From her early films, like 'Pretty in Pink' and 'The Breakfast Club', to her recent work in the FX series 'Feud: Capote vs. The Swans', Molly Ringwald’s style has evolved to encompass a variety of trends both on and off screen. Everything from embracing ‘80s hairstyles to wearing ‘90s feather boas, Molly sure knows a thing or two about individual style. Watch as Molly walks us through her most memorable costumes and red carpet looks in this episode of Fashion Flashback.
#MollyRingwald #FashionFlashback #BAZAAR
#MollyRingwald #FashionFlashback #BAZAAR
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00 I met Taylor Swift for the first time at the Billboard Awards.
00:04 Everyone wants to know what you guys were looking at on that phone.
00:07 Hi Harper's Bazaar, this is Molly Ringwald and today we're going to be looking back at
00:12 some of my fashion moments over the years.
00:14 This is Fashion Flashback.
00:17 I think my style is pretty eclectic, but 80s hairstyles can stay in the 80s.
00:29 Okay, the first outfit. This is my very first premiere.
00:34 I picked this out myself. I remember asking my parents if I could spend
00:40 what I thought was a pretty significant amount of money.
00:42 I think it was like $200 at the time.
00:45 I like the pleating here, I like the sleeves, I like the color.
00:51 I completely stand by this look. I love everything about it.
00:55 I would totally wear that today.
00:58 This shot is from the Breakfast Club.
01:01 The top I think was originally cream colored and then it was dyed this pink color.
01:07 I was really into the long skirt. It was not exactly what you would expect of her,
01:14 but there was something that I thought was very elegant about it.
01:18 The whole thing, along with the diamond stud earrings, just looked really rich.
01:24 And she was.
01:25 What do you remember from the original look?
01:27 There was kind of a mishap with my costume for the Breakfast Club,
01:30 and I didn't really think that it was great for her character.
01:33 When it actually arrived, I think the color was really off.
01:37 It was also much more 80s. It was kind of triangular.
01:42 And I feel like the movie would have looked a lot more dated had I been in that outfit.
01:47 I think one of the things about the Breakfast Club that actually keeps it from seeming too dated
01:52 is the fact that all of our wardrobes are things that you could wear now.
01:58 And I really felt like Claire's archetype would be very Ralph Lauren.
02:02 It just seemed to make more sense.
02:04 So this is the prom dress from Pretty in Pink.
02:08 This was done by Marilyn Banz.
02:11 And the dress is so iconic now, I really hated it at the time.
02:15 It was not really what I had envisioned.
02:18 What was your initial reaction when you saw this dress?
02:21 I cried. I burst into tears.
02:23 No one can really look good in this dress.
02:25 This is not a very flattering dress.
02:28 I mean, it looks good on this part, the halter.
02:32 It's just this sort of inverted triangle, which was really very much big in the 80s.
02:38 Considering that Andy was supposed to be this great fashion designer,
02:41 I thought maybe she should have pursued something else.
02:45 I kept everything from this movie, with the exception of the dress.
02:50 And it's too bad I would love it now.
02:53 But I still have that bag, actually, that I have.
02:56 My daughter borrowed it the other day for a party she went to.
02:59 What would you tell your younger self now about this dress?
03:01 Just to have a sense of humor about it, I guess.
03:03 And if you can look good in this dress, you can look good in everything.
03:06 This was from Chanel for the 59th Academy Awards.
03:12 I still have it.
03:13 I remember going with my boyfriend at the time, Adam Horvitz.
03:17 He was wearing a thrift shop tuxedo and really, really wanted to have a boombox on his shoulder.
03:23 And I wouldn't let him because I thought it would be disrespectful.
03:27 And I was a good girl.
03:29 Now I kind of regret I should have let him have the boombox.
03:34 I love the dress. I think it's very chic and very simple.
03:38 And a lot shorter than a lot of the gowns that people were wearing.
03:43 There was originally a different plan for my hair, and it didn't kind of go the way that I wanted it to.
03:49 I think I'd probably use a different handbag.
03:53 I think--I don't know exactly what I'm holding there, but I don't really think it was great.
03:58 Well, I don't really know what I am wearing underneath, but it's a vintage, like, swing coat.
