Mandy Miller Comes Correct
Y'all remember The Unicorn Club series? I loved it so much. Then they broke up the club in book 6 (The Unicorns at War) and didn't even include a preview of the next book and, dude, my adolescent heart was so broken, thinking the series was over. Then I randomly stumbled on #7 (Too Close for Comfort) while on vacation with my family (treasured memories: going to bookstores in other states) and all was right in the world again but the books weren't really that great after that bitch Kimberly Haver came back to Sweet Valley and ruined everything.
. . . Obviously I had a very tough childhood.
This is the cover of the first book, which I studied INTENTLY because there was no way the illustrator was pulling a fast one on me: that was clearly Tiffani Amber Theissen on the front cover. It's like "oh, hey! The Wakefield twins! Maria Slater, former child star! Lila Fowler, looking sadly weasely! Mary Wallace, as exciting as a sack of potatoes! And right in the middle -- Kelly Kapowski from Saved by the Bell! Why not!"
Anyway, Mandy Miller* is totes the Claudia Kishi of the Unicorn Club. She's not strapping dollhouse chairs to her ponytail or anything, but she is definitely the wacky dresser of the series. In the first book, she tells us that "my family doesn't have much money, so my mom and I have always had to be creative when it comes to clothes. I get most of my clothes from the thrift store. I guess you could say I was the grunge pioneer at Sweet Valley Middle School.
Take today - I had on wide-legged striped pants, a knit cap, and a long vest over a T-shirt. Not to brag on anything, but I do have sort of a flair with clothes. Even Lila Fowler tells me she really likes the way I put things together."
Even Lila Fowler, people.
"Mandy walked up and down, like a general inspecting her troops. She had really gone all the way today. She was wearing a pair of men's paisley pajama bottoms under a short tartan kilt, with a ribbed poorboy top and a paisley scarf worn like a sash. On her head was a tam with a big pom-pom. She looked great -- sort of like a punk bagpiper.
We all stood up really straight as she passed us by. Mary had on a forties vamp outfit. Flowing pants and a floaty top. Her fine blond hair lay flat all around her head in spit curls. And the only makeup she wore was dead white powder and red, red lipstick.
'Good', Mandy said approvingly, and Mary blushed with pleasure.
Lila had on a white crocheted vest over a black body suit and jeans. On her feet were saddle shoes.
Mandy smiled and shook her head. 'Great.'
On to Jessica. She was wearing faded jeans and a blue, pink, and purple floral-patterned vest. Underneath the vest was a white oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and on her head she had a hat with a big flower pinned to the upturned brim. Elizabeth had chosen a cool fifties-style housedress, accented with colorful jewelry, patterned tights, and lace-up boots.
Evie was there, too, and she trailed behind Mandy like a second-in-command, straightening a shoulder pad or retying a tie when it was necessary.
She was very funky, too, in her patterned men's dress shirt and tie. She wore them over a stretch miniskirt and tights."
Original fashion bloggers tbh. Stacey McGill better scurry on over to Bloomingdale's, because she is getting schooled left and right here.
* Sweet Valley trivia: Mandy Miller was introduced in the Sweet Valley Twins series -- she desperately wanted to be a Unicorn but was kind of goofy and her family was poor but then she got cancer and the Unicorns felt bad about being full-fledged bitches when it turns out Mandy was actually a super great person and then I think Lila bought her a wig because Mandy's mom could only afford a really janky one that did not meet Unicorn standards. I did not have to consult Wikipedia for any of this and that saddens me.
I've retained a troubling amount of information about books I read during my childhood.
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16 comments
"a pair of men's paisley pajama bottoms under a short tartan kilt, with a ribbed poorboy top and a paisley scarf worn like a sash. On her head was a tam with a big pom-pom"
I'm creating a mental picture of this and it's just awful.
by Shannon SVH on 12:14 PM. #
AHHHH! I totally remember this!! And I really wanted purple pants after I saw that cover.
by Jenny N on 1:21 PM. #
Does this mean you're back???
by aimee on 1:29 PM. #
lol @ not being able to afford a wig of Unicorn standards.
:/
by magda o on 4:58 PM. #
Oh my God, so glad you're doing Sweet Valley books now too! Please do more updates you're hilarious and bring back such great childhood bookworm memories!
Olive
www.VisforOlive.blogspot.com
by Anonymous on 2:02 PM. #
haha Maria's Movie Comeback was the only one I read of the Unicorns series. Those thrift store makeovers would make an awesome shopping montage in a movie.
by Marian on 12:49 PM. #
How did I miss this series?? I feel like I lived in Sweet Valley at one point of my childhood that's how into this shit I was! Also, am I going crazy or did Karen Brewer have a unicorn club (in the Babysitter's Club Little Sister series that I'm embarrassed to admit I read...)??
by living well on 10:57 PM. #
Explain to me, Francine Pascal, how someone born in 1938, uses the phrase "Grunge pioneer" as part of their prose. Ghostwriter- show yourself!
by Nicole Peeke on 9:43 PM. #
Has anybody else read the new Sweet Valley book? About Jessica and Elizabeth as adults? It's so bad it's ... bad. But I devoured it anyway! Sh*t goes DOWN, y'all.
by BeeKay on 5:54 PM. #
I am 26-years-old and this book is sitting on my bookshelf. If only I weren't serious. LOL!
by Curious Cat on 6:07 PM. #
I am 23 years old and ALL these books are sitting on my bookshelf. Some are even duplicated. The Unicorn Club rocked hard.
by winstonegbert on 12:04 AM. #
Hey Kim, do you watch Project Runway? Anya totally has that awesome/inventive/trendy vibe to her, almost like she could be Claudia years later!!
by Rachel on 6:57 PM. #
Am I the only one that noticed "dead white power"?
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by Unknown on 1:44 AM. #
I am so not sorry I never heard of this and never read any (though I did read a couple SVHs, but only during free reading time at school when all the BSCs had been taken). I do like Elizabeth's 50s dress outfit though. Jessica's with the flower on the brim sounds as Blossomesque as can be.
by Libellule on 8:12 PM. #
I read that and barfed a little in my mouth. Thanks for standing up for actual fashion. ;)
by Katie (and Ken) Baldwin on 5:03 PM. #