Craig “We Hung Out All Summer” Manning is treating Ellie so badly that we maybe should be worried. Honestly I’ve never seen him more filled with rage at any woman. Why her? Why hate HER so much? It’s clear he’s got no respect for her, yet it’s unclear why he’s even her friend. What are they friends about? Anyway, first he’s in a leather jacket and red tee, then he’s in an Irish looking green tee and baggy jeans. And I’m still sad he doesn’t have that cool shag haircut anymore.
Spinner’s not dressed very excitingly, but I do enjoy his overall skater look. Earrings, tongue ring, a ball bearing necklace, tee shirts, and so on. The tongue ring is really interesting, ya know? I don’t think I knew many high schoolers with their tongue pierced. That’s pretty adult. He’s also seen here in his Dot work shirt. And he is still VERY much disliked and ostracized amongst his peers in the aftermath of Jimmy’s paralysis.
Oh, hey! I took about a week off from posting because I ran out of storage space here on my site. I use WordPress, and I had filled up my Personal plan to the limit. I thought I was on Premium already and thought I couldn’t afford the next upgrade. Turns out I only had Personal, so now I’ve upgraded to Premium, and hope to have a few more years of doing this with y’all! I mean, I have like 14 more seasons to cover! Let’s hope Premium gets me through that!
Anyway, I’ve got the rando roundup for you today. First is the Tankini Tramp, who reminds me of Sara Paxton. Then is this group shot of the Grade 8s (I know, they’re older now) which is undeniably awesome. Ya know, I tend not to question these pants. Ever. Because those were the only pants I knew at the time and still feel like “normal” pants to me, even as trends changed. But like… objectively… do they look.. BAD?! Ill-fitting, even? Unflattering? Well, even if they do, skinny jeans are MUCH worse.
I had to include this mannequin shot because you can see the low-riseness of the pants, the tightness of the shirt, and that grommet belt, oof. Also at the mall, Manny is looking at this girl wearing a low-rise mini skirt, and the girl is also wearing the wig that Manny tries on… yeaaaah y’all can’t get anything past me!! I’m onto your secrets! Also at the mall is this gorgeous blonde with fillers and heavy makeup, also a miniskirt. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I still love and always have loved that golden Playboy blonde color that’s currently “out”. It’ll be back, just you watch.
Why do all the adults wear 70s-inspired clothes? Huge collars and bell sleeves? Does the wardrobe dept do that on purpose to show they’re from a different generation? Anyway, this rude receptionist for Bernice wears a terribly uncomfortably looking tweed blazer over a collar that reaches the ends of her shoulders. Gross.
Back at school, we see an assortment of cross-body bags and messenger bags. At the hot-girls-only party, Tankini Tramp Sara Paxton is apparently friends with Emma now, and her bra straps are hangin out – a favorite look! And finally.. the vodka guy is kinda gross, isn’t he?
INTRODUCING Peter Stone. Wow. Well, here we are folks. Look, not gonna lie, Peter was kinda cute at the beginning. In this like, overprivileged preppy boy way. I think he was well-cast. I don’t know how they let him turn into such a slobby looking guy later. But anyway, I also have huge issues with this character, besides the obvious. First of all, he’s one of the most inconsistent characters ever on this show. But let’s get into this current Peter. Umm, like, can we explore why we never get the REASON for his bizarre actions? Why exactly is he doing this? I do love the whole “creepy-guy-who-likes-to-photograph-beautiful-women-as-if-he’s-collecting-their-souls” thing. I know some of those guys in real life. It’s a thing, and it’s perplexing. They should have played into that more – and I’m glad that he did it again for consistency’s sake. And yeah, Peter being a pervert is totally believable – but even then, they didn’t really depict that as being the reason for his “movie”. And we also aren’t really shown answers. WHY leak the video? What was the thought process behind that? What was he trying to gain? WHY no repercussions? WHYYYYYYY did everyone just brush it off and decide Peter was fine? That’s insane. But yeah, when I watch early Peter, I wonder, “what’s his deal?” and I can’t figure out an answer.
Ugh, I could go on about this forever. But let’s move on. Peter is riding the last wave of spiky hair being acceptable on men (RIP). He dresses in button downs, polos, and casual khakis, just looking like a total prep!
Oh right, the B plot – Ellie and Craig’s birthday party fallout. Well, Paige is here for that, and you can read it on her face that it’s not going well. We’re going to be seeing this “fabric flower” thing on some more clothes as we go along. It’s crazy, I had clothes with fabric flowers on them too and just thought nothing of it. Paige wears this open-front shirt thing over a cami. She also has this sparkly decorative scarf, which I think is pretty congruent with the things Paige wears – slightly off, but somehow, Paige makes it cool.
