A Contemporary Claudia

If you were born in the eighties and you’re an American lady, there seems to be a fair to excellent chance that you read the Baby-sitters Club book series as a girl. I know I consumed these novels with an almost unnatural religious fervor, and these “tweens” totally changed my life forever. Claudia Kishi, in particular, was, is and will be one of my ultimate fashion gurus. Claudia was the “artist” of the group and the Vice President of the club. She describes her style like this: “Traditional clothes look boring and are boring to put on. So I never wear them. I like bright colors and big patterns and funny touches, such as earrings made from feathers. Maybe this is because I’m an artist. I don’t know. Today, for instance, I’m wearing purple pants that stop just below my knees and are held up with suspenders, white tights with clocks on them, a purple plaid shirt with a matching hat, my high-top sneakers, and lobster earrings.” UM. YES.

There is even a great fashion blog called “What Claudia Wore,” a site devoted to exploring the contemporary influence of Claudia’s look. Her wild, irreverent attitude is infectious and, above all, fearless.

The blog occasionally offers examples of magazine spreads that have “Claudia” written all over them. This one above is from the March 2010 issue of Nylon magazine.