So there’s a new Baby-Sitters Club book being released in April, to be followed by a re-issuing of the original series (only updated a bit for modern times).
This is a bit on the exciting side for me, as I read the first ten of the original books (courtesy of the school library) when I was younger. Although I was aware more were released besides those ten, and even more still were published long after them, I never read those. There were well over 100 total, including special mysteries and “Super Specials”.
Anyway, Jezebel.com has their wishlist of things they’d like to see in the updated series. As for me? I don’t know about ideas for that, but I do have a few thoughts regarding how I think the BSC would be as adults, at least fashion-wise. And by BSC, I mean only the “core” five — Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, Stacey, and Dawn. (I don’t mean to slight Jessi or Mallory (who does get a bit of atttention as a babysitee); it’s just that I never got that far.)
So here goes.
Kristy as a girl
The consummate tomboy. 99% of the time she’s in a turtleneck and jeans.
Kristy as an adult
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Although, she would swap the jeans for proper trousers in the workplace, methinks. Then, on weekends? Vintage t-shirts.
Mary Anne as a girl
Preppy before she stood up to her micromanaging dad and got rid of those stupid braids; preppy afterwards, too. (Apparently, late in the series, she cut her hair super-short, in the course of giving herself a bit of an extreme makeover.)
Mary Anne as an adult
Polo shirt city! I also seriously doubt she’d be caught dead in jeans. Much.
Claudia as a girl
Experimental, if not totally absurd (the blog What Claudia Wore catalogues the lot)! I also wonder how the hell she could afford her wardrobe on a babysitter’s salary, given she had to buy everything herself.
Claudia as an adult
Manga-inspired, anime-inspired (she’s Japanese, after all), avant-garde-inspired (taking style notes from Lady Gaga, probably!)… In other words, a prime candidate for What Not To Wear or How Do I Look?…though no matter what show she would go on, she’d go back to her old ways in a snap, for that’s how she rolls.
Stacey as a girl
The cutting edge of New York fashion…or so we’re lead to believe. She wore trousers! Trousers! But the closest thing I can think of is that she saw whatever Claudia was wearing and continually kicked herself in the rear for not having the cajones to wear that stuff herself. (Maybe that’s why she never went into detail regarding Claudia’s clothes in the books she was narrating.)
Stacey as an adult
Trendwhore. As the 1980s are, for the most part, back, she’d be running with it — skinny jeans, off-the-shoulder tops, big sunglasses, flowy tops with leggings…that sort of thing.
Dawn as a girl
“California Casual”…which meant button-downs and jeans, mostly. And she was supposed to be all hippie, too!
Dawn as an adult
Bohemian chic. With some vintage 1970s tops and flared jeans thrown in for good measure.
* * * * *
Actually, after typing all that up, I do have one idea for a modern BSC: Give Stacey a disease other than diabetes. Seriously. It’s too bloody common. I imagine it may be torture for a young girl, even at the age of twelve; but managing it is so not like it was back then, not to mention it’s not all that controversial and doesn’t necessitate secrecy. What about an STD or something else that’s more “edgy”? Or skip the disease thing altogether and have her secret be something to do with her sexuality or something like that? Come on, Scholastic!
