"It's a coming of age film, but it's a coming of age film that has not been told in such an authentic and realistic way," said April Napier, costume designer of critical darling, bonafide box office hit and definite Oscar contender, "Lady Bird." The movie, written by Greta Gerwig in her directorial debut, follows 17-year-old Christine McPherson (an excellent Saoirse Ronan) on her road to self-discovery. While rebelling against the norm of her monotonous hometown of Sacramento and struggling to connect with her mother Marion (an also-excellent Laurie Metcalf), "Lady Bird" — McPherson's self-given name — also uses clothing as a means of finding herself, as real teens often do.
But despite the film's 2002 setting, Lady Bird's style isn't necessarily reflective of definitive (and sometimes polarizing) early-aughts fashion trends. "She's in a beautiful moment of self-discovery and questioning and learning about herself," explained Napier about Lady Bird's aesthetic, which ranges from thrifted, demure lace party dresses from the '50s for important life occasions like prom, to '90s grunge-referential plaid jumpers when she falls for a rich, wannabe alt-rocker named Kyle (Timothée Chalamet).
As Lady Bird says to popular classmate Jenna (Odeya Rush) with much contempt, "Sacramento is the Midwest of California" — meaning, it's also behind when it comes to fashion trends. So Napier looked to seminal movies of the mid to late '90s, including "Empire Records," "10 Things I Hate About You" and "Kids," also citing Chloë Sevigny and her alt-cool sense of style as inspiration. Turn of the century pop culture references are sprinkled throughout, too. For instance, on Thanksgiving, Lady Bird changes in the car from her "meet the Kennedys" Thanksgiving dress into jeans, a grungey T-shirt and a beret, right before she spots dreamy Kyle performing with his band for the first time.
"It's her bohemian moment," explained Napier about Lady Bird's mindset in that scene. "'What would Kirsten Dunst wear?' Or 'what would Fiona Apple or Annie DiFranco wear?'"
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