# Pretty In Pink and the ugliest dress in the universe **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 21, 2005, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374 "2005-04-21T05:03:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/21 "2005-04-22T01:17:06Z")
> [@Susie Derkins](#): > > OK, when I was Googling around for a full-body shot of the Dress of Fug, I found [this](http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds20375.html). > > Could it be true?? I’m sure they’ve all got other committments, what with their busy film careers and all. Er… Well, hopefully the dress won’t make another appearance, anyway. “The horror! The horror!” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/22 "2005-04-22T01:23:33Z")
You know, I was just thinking that after I posted. I was 13 or so when that movie came out; these people are still movie gods to me!! But then I remembered that the last time I saw Andrew McCarthy was in a Core Secrets infomercial. And yes, I squealed “It’s BLANE!!!” And then I yelled, “That’s a major appliance, that’s not name!!” I am so lame. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/23 "2005-04-22T01:58:38Z")
Well, in the sequel Molly could hand the horrid dress down to her daughter who then cuts it up for her prom dress which ends up being two strategically placed strips of pink fabric. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/24 "2005-04-22T05:06:37Z")
Hunh. I’ve completely blocked the ending (something about diamond earrings?). Who’d she end up with? ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/25 "2005-04-22T11:28:11Z")
Silent Bob. ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/26 "2005-04-22T13:01:01Z")
> [@chique](#): > > Who’d she end up with? Farmer Ted. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/27 "2005-04-22T13:31:24Z")
> [@chique](#): > > Hunh. I’ve completely blocked the ending (something about diamond earrings?). Who’d she end up with? The diamond earrings were from [_Some Kind of Wonderful_](http://imdb.com/title/tt0094006/). Which was almost the same movie, of course. But in _Pretty in Pink_, she ended up with the rich guy, naturally. After he bitched out James Spader at the prom and proved that he’s cool, but he’s also _cool_. And yes, the dress was the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. I’m a redhead, and I don’t wear pink. _Ever_. Molly Ringwald seemed to do it a whole lot. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/28 "2005-04-22T13:48:18Z")
> [@Susie Derkins](#): > > And yes, I squealed “It’s BLANE!!!” And then I yelled, “That’s a major appliance, that’s not name!!” Isn’t it “Blaine”? ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/29 "2005-04-22T14:10:19Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Isn’t it “Blaine”? I’m at work and my DVD is at home, so I can’t check it, but according to [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091790/) it is indeed Blane. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/30 "2005-04-22T18:31:38Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > The diamond earrings were from [_Some Kind of Wonderful_](http://imdb.com/title/tt0094006/). Which was almost the same movie, of course. Oh, right! Thanks. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/31 "2005-04-22T19:29:28Z")
I thought the movie was older than that. Believe me, as one who was There–that Dress was hated by all. It was hideous–even more hideous than the strange outfit that Molly wore to the dance in the gym in 16 Candles (it was white(?) with a handkerchief hem-and her old lady purse and shoes! gack!) Hey, I was an '80’s fashion victim–shoulderpads, leg warmers, Flashdance rips etc–but NO-ONE wore what Molly had on… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![stately\_plump\_buck\_mulligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@stately\_plump\_buck\_mulligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stately_plump_buck_mulligan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/32 "2005-04-22T20:05:21Z")
I was crestfallen when I saw the fugdress. The “before” dress was totally something I would have worn to my prom (which was only last year). ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/33 "2005-04-22T21:11:30Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > And yes, the dress was the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. I’m a redhead, and I don’t wear pink. _Ever_. Molly Ringwald seemed to do it a whole lot. My understanding, based upon a nearly complete and heterosexually definitive male ignorance of fashion, is that redheads (bright red hair, not strawberry blond or auburn) are recommended bright or dark blue and green hues (and maybe burgandy reds) to complement and contrast hair and complexion. I dunno; the Eighties all seemed like an egregious fashion nightmare to me, in addition to being a void of enduring music, television programs, and automobile designs. Or maybe it was just my angst-ridden adolescence coloring everything a uniform shade of hideousness. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/34 "2005-04-22T23:44:09Z")
