‘The Wedding Singer’ Shows Us Something (Not So) Old
The Movie: “The Wedding Singer”
The Setup: A professional wedding singer, Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler), and a wedding banquet waitress, Julia (Drew Barrymore), find love in 1985 in the suburbs.
The Costume Designer: Mona May, whose credits include “Clueless” (the movie and TV series) and “Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion,” as well as “The Julie Brown Show” and many music videos.
The Look: One way to feel old is to ponder that the ‘80s may be inching back. Don’t expect to see prototypal Donna Karan power suits worn with snap-crotch wrap blouses here though. Mostly, this assemblage of characters reminds you how stupid people looked, especially the rock stars who inspired legions. There’s Michael Jackson-wannabe Sammy (Allen Covert) in multi-zippered jacket and jeans and, yes, one sequined glove; Boy George-wannabe George (Alexis Arquette) with his unmistakable foppish jackets, long hair and eye makeup; and, of course, Madonna-wannabe Holly (Christine Taylor), a tangled mass of hair, crucifixes, rubber bracelets, lace, netting and lingerie. You can see that Sandler’s Robbie is ideologically a world apart since he dresses in his own time zone, crooning Rat Pack-style in ‘50s skinny, shawl-collar dinner jackets.
You Should Know: May doesn’t think this is all a joke. Look how quickly the ‘60s and ‘70s came back, she cautions. “People aren’t buying this ‘80s stuff yet, but I think some of it is definitely coming in. Blue eye shadow is back. Skirts are becoming more A-line and could become fuller and shorter. Dolce & Gabbana are trying shoulder pads, and somebody else was just showing leggings with blazers. Helmut Lang is doing the punk look. Here in New York, every store I go into they play ‘80s music. But I’m sure the ‘80s will be reinvented ‘90s-style. I don’t think anyone will ever wear those giant shoulder pads again.”
Scene Stealer: Barrymore’s adorable Julia proves that certain things have become timeless, particularly her thrift-shop-grunge look. She also reminds us that mining thrift stores used to be strictly for the young who didn’t have any other choice--they could buy a ‘40s rayon floral dress at Goodwill for a few bucks and a pair of black, lace-up Army surplus boots and have a look. You can still find the boots at Army surplus stores for about $30, but choice vintage dresses are almost impossible to find, at least for a decent price. May looked in every vintage store in Los Angeles, and ended up renting all of Barrymore’s dresses from Palace Costume in Hollywood, a steady source for filmmakers. Her silver wire choker with black onyx charm comes from the Tom Mark store in Los Angeles. As for her sweet, cap-sleeved wedding dress with miles of tulle, it’s a May design.
Triumph: Barrymore’s pink Shantung, gored dress with black bolero decorated with pink silk flowers is from Betsey Johnson’s 1986 collection. “Betsey Johnson was so hot in the ‘80s. She was the biggest. She’s an icon,” May says.
