Binge Worthy Fashion: The Ladies of “Riverdale”

Sorry about missing Thursday’s blog post last week! The photos just weren’t up to par for me, and I’m getting a little tired of the same backdrops for my photoshoots over and over again… But hey, that’s life at the moment, since going to parks to take photos of myself in a fancy outfit is definitely not essential. I hope you like dead grass and trees in the background of my pics, ha! Anyway, today I’m sharing the latest installment of my Binge Worthy Fashion series to talk about the styles of Betty Cooper, Cheryl Blossom, and Veronica Lodge from the show “Riverdale”. Now… do I think “Riverdale” is a good show? No, I pretty much think it’s trash. But do I watch it anyway? Sometimes… because I love to see the protagonists’ outfits! I still wanted to share a post about the characters’ styles, since I know the show has a huge fanbase, even if I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the series as good TV (but of course, if you’re just looking to waste a bunch of time for the sake of seeking out fashion inspo, then by all means watch the show).

The Show

“Riverdale” first aired in 2017, and the fourth season’s finale is scheduled for the middle of May; apparently the show has already been renewed for a fifth season as well. “Riverdale” follows the lives of a bunch of teenagers, including Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper, Cheryl Blossom, and Veronica Lodge, in their small town named—you guessed it—Riverdale, which is plagued with mystery and murder. The show is based (I’m not sure how loosely) on a comic book from the 1940s called Archie Comics, thus explaining the funny names of the characters, Archie’s bad dye job, and the crazy adventures in the town.

As I already mentioned, “Riverdale” is not the best show… The storyline has serious plot holes, the dialogue is cheesy, and the characters seem to get naughtier with every season. Yet, the show survives due to what I can only expect is a large tween girl fanbase. And people like my parents and me, that is… who for some unknown reason continue to watch the series, despite the fact that we guffaw at every cheesy line and roll our eyes whenever there’s a musical number. Why do we continue to watch the show? I really can’t explain it, but I think it has to do with being committed. We watched the first season and heck, we’re not quitters, so we’ll see it through to the end. That’s the only thing I can reckon.

But the one thing “Riverdale” does have going for it is some seriously cute fashion. That’s why I continue to watch the show, at least in the background while I’m multitasking (i.e. working on blog posts). Each girl has a very fun and unique style, which I wanted to highlight in today’s post! There was no way I could pick just one character, so instead I recreated all three of the female protagonists. And it was a blast. So without further ado… here are their looks and how to recreate them.

Betty Cooper’s Style

First up is Betty Cooper, the cute and nerdy teen who works for the student newspaper and loves to investigate the town’s mysteries. Betty’s style is a cross between preppy and casual, as she loves collared shirts and short sleeve sweaters, but she also rocks a pair of sneakers most of the time (finally, someone with a sensible shoe choice—after all, the characters are always running around town, trying to chase the bad guys or whatever). Betty always has her signature high ponytail—perfectly curled, I might add—and she oftentimes wears casual miniskirts (think, corduroy with the buttons in the front).

To recreate Betty’s look, I started with the one short sleeve sweater I own. This white sweater with the black stripe details was the perfect piece because when I think of Betty’s style, I think of her collection of extremely tight yet prettily colored sweaters. Next I browsed my collection of pencil-like skirts… I was torn between this new green pleather one and my black corduroy zip-front skirt. I ultimately decided on the green one because Betty usually wears color, especially pretty pastel shades. I finished the look with as high a ponytail as my scalp could handle, pearl earrings, and my indoor-soccer shoes. The shoes are definitely not ideal, but they’re the only sneakers I have—Converse would be a much better option, if you have a pair.

Betty’s style is probably the easiest to recreate from items already in your closet, if you just have a tight sweater, a miniskirt, a hair brush to yank that hair really high, and a pair of sneakers that are cuter than my soccer shoes. Besides the shoes, I would totally wear this outfit myself! I would swap the sneakers for black booties to make the perfect outfit for class.

Cheryl Blossom’s Style

I was probably most excited to recreate Cheryl’s style. Cheryl Blossom is the popular teen who runs the cheerleading squad, can be a butt sometimes, and has a totally over-the-top personality. Her signature color is red, and she is never not wearing some variation of the color (did you like that double negative?). The actress who plays Cheryl has the prettiest red hair, and her character’s style is a cross between edgy/goth and feminine, since she quite often wears a skirt. Cheryl likes choker necklaces, miniskirts, all-things-tight, and black accessories. She also always wears an extremely bold lipstick and never shies away from something pleather.

