If you loved the 80s as much as we did the first time around, you're in luck--we've got an interview with a different style icon from the decade of excess every day for the next week! And if you're too young to remember it, consider this your crash course. Susan sat down with the Bangles to talk bangles yesterday, and now we've got the ever-fabulous Cybill Shepherd dishing on one of fall's biggest trends--shoulder pads! Let her talk you into loving this power look, after the jump.
Cybill is bona fide Hollywood royalty, from her first appearance on-screen in 1971's The Last Picture Show to her recent stint on The L Word and a slew of movies due out next year. But my favorite memory of her will always be as top-model-turned-private-detective Maddie Hayes, who spied on cheating husbands and uncovered dead bodies--almost always while wearing serious shoulder pads--on Moonlighting. In an era where a woman's power was defined by how broad her wingspan was, Cybill was queen bee.
STF: So, in case you haven't heard, shoulder pads are back! Be honest, does that make you want to cringe or celebrate?CYBILL: Shoulder pads can be one of the most disastrous looks possible! But when they're done right, they can also be gorgeous. I used to have this Yves Saint Laurent tuxedo with a short jacket and really broad shoulders and a wide collar, and it sounds scary but it was just cut so beautifully. I love it because it's a very powerful look. It takes up space, I mean a woman really looks powerful in it--she takes up physical space!
STF: Your character on Moonlighting was rarely without that major shoulder moment. Did you have a say in the wardrobe on the show? Were you interested in what they dressed you in? And were you pro-pad back then?
CYBILL: I was very interested in it. I wanted to always make sure I had a waist, because with my broad shoulders and my broad butt, I always felt like with a waist it was a much more flattering look. I always wore belts, and always wore these jackets that didn't go all the way down to the hemline. If you want to wear shoulder pads, you've gotta show that waist.
Cybil Shepherd, left, in the Moonlighting days, and a look from the Louis Vuitton fall 2009 runway, right. Check out the full collection at style.com
STF: Did you have a chance to give some input to the costume designer?
CYBILL: Robert Turturice did the costumes, and I would consult with him about every appearance I had. He was brilliant. Once you've worked with someone like Robert, it's hard to work with anyone who's not as brilliant. He just really captured that Rosalind Russell look, the severe silhouette that harkens back to the 40s.
STF: So you don't think this '09 revival of the shoulder pad is the first time we've seen it recycled?
CYBILL: Oh no, it goes back much further than the 80s. It's the look from screwball comedy! In fact, when we were working on the show I suggested we all watch Bringing Up Baby with Cary Grant and My Man Godfrey to really get a feel for the time. It wasn't that new then, either.
STF: Did you save any of those clothes from the Moonlighting days? Are you ready to bust them out again?
CYBILL: I have to say I deeply regret the fact that I had an opportunity to take a bunch of costumes and put them in storage but I never did. I had three kids, and I never got around to it.
__STF: What a bummer! Do you think you would have worn any of those strong-shouldered jackets and dresses again if you still had them? __
CYBILL: I keep very few things, because I don't want a lot of stuff, and it's taken me many years to realize, "if I'm not wearing something, pass it on." But there are a few things that I will never let go--one is an Armani suit, actually I have three of these suits and they're black with a great thin pinstripe and the jackets are absolutely out of the 40s with big shoulders and cinched waists and I will wear them forever.
STF: So, is it safe to say you're embracing the return of the shoulder pad? No guilty feelings about the role you played in its prominence in the 80s and its revival now?
CYBILL: It's great to see something old come back new again. It just makes fashion fun, and it's nice that you're not wearing the same old thing all the time!
So tell me dolls...has Cybill convinced you that shoulder pads can be cool again? Did you love her look from the Moonlighting days? And are you ready to embrace the 80s once more? Discuss!
And don't forget to check out the fabulous scoop from yesterday's Truly Outrageous interview: The Bangles on bangles!
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