Super Special #1: Babysitters on Board!
The original . . . and still the best. (Notable runners-up include Babysitters' Island Adventure, Snowbound!, and Starring the Babysitters Club! I just won a bunch of Super Specials off of ebay and I am really looking forward to spending some serious time with them.)
"'It's - it's just like a hotel, isn't it?' I said brightly.
'A sort of minuscule hotel,' added Kristy.
'Yeah, I hope there's room for all my stuff,' said Claudia. Claudia had brought along more suitcases than anyone else on the trip. She dumped them on a bed, opened them, and began hanging things up in the closet.
'Leave some room for us!', I exclaimed."
. . . and so begins a longstanding tradition of Ann M. Martin gleefully describing just how much luggage Claudia brings on the BSC's crazy travel adventures. For a bunch of middle-class girls in Connecticut, they sure do get around a lot.
"Then the three of us got dressed quickly, but silently. Well, I got dressed quickly. This was because while I'd been lying in my bunk the night before I'd planned exactly what I was going to wear. I put on my new blue-and-white bikini and over that, a pink sundress with spaghetti straps at the shoulders and big blue buttons down the front. Then I accessorized. I tied a pink-and-blue scarf around my waist, knotting it in the middle, added my snake bracelet [YES!] and feather earrings, wound my hair up on top of my head, and finally put on these white sandals with long laces that you crisscross up your legs and tie in a bow. [DOUBLE YES!]"
I don't think I could possibly explain to you how enthusiastic I was about this outfit when I was younger. Oh, Claudia.
"'Never mind!' said Dawn. 'I'm awake.' She sat up quickly and hit her head on the springs of the top bunk. A pair of Claudia's shoes fell to the floor. Dawn frowned. 'This room is a dump,' she said.
'I don't think so,' I retorted. And just to make her madder than she already was, I got up (without hitting my head) and swept two more pairs of Claudia's shoes off the bunk."
So it turns out that Claudia has SO MUCH STUFF that they ended up devoting an entire bed to the overflow. And, as you can see, her poor shoe collection is forced to become ammunition in the continuing war of Neat (Dawn) versus Messy and Generally Antagonistic (Kristy).
"Claudia had helped me get dressed. [Apparently, California Casual is not good enough for a Magic Kingdom date.] She was in a great mood because her Secret Admirer had left her a stuffed animal at the door to our room during the night. Since she had brought along nearly every article of clothing that she owns, and I'd only brought along about one thirty-second of my wardrobe, I borrowed a few of her things. In fact, I borrowed the entire outfit. (We're just about the same size.) Parker would never know. I mean, he'd never know the outfit was borrowed, not that Claudia and I are the same size.
This is the outfit Claudia helped me to choose: a white tank top under lavender overalls, lavender push-down socks, lavender high-top sneakers, and a beaded Indian belt, which we looped droopily twice around my middle. In my hair we put lavender-and-white clips that looked like birds. I thought they were just any kind of bird, but Claudia swore up and down that they were birds of paradise. Who knows? (I think she was making that up.)"
Don't doubt the master, Dawn.
The original . . . and still the best. (Notable runners-up include Babysitters' Island Adventure, Snowbound!, and Starring the Babysitters Club! I just won a bunch of Super Specials off of ebay and I am really looking forward to spending some serious time with them.)
"'It's - it's just like a hotel, isn't it?' I said brightly.
'A sort of minuscule hotel,' added Kristy.
'Yeah, I hope there's room for all my stuff,' said Claudia. Claudia had brought along more suitcases than anyone else on the trip. She dumped them on a bed, opened them, and began hanging things up in the closet.
'Leave some room for us!', I exclaimed."
. . . and so begins a longstanding tradition of Ann M. Martin gleefully describing just how much luggage Claudia brings on the BSC's crazy travel adventures. For a bunch of middle-class girls in Connecticut, they sure do get around a lot.
"Then the three of us got dressed quickly, but silently. Well, I got dressed quickly. This was because while I'd been lying in my bunk the night before I'd planned exactly what I was going to wear. I put on my new blue-and-white bikini and over that, a pink sundress with spaghetti straps at the shoulders and big blue buttons down the front. Then I accessorized. I tied a pink-and-blue scarf around my waist, knotting it in the middle, added my snake bracelet [YES!] and feather earrings, wound my hair up on top of my head, and finally put on these white sandals with long laces that you crisscross up your legs and tie in a bow. [DOUBLE YES!]"
I don't think I could possibly explain to you how enthusiastic I was about this outfit when I was younger. Oh, Claudia.
"'Never mind!' said Dawn. 'I'm awake.' She sat up quickly and hit her head on the springs of the top bunk. A pair of Claudia's shoes fell to the floor. Dawn frowned. 'This room is a dump,' she said.
