
It was Stacey wore the short yellow dress. Mary *Anne* wore the prairie outfit.
by Libellule on 12:33 AM. #
A silver squiggle pin! Laine and I are both art deco lovers.
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