04:08 It looks very festive.
04:10 I think that I have that boa, but I have the coat, and I think that I have the bag that I have underneath there.
04:15 It was like a little Prada bag.
04:17 I keep everything, and usually everything that I get rid of I remember and regret.
04:24 But yeah, I'm a little bit of a clothes hoarder.
04:27 And they always say, you know, if you don't wear something for two years, get rid of it.
04:31 But, you know, I won't wear something for 20 years, and then I'll wear it the first time.
04:35 And I love it.
04:38 This was a Badgley Mischka, and I still have this dress.
04:42 The dress was just very princessy.
04:44 It was very Grace Kelly, so that's why I think I'm wearing the gloves.
04:49 And I liked it with my hair.
04:50 I liked having my hair that short.
04:52 That's a Prada satin clutch that I still have.
04:56 I think if I did it today, I just wouldn't wear the stockings.
04:59 I like things to be cut well.
05:06 I'm really just sort of looking for how I feel when I put it on.
05:10 You kind of know as soon as you put it on whether you feel powerful or pretty or whatever it is that you want to feel.
05:17 I think this is a vintage dress that I got.
05:21 I went to a store once, and I just bought so much stuff at the store because everything fit me.
05:28 It was just one of those really great nights.
05:30 And then I think I'm wearing sort of like a wrap over that, which I still have.
05:35 Oh, that was a really great little bag, which I lost.
05:38 It had like a little cocktail on it.
05:40 It was really cute.
05:42 When I first got into vintage clothes, people didn't necessarily know what they had.
05:47 And you could just find these incredible, you know, '20s beaded dresses, but everybody knows what it is now.
05:54 So it's much harder to find things for nothing.
05:58 But I still really love buying vintage.
06:01 I will shop anywhere.
06:02 It's kind of my superpower.
06:05 The next, this was for the Academy Awards by the designer and friend of mine, Todd Thomas.
06:12 I originally wanted my dress, I think, to be white, but they weren't letting anyone wear white that year.
06:19 Well, they said they weren't, and then Sarah Jessica Parker showed up in a white dress.
06:22 She didn't get that memo.
06:24 We just decided that the purple would look good with my hair, and I've always loved Alexander Calder's jewelry.
06:32 Not that many women had worn it, you know, like Georgia O'Keeffe, Angelica Houston at one point.
06:38 I thought it was way cooler than wearing diamonds.
06:40 I felt very cool.
06:42 This was for the Billboard Awards.
06:46 Fit me well.
06:48 I tend to like wearing halters just because I think that I have good shoulders, and I had been working out.
06:54 Felt good.
06:56 I just, I like how simple it is.
06:58 I would totally wear this now.
07:00 I think it would look really well with the hair.
07:02 I was blonde at the time.
07:04 I think I've always just sort of part of me has wanted to be a blonde because my brother and sister were both blondes,
07:10 and I always felt like I really should be a blonde, but now I look better with red hair.
07:15 I just have to face it.
07:17 I met Taylor Swift for the first time at the Billboard Awards, and she was great.
07:21 Everyone wants to know what you guys were looking at on that phone.
07:24 I think we were just exchanging numbers.
07:26 She was really nice.
07:28 She was always really super lovely with me.
07:32 This dress is made by Zac Posen, who is a friend.
07:38 It's such a glamorous dress, so well made.
07:42 It has that one sleeve that, you know, from different angles, it's just very sculptural.
07:47 I felt like I was like a million feet tall.
07:49 I think I was wearing pretty high heels.
07:51 Anytime I wear red, I feel very powerful.
07:54 The second I put it on, I thought, "This is it. This is what I want to wear."
07:57 Zac Posen did the Truman Capote black and white ball gowns, and that's how we met.
08:03 What was your favorite look that Zac did for the show?
08:06 I mean, my favorite, I think, would just be the one that I was wearing,
08:10 but when I saw the show, I just--I loved all of the dresses.
08:14 He didn't copy the dresses that were made.
08:16 It was really more like he sort of interpreted them.
08:20 Thanks for going down memory lane with me, and everyone tune in to Feud.
08:26 Great.
08:27 [music]