In the world of girl movies, when your protagonist gets new hair or suddenly starts wearing a new color, it’s a sign–the character has changed, cue climax, shit it about to go down.

I am drawn to the idea that changing one’s look could transform other areas. I personally mark time by hairstyle– “was that during the platinum blonde disco phase? Oh no it was the long black hair/gypsy era”. There is something about the new year that has me craving all of this.

My friend Kate and I had a conversation about it. She has been dressing like a  pirate-queen and I’d been going for some kind of Courtney Love meets High Priestess thing– draping myself in lace-y items and burning candles all over my apartment.

What did it mean for our lives?! Of course, in film, it is much more clear-cut.

For TheFrisky, I wrote a round-up of my favorite movie make-over moments.

Here are some of my faves:

Jawbreaker: The scene in which Fern is “transformed” into Violette is a  little out of place. Why the sudden “Weird Science” setting? She’s spinning around in a laboratory while a creepy voice says things like, “Lashes, thick! Magenta!” But the result is the best of  teen movie makeovers — the girl with the believable “before.”

While still beautiful, Judy Greer nailed the “strange girl and not in a cool way” thing in Fern. And post-makeover instead of being owned by popular girls and looking to others for approval, Violette becomes a strong character who owns her new found power. Apparently she was a narcissist all along! “Jawbreaker,” you make me yearn for the days when hot pink plastic skirts and glitter makeup were in.

Prozac Nation: Near the beginning of the film, Christian Ricci’s character, Elizabeth, says to her college  roommate, played by Michelle Williams, “We’ll be like these beautiful literary freaks. Brilliant and dark, sexy.” A signal to you, dear viewer, that a makeover is about to happen. And what ensues is the most realistic kind of makeover– the self-makeover. A visual representation of the character’s emotional and psychological transformation. And isn’t that what it is always about?

In “Prozac Nation,” its Elizabeth’s freshman year at Harvard. She goes from living a sheltered life with an over-protective mother, to throwing a “loss of virginity” party for herself while draped in pearls looking very Madonna-goth-chic. Someone, steal that idea!

 Thirteen: When we are introduced to a 13-year-old Evan Rachel Wood, she is in pigtails and pastels. Remember that awkward phase between being embarrassed about wearing deodorant to talking loudly about blow jobs in homeroom? No? Okay, that’s who ERW is playing here.

First comes the cool, tight-fitting clothes, then the thong underwear, then the piercings and–climax–the drugs and sex. The whole thing feels so public school, I feel like I know these girls.  I know this make-over! I remember distinctly the tube-top I bought at age 14, it was tiny and I wore it with low slung jeans and body-glitter. And then I just get stuck there. I guess the easiest cultural proverb to pull from this film is maybe there was a good reason moms didn’t want us to wear eyeliner in middle school. But not that they could have stopped us anyway.

Ghostworld: Sometimes, makeovers aren’t about going through a powerful transformation. Sometimes a new look just happens because you are bored or confused or want to be someone else for a day. Fashion is a way to play with new personas, to reflect your inner mood, hence why Enid is always inspiring.

This film captures the tenuous moment between teenhood and adulthood, but does becoming an adult have to mean giving up the decision to dress like a granny one day and an “original 1977 punk” the next? Puh-lease, Enid is totally still exploring different looks, wherever she ended up after getting on that bus. Tidbit: the film recently turned 10 years old and the “weird” outfits still look like they could be ripped from any fashion blog.

**Bonus

Me Without You: I didn’t include this one at TheFrisky, but the make-over Marina gives Holly in Me Without You feels significant. Marina (Anna Friel) and Holly (Michelle Williams) are childhood best friends, performing a ritual, promising to be friends forever. Me Without You has major intense girl BFF vibes–this make-over is all about the bending we do for those  friends.

Flash-forward from the child-hood montage and the girls are bored teens in 1970′s England, laying in bed, smoking cigarettes with their toes (see above photo for logistics!) And now in order for introverted, bookish Holly to keep up with wild, outgoing Marina, she must dye her “virgin-looking” hair and don a garbage bag as a dress–which I actually feel inspired by, very punk rock.

Read the rest of my 10 picks at TheFrisky!

Do you have any favorite make-over moments– from film or your own life?