If the Baby-Sitters Club [1] girls were horoscope signs, I'd probably be a Mary Anne sun with a Kristy moon rising. But in my head, I was always a pure Claudia Kishi, through and through. She was the definition of cool [2], with her creative clothes and her mismatched earrings gracing the books' illustrated covers. When Netflix's portrayal of the beloved novels came out, I was worried they wouldn't do her style justice. I couldn't have been more wrong.
I chatted with costume designer Cynthia Summers over the phone, and she walked me through Claudia's standout style moments from the show's first season [3]. (Fingers crossed for a second!) She gave Claudia's closet the attention it deserved, and thus, actress Momona Tamada appeared on screen in an explosion of colour. Claudia is a butterfly on screen, always catching your eye in prints and plaids and stripes as she flits off to conquer her next project — or secure her sugary snacks.
!["She was one character that was really, obviously, worked on from top to bottom," Cynthia told me. "In every fitting photo, we put [Momona's] hair up, we've done the earrings and scrunchies and the barrettes and all the rings, the jewellery. We adorned her."
"A character like [Claudia] can start looking untouchable or unattainable or unreal or inaccessible" if there isn't any restraint in the way she dresses
Cynthia and her shoppers had a variety of KONPLOTT jewellery from designer Miranda Konstantinidou to choose from, as well as fruit earrings from Claire's. They even assembled their own pair of lemon earrings from the bauble off of key chains. "It's something that Claudia would do, right?"
"Even her overalls — if you watch throughout the series, it's a little hard to tell . . . but her overalls were something that she painted and appliqued and wrote on throughout the series," she continued. "We tried to translate that to her clothes because that's who she is. She's always doodling and painting and creating, and she's her own canvas in a way."](https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/yrnyG4nllmfz9lhzq3EBLI87cEw/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2020/08/03/937/n/1922564/8131dcd786aceeda_BSC_101_Unit_01742R/i/She-was-one-character-that-was-really-obviously-worked-on-from-top.jpg "\"She was one character that was really, obviously, worked on from top to bottom,\" Cynthia told me. \"In every fitting photo, we put [Momona's] hair up, we've done the earrings and scrunchies and the barrettes and all the rings, the jewellery. We adorned her.\"
\"A character like [Claudia] can start looking untouchable or unattainable or unreal or inaccessible\" if there isn't any restraint in the way she dresses
Cynthia and her shoppers had a variety of KONPLOTT jewellery from designer Miranda Konstantinidou to choose from, as well as fruit earrings from Claire's. They even assembled their own pair of lemon earrings from the bauble off of key chains. \"It's something that Claudia would do, right?\"
\"Even her overalls — if you watch throughout the series, it's a little hard to tell . . . but her overalls were something that she painted and appliqued and wrote on throughout the series,\" she continued. \"We tried to translate that to her clothes because that's who she is. She's always doodling and painting and creating, and she's her own canvas in a way.\"")
"She was one character that was really, obviously, worked on from top to bottom," Cynthia told me. "In every fitting photo, we put [Momona's] hair up, we've done the earrings and scrunchies and the barrettes and all the rings, the jewellery. We adorned her."
"A character like [Claudia] can start looking untouchable or unattainable or unreal or inaccessible" if there isn't any restraint in the way she dresses
Cynthia and her shoppers had a variety of KONPLOTT jewellery from designer Miranda Konstantinidou to choose from, as well as fruit earrings from Claire's. They even assembled their own pair of lemon earrings from the bauble off of key chains. "It's something that Claudia would do, right?"
"Even her overalls — if you watch throughout the series, it's a little hard to tell . . . but her overalls were something that she painted and appliqued and wrote on throughout the series," she continued. "We tried to translate that to her clothes because that's who she is. She's always doodling and painting and creating, and she's her own canvas in a way."
![Despite the loud colours and bold patterns in Claudia's closet, Cynthia was conscious of the fact that she would need to "hold back" a little with her styling. She explained, "A character like [Claudia] can start looking untouchable or unattainable or unreal or inaccessible" if there isn't any restraint in the way she dresses. Every piece, whether it came from Zara, Simons, or a vintage store, was chosen to work in tandem with Claudia's core characteristics — including her love of family and her Japanese American roots.
"Claudia owns who she is, she's fearless in it, but she's not aggressive in it."
Claudia's clothes include an intentionally subtle nod to her heritage. Cynthia wanted to make sure the way Claudia dressed felt like a natural reflection of her connection with her grandma, Mimi, and the importance of culture in the Kishi family. One piece in particular — an Angry Asian Man t-shirt designed by Irene Koh — caught the attention of people on Twitter. For Cynthia, it's "really important" to use these style moments as "teaching tools" and communicate the interests of these girls, whether that's school, family, relationships, or politics.](https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/hsBbjVzUb_yPGq0oCH44tJ68liQ/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2020/08/03/937/n/1922564/fc7f7ee8914ac8b5_BSC_101_Unit_01378R/i/Despite-loud-colours-bold-patterns-in-Claudia-closet.jpg "Despite the loud colours and bold patterns in Claudia's closet, Cynthia was conscious of the fact that she would need to \"hold back\" a little with her styling. She explained, \"A character like [Claudia] can start looking untouchable or unattainable or unreal or inaccessible\" if there isn't any restraint in the way she dresses. Every piece, whether it came from Zara, Simons, or a vintage store, was chosen to work in tandem with Claudia's core characteristics — including her love of family and her Japanese American roots.
\"Claudia owns who she is, she's fearless in it, but she's not aggressive in it.\"
Claudia's clothes include an intentionally subtle nod to her heritage. Cynthia wanted to make sure the way Claudia dressed felt like a natural reflection of her connection with her grandma, Mimi, and the importance of culture in the Kishi family. One piece in particular — an Angry Asian Man t-shirt designed by Irene Koh — caught the attention of people on Twitter. For Cynthia, it's \"really important\" to use these style moments as \"teaching tools\" and communicate the interests of these girls, whether that's school, family, relationships, or politics.")
Despite the loud colours and bold patterns in Claudia's closet, Cynthia was conscious of the fact that she would need to "hold back" a little with her styling. She explained, "A character like [Claudia] can start looking untouchable or unattainable or unreal or inaccessible" if there isn't any restraint in the way she dresses. Every piece, whether it came from Zara, Simons, or a vintage store, was chosen to work in tandem with Claudia's core characteristics — including her love of family and her Japanese American roots.
"Claudia owns who she is, she's fearless in it, but she's not aggressive in it."
Claudia's clothes include an intentionally subtle nod to her heritage. Cynthia wanted to make sure the way Claudia dressed felt like a natural reflection of her connection with her grandma, Mimi, and the importance of culture in the Kishi family. One piece in particular — an Angry Asian Man t-shirt [4] designed by Irene Koh — caught the attention of people on Twitter. For Cynthia, it's "really important" to use these style moments as "teaching tools" and communicate the interests of these girls, whether that's school, family, relationships, or politics.
And for teens — or adult women, like me — who wish to infuse a little more of Claudia's confidence into their own fashion, Cynthia has some words of advice: "Listen to Claudia," she said. "I guess that should be a hashtag, listen to Claudia. Claudia owns who she is, she's fearless in it, but she's not aggressive in it."
"She just feels this is her comfort zone and this is how in showing who she is, she's an artist. She's living it now. Her style will change and evolve throughout the year. But right now, for her 13-year old-self, this is what she's giving to the world. And she feels great about it."