As the film celebrates 30 years, we look back at the many spectacular, transformative hats in Clueless.
What would Clueless be without its hats? The classic ’90s film is now cemented in the canon of fantastic fashion flicks due to costume designer Mona May’s fun, over-the-top, approach to style and Cher Horowitz’s (played by Alicia Silverstone) love of designer fashion and one very particularly daring take on the skirt suit. But pull back the curtain of Calvin Klein madness and one might see that hats are the real proverbial star of the show. Our revelation: in the church of Clueless, hats are simply everything. They transform and add an extra layer of eccentricity and humor to every single outfit.
In the world of Clueless, hats don’t merely exist as a form of function. They are as wacky, fun, and impractical as possible. They verge on humor and literal costume store catastrophe, but the characters pull them off with elite confidence and taste. Case in point: the magic red and black spiral hat worn by the ever iconic Dionne Marie Davenport (played by Stacey Dash).
May reportedly had a $200,000 budget to outfit the entire film. For the occasion, she went to the mall, thrift stores and anywhere else she could get her hands on unique pieces.
The aforementioned red hat remains a mystery. “That Dr. Seuss hat with the little swirl—who knows where it came from…probably a thrift store,” she told E! News. She added, “That was a crazy find. I don’t even know who designed that hat. It was secondhand from some crazy hat store from some random lady in some random, random little boutique and as soon as I saw it, it was one of those ‘Oh my God, this hat is perfect! How are we gonna make this work?’ It’s always about achieving the balance with Dionne; how far can we push it without crossing the line? With this hat I think we almost did (cross the line) but we made it work.”
Hats are the main feature of the film if you really watch. We’re talking berets! Straw fantasies! Glitzy sailor hats! Anything and everything goes, so long as it’s not boring. The hats in Clueless bring together a rare kind of casual camp that doesn’t take itself so seriously.
Dionne’s black, red and white straw flower hat is another favorite. It was designed by KOKIN, which created a handful of hats in Clueless. In another setting, it could read as very Kentucky Derby meets matronly Chanel meets Sunday morning Church, but with the vinyl texture, oversized rosette and masterful styling, it’s pure fashion fantasy.
Amazingly, KOKIN still exists. The brand is still active on Instagram and they sell some of their dramatic hats at Bergdorf Goodman. Vintage hats from KOKIN are also relatively easy to come by, and pretty exceptional. This huge, couture style black feathered hat by KOKIN is a dead ringer for the look Cher wears with her red Alaia dress (seen above).
I just ordered a vintage KOKIN hat from The Real Real (which also has its own very, very good Mona May edit up right now) for less than $40. I may also be guilty of ordering a cherry red satin mini Gucci backpack from said edit.
“I wear hats all the time. It’s kind of my signature,” May said. “I think they’re just such a great fashion accessory and it just really puts the outfit onto another level.”
Cher’s frenemy, Amber, also deserves hat recognition. May wanted her to look like a “fashion victim”, so she upped the costume-y element to bring to life an amusing mash-up of Dionne and Cher’s style twisted and contorted. The result is great. It actually reminds me of Vaquera’s subversively styled sailor hats.
Here are some of the incredible, new and vintage Clueless inspired KOKIN hats we’d shop:
Vintage KOKIN Feather Hat
Vintage KOKIN Fur Hat
Vintage KOKIN flower hat
Vintage KOKIN dalmation hat
Sudden Chic uses affiliate links where possible, which means we may get a small commission from things you buy. Thanks for your support.
Leave a Comment