I had a lot of leeway in recreating a Cheryl-inspired outfit, just as long as it had lots of red. Rather than a true red (because I don’t own much of the color), I opted for a darker burgundy themed outfit. I knew right away I wanted to pair this upscale fringe dress with my burgundy pleather jacket, which seemed like the perfect Cheryl-like juxtaposition of styles. I wasn’t entirely sure how the combination would turn out, but once I put the jacket on over the dress, I really liked the look! To add some more edginess, I paired the outfit with black studded heels, a fringe pleather bag, and a red choker. I parted my hair in the middle to look more like Cheryl (although she switches up her part quite a bit in the show), and of course, I threw on a bold lipstick. Initially I tried a true red shade, since she wears a very bright red lip no matter the colors in the rest of her outfit. But I just couldn’t do it… I felt the true red clashed with the burgundy shades of my dress.

I actually ended up really loving this outfit and would totally wear it out (but to where? I’m not sure). If Cheryl’s style is your favorite, then my best advice for a re-creation is to start with the boldest red/burgundy lip color you own and go from there. You could wear a thin tight sweater, pleather skirts, high waisted satin shorts, pleather jackets, etc.—just as long as there’s lots of red. Have I emphasized ‘red’ enough, yet?

Veronica Lodge’s Style

Veronica Lodge is the entrepreneur teenager who has big ideas and big money to make them happen (oh, and a nefarious family, who more often than not ropes her into trouble). In a lot of ways, Veronica’s style mirrors her personality—dark, mysterious, professional… Veronica’s outfits are always very posh and preppy, and she never shies away from carrying a handbag and wearing heels around the hallways of her high school (super practical, obviously; I have also been known to wear heels to class). Veronica wears a lot of black, lots of skirts and dresses, and a lot of collared items. If you didn’t look at her face/age (or the length of her skirts), you might think she’s a highly successful 30-something lawyer living in NYC.

To recreate Veronica’s style, I knew I had to wear this black, faux tweed, collared dress I got for Christmas. If I hemmed it to make the dress shorter, I think Veronica would wear this exact piece. I added some sparkles in the belt and a pearl bracelet, and of course I had to carry the only handbag I own, this gorgeous navy dotted Kate Spade bag (it was a gift but purchased on major sale, duh). Veronica’s hair is usually parted in the middle as well, so I left my hair the same. Lastly, I strung a small strand of pearls around my neck and tucked it beneath my collar—Veronica is always wearing her pearls, a detail that becomes somewhat important in the show!

To get Veronica’s style yourself, I recommend wearing lots of black, a skirt or a dress in luxe fabrics, pearl accessories, and maybe even a collared shirt layered under a sweater or dress. I would definitely wear this outfit myself, although I would probably switch the heels for flats to make it more practical to wear to class around campus. But if I ever get a corporate job where I have to dress up?? 100% going to wear this look.

So which outfit was your favorite?? Do you watch “Riverdale” or is it too cheesy for you? This Binge Worthy Fashion series has been really fun for me because I’ve ended up creating a lot of outfits I otherwise never would have thought to wear. Like Cheryl’s look in today’s post! I never would have paired those pieces together if not for the inspiration I got from watching the show. So fun! There are still two more “episodes” left in this series, so stay tuned for those in the coming weeks, and you can click the links below to see the previous blog posts.

Binge Worthy Fashion: Mindy Lahiri from “The Mindy Projcet”

Binge Worthy Fashion: Jessica Day from “New Girl”

Binge Worthy Fashion: Jane Sloan from “The Bold Type”

I hope you all are doing well, and have a great start to your week!

 

Miles of smiles,

Grace

 

Betty’s Outfit

White Sweater: Bohme Boutique, $30 // Green Pleather Skirt: Francesca’s, $15 // Soccer Sneakers: Nike via a soccer apparel store, $60 // Yellow Purse: Charming Charlie, $15

Cheryl’s Outfit

Red Fringe Dress: White House Black Market, $100 // Burgundy Pleather Jacket: BB Dakota via Wish Boutique, $25 // Black Heels: Frye via Sundance Outlet, $75 // Black Fringe Purse: unknown, $50

Veronica’s Outfit

Black Collared Dress: Maison Jules via Macy’s, $30 // Black Heels: Kelly and Katie via DSW, $40 // Belt // Dotted Handbag: Kate Spade Outlet, $88