I have never cosplayed before. I have friends who have cosplayed and I am a big fan of the culture, but I have never actually participated in the act of dressing up as a character or superhero for a convention or an event. I’ve contemplated donning the gear of an iconic 80s character many times and thought to myself, if I were in fact going to cosplay as anyone or anything, who or what would it be?
Okay, so here’s the thing. I am a creature of the 80s. I am the biggest 80s nerd you will ever meet. It’s like I live in a vacuum filled with 80s pop culture and I just can’t suck myself out of it. I am a huge fan of the Brat Pack films of the 80s: St. Elmos Fire, The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink, Sixteen Candles, and the list goes on and on. However, out of all of the Brat Pack kids, one particular actress stands out to me.
Molly Ringwald
Molly’s style was remarkable during the 80s. Every girl around her age at that time wanted to be her. I think what resonates with me the most about Molly’s eccentric style is that she wore a lot of pinks and pastels. I’m into pink. It’s my favorite color. The fact that Molly did a film called Pretty In Pink was absolute perfection. She is the queen of Pink.
Stay with me on this, cosplaying as Molly Ringwald is not a bad idea. Yes I know Molly’s career was at superstardom status over 20 years ago. Yes I get the fact that most of her attire by today’s standards would be considered out of style, but there is a sense of appeal with 80s fashion that seems to never go away.
At least for 80s nerds like me.
Here are some samples of Molly Cosplay I would like to utilize at the next con:
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| A Pretty In Pink inspired hat with a floral scarf wrapped around |
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| A Sixteen Candles inspired off the shoulder look |
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| A Breakfast Club inspired burgundy leather jacket with matching leather gloves |
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| Molly posing with floral print pants a light blue jacket and pink socks |
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| Molly posing with classic 80s plastic bracelets and a paisley scarf |
Yes, I miss pink laced fingerless gloves and stone washed jeans. I was the black chick that had a crimping iron that crimped her hair after watching Daryl Hannah sway her tresses in the film Splash and thought wow, would my hair look like that after it gets wet? Do you guys remember Claire from The Breakfast Club? She was the popular rich girl who was incessantly teased by John Bender for being a prude. John made a flippant remark towards her nails polish. John Bender even noticed that awesome color on her nails! I totally went to the closest drug store in my town to find the same color pink mauve that Molly wore in that film.
I was that nerd girl. I’m STILL that nerd and I encourage other nerd girls who feel the same to wear your cosplay as who YOU want to be! You don’t always have to cosplay as a comic book character. You can cosplay as your favorite film or TV character. Costume play is so much more than just the character; it’s the wardrobe and sense of style. Just like Batman has an awesome rubber suit that is stylish for a superhero, so does Molly Ringwald have with friendship bracelets, pink sweaters, and a straw fedora hat to match. Can someone start a John Hughes con? If there are any 80s cosplay cons out there, can someone add a comment to this thread? I think I have an idea for a character!
