I don’t think I’ve had the time to sit and reflect fully on how bizarre 2020 was. It marked the massive fade out of people from my life. It also marked the biggest Drive In summer of all time. With the anxiety, stress and losses of 2020 there were also some major wins. All I can dare hope for in this new year is to continue to watch horror movies and write about fashion. That’s what makes me happy. I guess if it’s any solid cliché that we took away from 2020 it’s to actually do what makes us happy because we could all fucking die at any moment.

Bloody New Year from 1987 was the perfect movie to end the year with. Pretty much everything about this one was as bad as 2020. I will shout out to the fake snow and cool ghost moments, but while watching this one a few days before New Years it was clear that it was the depression cherry on top of the 2020 cake. The epic intro of the goodbye to the 50s NYE party and the babe that gets pulled into the mirror was the best part of this movie hands down. Ultimately the babes bring it all home, or at the very least what they are wearing made the movie bearable for me. So, happy 2021 bitches, let’s talk about fashion.

Janet, Carol and Lesley are the 3 babes that round out this film. When we first meet the girls they are at a carnival in early summer. As insane story-line magic would have it they end up sinking a boat in the ocean and get stranded on an island where they find a hotel to change into late 50s clothes that belonged to the babes who partied and perished New Years of 1960. So, yea, this movie doesn’t take place in December at all but thankfully we get outfit changes that keep us interested.

Let’s start with Janet, played by Nikki Brooks. Love the vibe we are given for her with a summer color scheme and outfit that foreshadows the style she changes into later.

A knee length yellow dress, a long orange plaid coat, an orange beaded necklace and a vibrant apricot lip? She looks like a Starburst but we love a statement so I’m not hating. She pulls it off.

Of course, Janet is the only babe we get to see in the tub at the Grand Island Hotel they all check into. No complaints there but with the lack of killings in this movie overall it was a double disappointment that we didn’t get any nudity either.

But what we do get is a great ghost moment in the bathroom and the bubbles become their own character in this scene. I also can’t say enough about this incredible hair bow.

When Janet changes, we get the best possible choice for her character.

A picnic plaid pink dress with a synched waist and flower barrette that matches her string of iridescent pearls.

Janet is complete. Every outfit and accessory choice for her is great. There are zero complaints that I have for her prim and proper character in her outfit choices. From beginning to end she is a solid 10 for me.

There are few things I actually understand about this movie, one of them being the outfit choices for Carol. Carol, played by Catherine Roman is not giving us much to go off of in this movie.

There’s a hidden character in there somewhere but overall her choices seem rooted in either wonder or fear. All that we know is that she has a horrible eye for color combinations with the pastel orange Dreamsicle ensemble she wears in the beginning.

At least we know that Carol’s choices are consistently confusing once she changes into the pastel blue dress. The mix of horizontal and vertical stripes are cause enough for conversation but this dress absolutely looks 80s does 50s and the bustier-like top is positioned too high is too small for her chest.

Lets just take one second on the hairstyle here. This was a hairstyle choice AFTER she was wet in the ocean. With this decision we now know that Carol sucks. She wanted a half-up hairdo with a high pony after getting salt water in her curly hair? Talk about a fucking sin.

Carol is a conundrum from beginning to end. The only part of the movie that made her hair and outfit look cool was when it was getting it completely covered in fake snow.

Lesley, our babe, our annoying third, our villain? Again, I don’t know what to say about arch when it comes to these girls, especially Lesley. All I can gather is that she starts out super lame, looking the part through and through, then dies with a hole through the stomach, then transforms into a strange metallic version of Batman’s Two-Face and also a zombie but isn’t completely a bad guy.

We meet Lesley, played by Suzy Aitchison, she’s the typical least hot babe of the three babes. This is SUCH a trope in film, the classic uncool, unfunny and shown to be unsexy third member.

Honestly though, the white lab coat style jacket isn’t helping her, and neither are the shirt and pearls. God, even the hair is like they wanted to do the whole 80s androgynous vibe for her but completely failed. I think the worst thing about this combination is in the pants. If only they were jeans, or something more structured it would have balanced out the chaos up top. Even a fucking paper bag would have helped her more than those blue pants.

All is not lost for Lesley. When she changes into her second outfit she keeps the blue vibe going in a MUCH better way.

A fully buttoned baby blue cardigan is already a complete vibe but along with an iconic 50s pair of capri trousers with a matching black silk necktie, it’s too good. It’s so simple and so well done.

After she transforms into her creature-self the outfit is almost too perfect for words. The necktie becomes fully wrapped around her neck like its holding her head on and its a fantastic move. This outfit compliments what we know of her character and thankfully she is redeemed by this combination for the rest of the film.

The costume designer for this film was Katie Pegg and everything that I could praise her for is in Lesley’s redemption look and Janets style overall. The movie completely sucks but the outfits keep us watching. 😉

They did their best with the fashion in this terrible film. It shows. Something cool came out of something really bad. Let this be the silver lining we can all look towards for the year of 2021. Cheers!

Until next time babes,

Grace Lovera