Huxtable Hotness

September 2, 2011 9:09 AM

Huxtable Hotness [via mefi projects] In which the author reviews the sartorial choices of the characters on "The Cosby Show" one episode at a time.

"If this is your first time here, I recommend starting from the first episode and working your way forward. Of course, that's entirely your call."

In the style of Mallory's Clothes, (previously) but with way more analysis.

posted by Potomac Avenue (26 comments total)

Love this site! So much wonderful Cosby fashion.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:19 AM on September 2, 2011

Any relation to the Cosby Sweater Project?
posted by Nomyte at 9:20 AM on September 2, 2011

I thought this was a double, but found I was thinking of this previous post.

If these two people combined their powers, Gordon Gartrell might come back in style.
posted by This_Will_Be_Good at 9:21 AM on September 2, 2011

Next stop, Dwayne Wayne's Glasses the twitter feed.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:24 AM on September 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

"When I was a young boy, I wanted very badly to grow up to be Mrs. Huxtable. Since this skinny white child was never going to turn into a strong black woman, the closest I got was becoming a fierce gay dude. I'm pretty happy with the outcome overall. " PURE GOLD
posted by Jibuzaemon at 9:25 AM on September 2, 2011 [3 favorites]

A Cosby Sweater!
posted by Ad hominem at 9:28 AM on September 2, 2011

JELLO JIGGLERS!!!
posted by drdarknuss at 9:30 AM on September 2, 2011

I love this.

Might I recommend the episode of Community: Competitive Wine Tasting (s2e20) [warning: spoilers in link, as much as a sitcom can be spoiled]. This episode has a section that analyzes, with great care and love, exactly who is the boss from the show Who's the Boss?
posted by jabberjaw at 9:49 AM on September 2, 2011

Wow, this is great. I didn't follow directions and I'm lazy so I only read the top post (episode 11). But it's fantastic. I'm not sure who the audience is for this but if the writing quality stays consistent, it will be a contribution to global culture.

I'm particularly fascinated to see an examination of 25 year old fashion. It's not exactly Mad Men retro, but it's also clearly not of this time. And a lot of the costume designs are pretty great.
posted by Nelson at 10:11 AM on September 2, 2011

After reading the first entry: this is just excellent. I was expecting something a lot snarkier and not nearly as well written.
posted by asnider at 10:17 AM on September 2, 2011

Can I take a moment to say something about Help, I Can't Stop Talking? He is a lurker supreme who still pops in now and then to say wonderful things. He has a brilliant sense of humor and his influence on my projects has been positively vital. As in, I owe him for life. In addition to Huxtable Hotness, he curates the tumblr "Well Hello, Sir!" which is the male counterpart of my "Meet The Lady" project.

Anyhow, I am lucky to have had him as a collaborateur and a friend, and I hope he keeps racking up those Agnes Moorehead Awards.
posted by hermitosis at 10:46 AM on September 2, 2011 [2 favorites]

The eighties are defiantly still in the "not old enough to be retro-cool" phase.
posted by octothorpe at 10:49 AM on September 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

The one that kills me is that the guy that plays Denise's husband shows up in an early season as a date for Sondra. Clearly apart of the Tori/Kelly Paradox Universe!
posted by Fizz at 10:52 AM on September 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

Liked the idea as described, wasn't sure how I'd feel about this, but the execution really sells it. In a world full of tumblr blogs where everything seems recycled*, seeing actual new written content on a blog makes me very, very happy.

And even if not, this caption alone would have sold me:

She should have starred in a "Wonder Woman" movie in the '80s. No, really.

I cannot stop thinking of this idea.

And perhaps a (Jem and the Holograms) Misfits reference is something you should expect from an 80s fashion blog, but I appreciate it showing up early in the first post I read.


* no offense to those just mentioned in the thread, which is not the type of crap I'm attacking.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:17 AM on September 2, 2011

Ok, they live in New York, right? Do they keep their AC turned to 60 degrees all summer long? Because Cosby often wears a sweater AND a jacket which is a lot of goddamn wool for any day in New York after April. Am I crazy here?
posted by GuyZero at 11:20 AM on September 2, 2011

Ok, they live in New York, right? Do they keep their AC turned to 60 degrees all summer long? Because Cosby often wears a sweater AND a jacket which is a lot of goddamn wool for any day in New York after April. Am I crazy here?

New episodes did not air during the summer. Assume it's always fall, spring, and occasionally winter with a light dusting of fake snow on the sidewalks.
posted by evilcolonel at 12:37 PM on September 2, 2011

I'll just take this opportunity to say I think Phylicia Rashad and Lisa Bonet are two of the most beautiful women who have ever been filmed. I agree that Sondra dresses, and is, totally annoying.
posted by two or three cars parked under the stars at 12:40 PM on September 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

He got THE BEST Sondra screencap.
posted by hermitosis at 12:48 PM on September 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

I get the Sondra hate... but really, the episode in which Sondra and Elvin tell Cliff and Clair they're dropping out of med school to open a wilderness store is one of the funniest episodes in the series.
posted by evilcolonel at 12:58 PM on September 2, 2011 [4 favorites]

Its addictive
posted by zia at 1:19 PM on September 2, 2011

Also: Cosby, the css stripe generator.
posted by blue_beetle at 2:27 PM on September 2, 2011

This is great. Thank you.
posted by k8t at 6:51 PM on September 2, 2011

I love that all you have to do is search YouTube for "cosby show shirt" in order to find the high point of the show - and perhaps of all television in the 80s.

As a knitter, when discussing projects with other knitters, the ability to reference "that shirt Denise made for Theo on The Cosby Show" is a real boon.
posted by ErikaB at 7:40 PM on September 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

I started absently browsing this site, then, over time, realized I was being completely absorbed by the screen caps and the captions of them. The next time I looked down and read some of the body of the text I got this:

The cut of the shirt is too baggy, the sleeves are too short, the neon detailing is wildly unattractive, the vertical paneling is on the verge of being interesting but falls short, and the fact that he is always, always wearing a gold chain around his neck is disappointing. I can't believe you're still reading this.

Great site.
posted by coolxcool=rad at 8:44 PM on September 2, 2011

This is so awesome. I love the attention to detail; it makes this blog extremely satisfying to read.
posted by The ____ of Justice at 12:44 PM on September 4, 2011

Finally worked my way through this - really fun and well written. And when I agree, boy do I agree. I'm hooked.

But still. A lot of what he's criticizing - for better or worse (yeah, okay, mostly worse) - was really in fashion then. So while I agree that no one can rock a giant shoulder pad, at the same time, it feels like a cheap shot to blame the characters for putting them on and not realizing they looked hideous.

Whenever I try to describe how I used to dress in high school (83-87), I always reference Molly Ringwald, but I never felt right saying it. Sure I shopped at thrift stores and wore a fedora in my senior picture, but the comparison always felt a bit off. I certainly didn't emulate her since I was dressing that way long before Pretty In Pink came out. It took this blog for me to realize that all those years I was inspired by Denise Huxtable. I honestly forgot the impact she had on me - that show was so much a part of the cultural landscape it had become forgettable for me.
posted by Mchelly at 4:33 AM on September 6, 2011