Ah Heathers…

The classic ‘80s mean girl movie.

Where teen angst comes with a body count.

But, oh the fashion statements!

Heathers is full of trendy 1980s schoolgirl outfits. Preppy plaid, structured blazers, pleated skirts, and colored tights.

The costume designs also heavily feature signature colors.

Each ‘Heather’ has one color that is featured predominately in every outfit. 

The main colors used are red (Heather Chandler) which stands for the power she holds in the school, green (Heather Duke) that symbolizes her envy for Heather Chandler, yellow (Heather McNamara) for her timid nature compared to the other two, blue (Veronica Sawyer) for her true blue personality. 

These colors are established at the very start of the film during a croquet match to show the dynamics of each character and continue throughout the film.

Heather Chandler:

The head Heather wears a checked jacket which boasts huge Dynasty worthy shoulder pads, while Veronica’s are slightly smaller. This shows her dominance over Veronica, the Heathers and the entire school. 

Her loud jacket communicates her authority.

Her red scrunchie and skirt is the symbol of her leadership status, as she states during a croquet match “I’m always red.” 

Heather Duke:

In the opening  scene we see Duke wearing a printed green(for envy) skirt and cardigan, with a printed white shirt underneath.

Her accessories often include Mary Janes, a popular preppy choice at the time, with a golden and an ornate black brooch on her collar.

After Heather Chandlers ‘suicide’ she starts sporting her signature red scrunchy.

She takes the color red as her own.

Her final look shows her in a red cropped overcoat over a printed red button-up.

Heather McNamara:

Perhaps she wore yellow to represent her fears. She was the weakest and meekest of the Heathers. Heather McNamara was cautious and had a timid nature.

She even tried to OD on yellow pills in the school bathroom.

Veronica:

Dear Diary, Winona Ryder, the queen of quirk, portrayed the only non Heather perfectly.

Was she the only non Heather in the group. Or was she the most ‘Heather’ Heather of them all?

She maintained her true blue nature to the end.

She donned the ominous red scrunchy and declared ‘Heather my love, there’s a new Sheriff in town!’

From (red) Heather Chandler drinking a ‘blue’ colored poison, to (green) Heather Duke announcing to be ‘red’ in croquet and finally (blue) Veronica snatching the oversized red scrunchie, we observe how the power dynamic shifts solely through color personality.

The directors and costume designers did a great job of using colors in the power play with the characters.