‘Abbott Elementary’ Costume Designer Breaks Down Her Favorite Season 1 Looks, Including Janine’s Jelly Bean Belt
12.04.2022 - 23:21
/ variety.com
Selome Hailu Janine Teagues, second grade teacher extraordinaire, is the type to be friendly with the employees of her local Old Navy. And because of that, “Abbott Elementary” costume designer Susan Michalek shops there, too.Created by Quinta Brunson, who also stars as Janine, “Abbott Elementary” follows a group of teachers who work at an underfunded Philadelphia school, leading Brunson and Michalek to decide to constrain the show’s costumes to a realistic teacher’s budget.
H&M, Zara, Target and Old Navy became Michalek’s go-to stores, with occasional splurges at Anthropologie.“We really want to keep it at what these people could afford, as much as we possibly can,” Michalek says. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and through the eras, it’s all Gucci and Prada.
This is the first show I came in under budget on, and that’s [out of] 40 shows.” But keeping it cheap has not forced Michalek to sacrifice creativity. Janine is known among her colleagues (and fans on Twitter) for the eccentricity of her wardrobe — more than one heartfelt moment is ruined when a fellow teacher notices her clashing patterns or outlandish accessories.“It’s happy — and a little off,” Michalek says of Janine’s style.
“When she walks out the door, she really thinks she’s hit it, but obviously she hasn’t. But it’s so endearing!”With Season 1 of “Abbott Elementary” coming to a close, Michalek selected six of her favorite outfits to break down with Variety.Much of “Abbott Elementary” is inspired by Brunson’s mother, who is a retired Philadelphia elementary school teacher, as well as her own experiences attending Philadelphia public schools.
Growing up, Brunson’s school uniform consisted of khakis and a navy blue polo shirt. The students of Willard
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