Marco lookin like he came back from a pilgrimage over break. He looks like an art student from my college, except much more meticulously curated and put together. Honestly, the look seems too intentional-looking to seem like a believable hippie or world traveler. BUT let me also say, I do like it. Marco’s always got something to say with his style and I appreciate that. So many dudes around here don’t dress special, so Marco stands out. His hair is curled, his pants are cuffed super weirdly, and he wears this ornate tunic lookin top with many necklaces. At The Dot he looks like some sort of foreign athlete in this.. gosh, what kind of hat even is this? and a zip up jacket. He’s got swag for real.
Oh right, we are kicking Season 5 off with a huge bang… Manny is coming in HOT am I right? Yeah things really get out of control in this season. We are kind of losing the relatability here. Sure, teen girls definitely struggle with fitting into beauty standards. Relatable. But we can’t relate to pursuing big-time acting and shopping for plastic surgery. I’m picturing Degrassi’s hand slipping out of my own as the relatability is plummeting and my grip is weakening. At least we have the whole “parents-willing-to-disown-you-at-the-drop-of-a-hat” bit. That’s relatable.
But let’s move on to the fashion. We start off with this swimsuit moment, featuring Manny in a hot pink bikini and large sunnies. And let me just say, I am LIVING for this S5 Manny hair. I ADORE these voluminous and perky shag. Next, her brows are waxed, her earrings are big, her tank is tight, and her khakis are low. Then she goes to the mall and tries on blonde wigs. What is our fixation with blondeness anyway? We briefly see her in a nice sequined tank layered over another tank and under a cardi. OH, I see, she’s trying these clothes on in the store. She’s also got low-rise jeans and a grommet belt here.
Next, for her impromptu audition with a talent agent, she wears gold wedges, a yellow ruffled mini skirt, and a matching tiny vest over what seems to be a bandeau. I mean, she really went all out for this look. Those tiny vests were SUCH a thing, I hope more of these show up as we go along. But the talent agent just let her have it. Then, we have a moment with this flip phone before we are back at school. I’m counting old tech as fashion. Manny is wearing her very famous stretchy orange halter under a weird green and orange zip up hoodie. Damn that hair is flouncy! She ties the hoodie around her waist to get verbally abused by her parents… before she goes to a rock-bottom party… where… well, you know what happens.
Hazel time! She’s, well, part of the group, but doesn’t have many lines or much screentime like usual. She returns to school in this cropped pink cardi – I definitely had one like this – layered over a white tank, flare jeans, and pointy-toe heels. Next she’s at The Dot in a cowl neck tank of green and pink paisley.
Okay, I’ll say it. Season 5 Emma is HOT. And yeah, this episode is partly about beauty standards, and she is made to fit into that ideal 2000s look, so I hate to praise the toxic beauty standards so much. But I don’t know, something about S5 Emma, man. She’s glowing. And speaking of glowing, next season they put some weird glow filter on the girls, so this is our last natural era. Anyway, first is a rare swimsuit moment with Emma and Manny. Emma’s suit is adorable, with yellow and pink polka dots. She also wears some oversized rainbow shades. At school, Emma continues to sport the skin-tight Lululemon, and has almost a grungy makeup look of brown smudged liner and a darker lip. At the Hot Girls Party, which looks a lot like Jimmy’s house, her hair is perfectly curled and she wears layered camis as we did back then. She also has on this miniskirt that’s kinda like khaki but with a floral print on it. But seriously, the 2000s were skimpy as hell. And in the most formulaic way. To where, if, you ain’t got it, you can’t fake it. I feel like nowadays we have options and can play up the parts of us we’re proud of.
I have so may mixed feelings about Season 5 Ellie. This is a turning point for her. And we see it in more ways that one. Since this is a fashion blog, I do need to state the obvious: her style is toning down. Yeah, sure, her wardrobe is still “edgy” or whatever in that it’s black, but it’s becoming much less experimental and much less out-there. It’s pretty much subdued. I mean, check out her hair. Yes, it’s cute, but we’ve strayed very far from the extensions, crimper, multiple ponytails, and fake bangs. Her personality is also changing. First of all, she is simping for Craig hardcore. And while part of me HATES that, another part of me really hurts for her. I mean, look how cute and hopeful she is in this last photo. But it’s just never gonna happen, Ellie. I don’t know, maybe it should have. Maybe it would have been good for both of them. Anyway, her personality is also about to disintegrate terribly. She becomes Craig obsessed, and 100% boring from this point forward. I think perhaps the show struggles to write dynamic “alt” characters. They don’t know how to make these people “alt” besides how they dress.
But anyway, let’s break down the styles of today’s episodes. Ellie has discovered the wand curler, and has taken a liking to layering. Layering jackets, shirts, and even belt and skirts over jeans. It’s a lot. She also still wears her Emily the Strange bag, gotta love the continuity with the Degrassi girls and their bags. Her color palette is greys and blues mostly. Little details include hardware like the O-ring choker the studded belt, painted nails, and a Celtic knot ring.
broomheadz 