I love the movie. I even started a thread here about it once. I couldn’t remember the dress, but I do now that I saw the picture. I didn’t like it much either, but I do think 80’s fashion is mostly cool. ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/35 "2005-04-23T00:02:48Z")
Anyone remember the beginning of the movie, when Andy was getting dressed for school? She puts on stockings, a nice skirt, a t-shirt, and an adorable vest…looking pretty snazzy…then she goes on to fug it up with The World’s Ugliest Hat, a sweater with cat bells on it, and a pair of ugly-ass glasses that she never wears during the rest of the movie (so obviously wore for cosmetic purposes)? We should have seen that prom dress coming, y’all. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/36 "2005-04-23T00:27:59Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > I dunno; the Eighties all seemed like an egregious fashion nightmare to me, in addition to being a void of enduring music, television programs, and automobile designs. Or maybe it was just my angst-ridden adolescence coloring everything a uniform shade of hideousness. > > Stranger Yeah, the 80’s had some ugly cars and clothes. Bolero suits and creepers were awful. But these giant clown pants that kids have worn for the last 10 years really really suck. And 80’s music absolutely kicked ass compared to the 70’s & the last 10 years. Molly’s dress was fugly. It looked like she was wearing it backwards. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/37 "2005-04-23T02:09:02Z")
I only saw the top part-what did the rest of it look like? ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/38 "2005-04-23T02:43:29Z")
I remember going out to see it with a bunch of my dorm mates. When the dress was unveiled, my roommate and I just started laughing. That was the best part of a dreary movie … except the soundtrack, which I still have. Actually, I replaced it with a CD. IIRC it included the Psychadelic Furs, Suzanne Vega, The Smiths, and Echo and the Bunnymen. ---
**Author:** ![aurelian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f4b2a3/32.png) [@aurelian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurelian)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/39 "2005-04-23T04:19:36Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > But in _Pretty in Pink_, she ended up with the rich guy, naturally. After he bitched out James Spader at the prom and proved that he’s cool, but he’s also _cool_. I heard somewhere that the ending was improvised - in the original script, she was supposed to end up with Duckie (which is what’s _supposed_ to have happened!! **aurelian** yells at the screen) but Molly Ringwald was really sick with the flu that day and couldn’t handle the closing dance scene (with Duckie); so the ending was changed. Jon Cryer was so cute in that movie! I’m not riding my bike by your house any more! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374/40 "2005-04-23T04:24:45Z")
> [@Twiddle](#): > > Did the costume designers for _Pretty in Pink_ mean to make Molly Ringwald wear the most hideous dress in creation? Or did they actually think that monstrosity was attractive? I know it was meant to look amatureish but did it have to be so shapeless and fugly? > > Seriously. Hear hear!! That was a truly horrible costume that she put together, but to tell the truth, my wife and I laugh at Molly Ringwald’s clothes throughout the entire movie. She’s supposed to be record-store poor _chic_, but doesn’t really pull off the “poor” bit in her little $300 get-ups. All of them! At the end of the movie Annie Potts comes out looking like she’s trying for the lead in _Working Girl_, while her father is slightly rumpled in an upper-working class way, as he suffers his depression brought about by his wife leaving him back in '62 (or so the picture suggests.) They put the always-reliable James Spader in Miami Vice drug kingpin garb, and McCartney’s outfits… well, they actually suited a boy with the unfortunate name of “Blane.” In many ways this film is just an absolute trainwreck, made watchable only by a constantly pouting Molly Ringwald (Oh, those lips!) and Mr. Spader. Catching this the other night, watching the scene with Ducky performing to that song makes me long for TIVO, for the scene is totally unnecessary and brings the film to a screeching halt. Andrew McCarthy doesn’t have the screen presence to play Nurse #2 in a _Biography_ re-enactment, much less lead a movie, and John Cryer mercifully killed any chance he had of becoming a star by appearing in Superman 4, Penn & Teller Get Killed, and Hot Shots! in a four-year period. … And to think she might have lost it in that dress… to a guy named Blane. :shudder: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretty-in-pink-and-the-ugliest-dress-in-the-universe/300374.md?page=3)