The Kids from “The Cosby Show” are Style Icons

July 30, 2010, 9:53 pm
Filed under: Classics, Style Classics, Style Inspiration, Time Capsule | Tags: cosby show, denise, huxtable, rudy, sondra, stevie wonder, that's so not raven, theo, vanessa

The kids from “The Cosby Show” are style icons. This is a theory that I feel pretty passionately about, and years spent watching countless episodes of the seemingly endless trials and tribulations of the Huxtable clan — Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy (but not Olivia — she’s just a little too Raven for me) — have only bolstered my opinion that these five crazy-bougie-cool kids from Brooklyn were trendsetters and style influencers well ahead of their time. Take a look at just the episode in which even visually-impaired troubadour Stevie Wonder could see that these kids were fresh to death:

Tavi would totally wear this VANESSA get-up.

RUDY, wearing bowties and suspenders while Janelle Monae was still in Huggies.

THEO was rocking some OG varsity jackets a la Junya ’98, while DENISE had some straight-up Viktor & Rolf / Comme des Garcons shit going on. And that’s JUST ONE EPISODE, M-Fers!

Speaking of Denise, does her Season 2 haircut look familiar?

“Why yes it does,” said Rihanna.

And although not technically a Huxtable, I would be remiss not to mention the inimitable Cockroach and his ducktail, later hairjacked by none other than the biggest fan of acid wash denim since Theo Huxtable, Kanye West.

In fact, there is nary a fashion trend the Cosby kids didn’t touch.

Mixing patterns? Check.

Drop-crotch trousers? Check.

Rompers? Check.

Cargo pants? KENNY!

These pre-pubescent fashionistas even cuffed their jeans, went sockless and buttoned the top button better than half the Americana nerds in the blogosphere today.

Alright, so admittedly Sondra’s kind of a weak link, but she was pregnant or writing law school essays for basically the entire series, so cut her some slack.

Obviously whenever anyone thinks of the wardrobe from The Cosby Show (people do think about this other than me, I think), the iconic “Cosby sweater” comes to mind. And rightfully so — some of those were pretty dope. But, the lasting effect the Cosby kids have on today’s youth is way strong. Take, for instance, Denise.

In that photo she looks like she could be found perusing the racks at Opening Ceremony. And Etsy loves her. So does this chick. And this one. And them, them and her. So, you get what I’m saying here: girl had crazy style. Style that must have been exclusively bankrolled by Cliff and Clair, because God knows she couldn’t hold a job until she went to Africa.

And I have a sneaking suspicion that some current high-end designers and fashion-types might have a secret Cosby Show DVD collection, just like myself.

Did you see the “Brodarte” sweaters from those Mulleavy sisters? Because Theo Huxtable did…like TWENTY YEARS AGO.

And Rudy was way ahead of Jeremy Scott and his Keith Haring-inspired clothing.

Also, Michelle Obama:

And Lady Gaga:

So the next time you find yourself watching TBS or something and The Cosby Show comes on, tune in for the hijinks and escapades of the only family in the history of the world to put on musical skits in their living room that don’t make you want to vomit all over yourself, but stay for the fashion.

But, if it’s a Cousin Pam episode, you can feel free to move along, because I don’t know what happened there.