The Truth About 'Clueless' Fashion: Fact-Checking the Designer Myths, 30 Years Later

There shouldn’t be anything more to say about the fashion in Clueless. Since the instant teen classic hit movie screens in 1995, “Cher Plaid” has become shorthand for anything preppy and yellow; Alaïa has been renamed “like, a way important designer;” and people think a guy named Travis Birkenstock actually designs their gorpcore sandals. But here’s the thing: no matter how many times you’ve watched Tai crash out at the Val Party, you may still be missing a few key pieces of your Clueless closet haul.

That’s because, like Elton claiming his Cranberries CD is lost on the quad, there are some unfounded myths in the movie’s most-shared style lore. Alicia Silverstone’s indelible yellow suit that was, for decades, attributed to Dolce & Gabbana? Turns out it’s actually a French import. Stacey Dash’s memorable striped sweater? She stole it from another ’90s style icon. And Amber, the crew’s legendary frenemy, has more outfit overlap with Kate Moss than anyone—even Tai Frasier—would ever care to admit.

The cult film celebrates its 30th anniversary this summer, marked by a re-release in theaters on June 29, a 300-piece capsule collection for TheRealReal curated by costume designer Mona May herself, and below, a thorough investigation of the most enduring Clueless fashion theories, including the truth about Cher Horowitz’s most famous miniskirt, the reason Anna Sui might be a secret Clueless psychic, and which of the movie’s iconic outfits you can still buy for under $100:

Cher’s Yellow Plaid Suit Is a Fashion Lie

In 2015, Entertainment Weekly reported that Cher’s famous yellow suit was a Dolce & Gabbana creation. The credit spread to Vogue, People, and, apologies, even us. But although the Italian label did make a yellow plaid dress in 1994, it had black and red accents, while Cher’s has white and gray. The yellow plaid blazer and mini-kilt worn by Silverstone was actually created by Jean Paul Gaultier for his Fall 1994 collection.

It was one of the few designer pieces that costume designer Mona May purchased off the rack as part of her notoriously small $100,000 budget, which was meant to outfit every character and extra in the entire film. The splurge, of course, was worth it. Today, whenever a runway designer even hints at a yellow check pattern, the headlines blare, “Clueless Plaid Is Back.” It happened with Versace’s sassy and polished 2018 collection; at Dior’s witchy 2022 show; at R13’s grunge party in 2021. Want to buy your own? The exact style is currently at Vestiaire Collective for about $8,000; similar renditions are at Vivienne Westwood and MacLeod. And yes, the D&G 1994 dress is floating around; expect to pay around $300, though prices may spike as Clueless nostalgia hits (again).

The Anna Sui Effect

A full year before Milan and Paris did a sun-drenched schoolgirl plaid suit, Anna Sui did it at her first-ever runway show in New York City, circa 1991. Naomi Campbell wore the look with white tights, black loafers, and a matching beret—an undeniable influence on Cher’s signature style.

The yellow plaid suit isn’t the only Anna Sui moment in Clueless. Cher wears the designer’s Fall 1993 plaid neon blazer to haul Dionne’s bags through the Galleria, and Dionne sports a hot pink crop top to advise Tai about her sophomore year dating prospects. Both of these Anna Sui pieces were first seen on another ’90s pop culture princess, The Nanny’s Fran Fine.

When Cher tries to impress Christian by “showing some skin” in class, she’s wearing an Anna Sui floral slip dress that the designer recreated in 2018; you can also make it yourself with the original fabric.

The black-and-white striped leggings and starry crop tops at Anna Sui’s 1992 Spring/Summer show are also unmistakable influences on the gym class scene, which borrows heavily from the same motifs (albeit with Chanel water bottle holders from Karl Lagerfeld’s 1992 runway).

And when Amber shows up in a tight-striped rainbow turtleneck and matching leggings? Hello, Kate Moss and Tyra Banks at Anna Sui circa 1993.

There are even internet rumors that Cher’s famous white slip dress was Anna Sui’s, not Calvin’s, though Sui’s New York headquarters denied it when asked.

“What’s that? A coat. Says who? Calvin Klein.”

Meanwhile, in what many fashion obsessives consider to be Cher’s “most capable looking outfit,” our heroine wears a red buffalo-plaid peacoat that perfectly grazes the hem of her matching miniskirt. The coat was by Calvin Klein in its Carolyn Bessette Kennedy heyday; it’s tough to find now, but Michael Kors made a gorgeous version in 2018 that’s easier to source on resale sites. Also: Don’t sleep on Polo Ralph Lauren.

A Comme Des Clueless Sneaker

Look closely at Summer (Nicole Bilderback) and her sneakers in the fountain scene. Do they look familiar? That’s because the black-and-white platform kicks are a harbinger of the Comme des Garçons x Nike platform sneakers from 2018. (Gucci made their own version under creative director Alessandro Michele in 2016.)

But Summer didn’t get her trainers from a runway. These shoes are part of the early ’90s rave wave, and the style is credited to Boris Zuborev at East Village Shoe Repair in New York City, who custom-made platform party sneakers for rock stars, celebrities, and kids who waited outside the tiny cobbler shop on the weekends. You can still get these sneakers custom-made at their storefront in Brooklyn.

Tai Frasier Hit the Marc

Was Brittany Murphy’s beloved character truly “adorably clueless,” or was she just too New York for the Beverly Hills crew to comprehend? Exhibit A: Her burnout plaid miniskirt is a copy of Marc Jacobs’s legendary Perry Ellis grunge collection of 1993. (By the time Tai scores it, it’s from the mall brand Marnie West, and it still pops up on Depop every so often.)

As for the heart-print tie-dye baby tee that Tai wears post-makeover, the shirt was made by the L.A.-based label Tease Tees; in 2018, designer Linda Meltzer reissued the piece, making it easier to find on resale sites now. Often overlooked: Meltzer was printing her tees on deadstock Petit Bateau shirts from the 1970s, which could still be found in New York at Henri Bendel and in various teeny Upper East Side boutiques, such as Olive + Bette’s, in the early 1990s. They didn’t hit Cher’s adopted homeland of Fred Segal until after Clueless was filmed in 1995.

Dear John (Galliano)

The Stephen Jones hats created for Galliano’s first-ever RTW show were adapted for Dionne by Kokin, a hat shop in NYC. Especially true of the first hat she wears to pick Cher up en route to school, which looks entirely plastic but is actually white straw modified with patent leather.

Chloe Before Chloe

The patchwork leather miniskirts that predated Phoebe Philo and Gabriela Hearst are seen on Cher and Dionne throughout the film. Mona May got them at the same vintage shop where she bought the boys’ “gross” skater gear, which I totally believe, because both are so cool now.