Let's be honest, Robin Lewis West has one of the best jobs in television, quite possibly the world. As the costume designer of "The O.C.," she gets to dress the beautiful people with beautiful clothing. Not to mention, a beautiful Newport backdrop. Doesn't sound to bad, does it?
This season, however, Robin took upon a task somewhat foreign to Orange County: an environmentalist Summer Roberts. Gone were the designer jeans and overpriced handbags, replaced by, well, read the interview.
Were you excited to change Summer's look?
No. She became eco-girl. We like her when she is trendy. It was fun, but not
as fun. [Although] it was different, which made it not so bad. I [look forward]
to getting back to the way she was before. Rachel even asked, "When do I actually
get to start wearing cute outfits again?"
 Describe her new essentials.
T-shirts with causes on them, cords, baggy sweaters. Some t-shirts: Amnesty International, Anne Coulter, World Wildlife Federation, good causes to put on there, to represent. Each episode had a different animal necklace, as if she was saving all animals. Even sharks – that was our favorite.
Did you any research on the Ivy League look?
We looked for non leather, non fur kind of things and ecology minded things for
her.
Where did you get most of her new clothes?
Different places. Some of the t-shirts at Whole Foods, the actual causes, and
we made a lot of them, like "I heart Trees." [We used] Café Press for a few of
them.
Use any of the same brands/stores as you did with the old Summer?
Definitely. She still wears Juicy cords, J & Company, Free People, Vince sweaters.
Yet everything is a little more eco looking with different colors and an organic
feel.
Does she still present Summer's fashionable side?
No, not at all. Her life has become about completely different things. The dialogue
says she is now about recycling, save the chickens. Completely different.
What was your favorite t-shirt?
"I wish I was Canadian" was my favorite.
Clear something up for "OC" fans, please. Was that controversial shirt…
The Anne Coulter t-shirt. Some people think it was Mischa, but it was ANNE Coulter!
As the season goes along are you bringing more of her old stuff back?
I hope so. And even more fun. Lets hope she [the old Summer] will be back with
a vengeance.
With Rachel Bilson making the covers of Teen Vogue and Cosmo do you think there is more pressure for her on-screen character's wardrobe?
I don't think so. She is always cute, always darling. I think some people will
be disappointed by her eco-girl look, but they'll have to wait.
 Tell us about Che's clothing.
Che is wild. He's just eco-man times 10. Out of the box. He wears a Rastafarian
hat, a Che Guevara shirt, lots of beads. He's overboard. He's inspired Summer.
Huge inspiration for all causes. He wears a lot of caption t-shirts, like the
one with guy holding a gas pump to his head and little drops are coming out the
other side.
Do you mix the two at all?
He's an XL and she's an XS! They are not matched at all, just matched in their
convictions. Assorted convinctions.
Overall, the whole Brown thing, a dress challenge or not a big deal?
Fun. It was very different. Fun to do cold weather, although the weather was
90 degrees most of the time.
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