Paul Rudd Brought His Own College Style To His Clueless Character
One of Paul Rudd's most memorable roles of all time is still Josh, the unlikely love interest of Alicia Silverstone's Cher in "Clueless." The two characters are polar opposites, but nothing separates them more than their opposing senses of fashion. Cher takes every opportunity to roast Josh's wardrobe, and it seems to hit him pretty close to home. Apparently, there wasn't much acting to do on Rudd's part — those were the actor's real-life outfits that she was insulting.
"I went to college, and I think I lifted most of my own clothes [from that era] for that movie," he confessed to GQ. "Some of those clothes that I was wearing with causes on it — that was my Amnesty International t-shirt, and that was my KU hat." Rudd famously attended the University of Kansas.
Even Josh's facial hair, which Cher bullies him into shaving off, was a relic of Rudd's own pretentious undergrad past. "You could have a little bit of like, a goatee, kind of growing it in, having it for a little bit, and then that was gone," he recalled. "Very true to, I think, my own college experience."
Josh doesn't shave his goatee off until after Cher insults it. Did Rudd himself get berated into shaving his own facial hair off? Or did he come to his senses all on his own? Regardless of the answer, it was certainly the right call.
Rudd's real wardrobe was authentic — and cheap
Rudd wasn't just pulling his own clothes for his "Clueless" wardrobe for the sake of authenticity. The costume budget for the entire film about a fashion-forward and label-happy girl from Beverly Hills was only $200,000, Popsugar reported. Costume designer Mona May "really had to be resourceful" when it came to sourcing the fashion for the film, but it ended up working to her advantage.
"I think some of that resourcefulness really created the fashion because I couldn't buy from the runway show," May explained. "So I had to figure out what was around me that I could use." The end result was an eclectic mix of pieces from cast members' closets, borrowed designer dresses, pieces bought off the rack at the mall, and items sourced from a thrift store. Cher's iconic suit was technically Dolce & Gabbana, but "[i]t was actually the D&G, the lower line for Cher," the costume designer admitted.
May ultimately dedicated most of her budget to the women of the film, rather than Rudd's character. It made sense because a character like Cher cares much more about her appearance than Josh, but May also spent more time and money on Cher, Dionne, and Tai's costumes because that's her specialty as a designer.
"My work is to empower girls. I think in all my films, that's what I pride myself in, and it's something that is really important to me," May said. "To me, it's about girls. It's about how to empower them to feel good about themselves, who they are, and finding themselves in the characters."
Every wardrobe choice in "Clueless" elevated the characters and told their story, which is part of what makes the fashion in the film so unforgettable.