'I don't think so,' I retorted. And just to make her madder than she already was, I got up (without hitting my head) and swept two more pairs of Claudia's shoes off the bunk."
So it turns out that Claudia has SO MUCH STUFF that they ended up devoting an entire bed to the overflow. And, as you can see, her poor shoe collection is forced to become ammunition in the continuing war of Neat (Dawn) versus Messy and Generally Antagonistic (Kristy).
"Claudia had helped me get dressed. [Apparently, California Casual is not good enough for a Magic Kingdom date.] She was in a great mood because her Secret Admirer had left her a stuffed animal at the door to our room during the night. Since she had brought along nearly every article of clothing that she owns, and I'd only brought along about one thirty-second of my wardrobe, I borrowed a few of her things. In fact, I borrowed the entire outfit. (We're just about the same size.) Parker would never know. I mean, he'd never know the outfit was borrowed, not that Claudia and I are the same size.
This is the outfit Claudia helped me to choose: a white tank top under lavender overalls, lavender push-down socks, lavender high-top sneakers, and a beaded Indian belt, which we looped droopily twice around my middle. In my hair we put lavender-and-white clips that looked like birds. I thought they were just any kind of bird, but Claudia swore up and down that they were birds of paradise. Who knows? (I think she was making that up.)"
Don't doubt the master, Dawn.
I've retained a troubling amount of information about books I read during my childhood.
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15 comments
Oh, my god...I remember coveting the lavender ensemble. Ouch.
by Jana on 1:17 PM. #
last year i bought a million BSC books at a garage sale to reclaim my youth. just yesterday i was wishing for a semi-fresh one, and Good-bye Stacey, Goodbye was all i could find. but today, i find your site and all is right again. i've forwarded it to everyone who is a loyal BSCer...
by ellekinzy on 3:19 PM. #
oh god. reading this makes me feel like i'm ten again. and also makes me want to re-read all my BSC books. i remember that lavender outfit vividly. i always wanted to dress like claudia.
by whitney on 4:55 PM. #
I just wanted to say, my friend introduced me to this yesterday and I think I might be in heaven. My parents moved my box of BSC to the shed when I moved out, I think I might have to resurrect it!
by Mehreen on 9:49 PM. #
this is amazing...I might have to dig my giant tub of bsc books out of my parents closet for some summer reading.
by ... on 3:06 AM. #
OH MY GOD I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!!!
Oh, the HOURS I spent reading and rereading these books! Wishing I could be as cool as those girl, ESPECIALLY CLAUDIA!!!
*weep*
thank you for bringing it all back.
by evilsciencechick on 3:18 AM. #
It's amazing how those outfits stick with you. As soon as I started reading the sentence about the lavender ensemble, I was like, "OH MY GOD BIRDS OF PARADISE HAIRCLIPS HALLELUJAH!"
For years I believed that the epitome of sophistication was the sleek all-black outfit Stacey's ex-BFF Lane wore to their school dance, namely because it was accessorized with silver jewelry. It may have also involved a leotard. But that aside, to this day I attribute my love of black clothing with silver to a subconscious emulation of bitchy old Lane.
All that to say: great blog.
by Kate on 4:11 PM. #
this is, hands down, the best blog ever. thanks for bringing claudia's fashion to the masses once more!
by Chrissy on 3:30 PM. #
That pink dress over the bikini outfit is pretty rad if you picture it in your head.
by Unknown on 11:38 PM. #
I cannot believe I just found this blog - - - who didn't want to dress like Claudia?? Now, of course, I wouldn't be caught dead in a wearable mural with matching socks... but hey, thanks for bringing the past back!
by F.M. on 11:37 AM. #
haha why did i have to find your blog right before i was about to donate all my old BSC books! what a great trip down memory lane & i love the fashion choices
xoxo
by la petite fashionista on 9:42 PM. #
I wrote a blog about you. I adore your blog!!!
by Isabel on 3:43 PM. #
I too remember coveting that lavender outfit and longingly rereading the oh so detailed outfit descriptions in all her books.
Anyway, I just discovered this blog, and 'Brilliant' is all I have left to say.
by Nolinae on 4:43 PM. #
I don't think I could possibly explain to you how enthusiastic I was about this outfit when I was younger
snap! in fact, it's kinda the default outfit that springs to mind whenever people say "BSC". although i don't remember the scarf-belt, i would still love some of those sandals.
by nixwilliams on 8:36 AM. #
This is great! I'm 29 and for some reason recently was thinking about a BSC book that I loved, and it was super special #1! I work for Disney World now and I remember they went, so I wanted to re-read it. So I ordered it today from Amazon...anyway, I found this while searching and this is a great blog! I too, wanted to dress like Claud, and I'm artsy so I tried to do it. I got made fun of a lot at school and that phase didn't last long. :) Thanks for this, Kim, you are rad!
by Miakoda on 1:21 AM. #