90210 Costume Designer Kime Buzzelli on What Beverly Hills' Finest Have in Their Closets

By Chris Frey
October 11, 2010

90210 cast

"Senior Year, Baby" --LtoR: Trevor Donovan as Teddy, Jessica Stroup as Erin Silver, Shenae Grimes as Annie Wilson, Michael Steger as Navid Shirazi and Tristan Wilds as Dixon Wilson on 90210 on The CW. (Photo: Michael Desmond/The CW © 2010 The CW Network. All Rights Reserved); "Age of Inheritance" -- LtoR: Jessica Lowndes as Adrianna, Shenae Grimes as Annie, and AnnaLynne McCord as Naomi on 90210 on The CW. (Photo: Scott Humbert/The CW © 2010 The CW Network. All Rights Reserved)

Kime Buzzelli, stylist and costume designer for hit TV show "90210," has been fashion-obsessed since she was a young girl, citing makeover movies like "Grease" and "Pretty Woman" as early inspiration. Today, Buzzelli, who describes her office as filled with "perpetual shopping bags," is responsible for dressing the entire, extra-large cast of "90210."

Kime Buzzelli "This week's episode of 90210 has 38 cast members that I’m responsible for," Buzzelli says. "Of those 38 people, our main cast members and some of the day players will have anywhere from two to four costume changes each." But for Buzzelli, who claims to "love hustling and solving fashion puzzles, day in and day out" this is a dream job come true.

Kime Buzzelli (photo provided by Buzzelli)

A beloved fixture in the Los Angeles art and fashion scenes for over 10 years now, Buzzelli began making industry connections over a decade ago while working at Wasteland Vintage, a popular store, where she met fashion stylists, designers, actors and artists. She remembers, "I started making costumes and clothes with my friend and co-worker Niki Eatman while employed at Wasteland. We would often wear them to work and stylists would ask to rent them for videos and shows." During that period, Buzzelli also began assisting designers and stylists with editorial shoots and music videos.

In October 2000, she opened The Show Pony, her boutique/art gallery in the now-trendy Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, which she says was then "quite a ghost town," though it quickly became up-and-coming. “We were all partaking in monthly themed ideas," she says of her neighbors, "so Show Pony became a concept shop. We had bands play in the loft; designers would make a dress on someone’s body. There were new musicians and artists moving into the neighborhood all the time and the balance was amazing.”

Kime art

Artwork by Kim Buzzelli (images provided by Kime Buzzelli)

During the eight years when she ran her shop, Buzzelli continued to create art and paint. Soon, projects came to her, too. She silkscreened onto clothes that she sold in her boutique and in other shops. She landed art exhibitions in Tokyo and several spaces in New York. That exposure secured her a position in Laird Borrelli's book Fashion Illustration Next. Collaborative projects followed, including a partnership with VANS, a comic book for Microsoft, a commissioned cover for Flaunt magazine and a makeup palette for Urban Decay.

On the heels of an art show at Urban Outfitters' 1520 space in L.A. "90210" purchased some of her work for an upcoming episode, and she was written into the script. She was then asked to be a style consultant for Season 2, where she worked alongside the costume designer. Eventually, she was asked to step in as head designer for Season 3.

Her training as an artist gives added depth and texture to what she does with clothing. She explains, "I'm always trying to figure out new ways to trick something out to make it work for a scene. I like finding out what color the room [that we're shooting in] will be. Then I consider how to use that color with the people in the scene." She likes odd pairings of print and color in her paintings and works similar ideas into costumes for her show: socks and platforms, mismatched prints and colors, etc. She's also used her talents to create set décor such as the "band flyers for Adrianna and some of the strange art you see in [the characters'] bedrooms."

Buzzelli shared her style strategies with us for each of the main characters. Their wardrobes include some of her favorite fashion trends this season as well as personal faves that will certainly set the trends to come: high waisted pants, as seen at Chloe collection; Yves Saint Lauren-inspired blouses with big ties or bows; longer or maxi dresses with shrunken jackets; over the knee socks with ankle boots or heels; trench coats; jumpsuits; organic stones and metals set in vintage necklaces; and off-the-shoulder tops.

Check out Kime Buzzelli's "90210" character style breakdown, and our fashion picks to help you look the part.

NAOMI

Roll over items for details

NEW Herve Leger Banded Dress

(buy it now price $1,299)

NEW Chloe Military Jumpsuit

(buy it now price $399.99)

NEW YSL Tribute Sandals

(buy it now price $649.99)

Vintage Chloe Necklace

(buy it now price $599.99)

90210 Costume Designer Kime Buzzelli on What Beverly Hills' Finest Have in Their Closets

"NAOMI, played by AnnaLynne McCord, is all about labels, excess and modern silhouettes. Her character loves structured and tailored pieces that are body conscious. She loves designer bags and accessories—especially high-end shoes! Fabulous signature necklaces always offset her minimalist fashion. Her color palette is neutral, punctuated with black and "in" colors. Brands she frequently wears on-set include are Chloe, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Yeojin Bae and some local L.A. designers like WREN and Leyendecker. Annalynne is somewhat into the same types of body conscious pieces as her character. She loves fitted pantsuits and sexy curvy dresses, like Alaia would create."

SILVER

NEW Alexander Wang Hobo Bag

(buy it now price $349)

NEW Vena Cava Dress

(buy it now price $249.95)

NEW Opening Ceremony Shoes

(buy it now price $199.99)

NEW Alex and Chloe Black Pearl Necklace

(buy it now price $200)

"SILVER, played by Jessica Stroup, borrows from all eras and DIY street style fashion trends. She is sort of the Edie Sedgwick-anti-establishment-darling-with-a-dash-of-Blondie-punk-flair. Her fashion look combines feminine and masculine, hard and soft. She can be the most fun of the bunch to dress because she embodies the best of all the trends. She can wear knee socks with platforms and floppy felt hats with long necklaces as she dances the night away. But she has also been shown in men's ties and vests. She wears a lot of vintage jewelry plus some designer lines like J. Brand, Vena Cava, Opening Ceremony, Alex and Chloe, Alexander Wang. She also mixes it up with local designers like Grey Ant and Luxury Jones."

ANNIE

NEW Alexa Chung for Madewell Dress

(buy it now price $125)

Dieppa Restrepo Patent Leather Oxfords

(buy it now price $158)

NEW J.Crew Cashmere Pullover

(buy it now price $99)

Coach Leather Crossbody Bag

(buy it now price $19.99)

"ANNIE, played by Shenae Grimes, is the all-American girl next door meets Alexa Chung. We often see Annie wearing Madewell, Theory, A.P.C. J. Brand jeans, J. Crew and Splendid stripey t-shirts. She is the perfect character to strut around in Isabel Marant fashions as well. We have her this season with vintage accessories like Gucci and Bruno Magli oxford flats and cute leather and canvas cross-body bags. Shenae Grimes, who plays Annie, has amazing personal style. She loves flea markets and finding fun 90's pieces. We have met up a few times on the weekends to find her some fun new accessories. She is the most different in real life from her character. Her style icons would be ladies like Sophia Coppola, Michelle Williams and Alexa Chung."

ADRIANNA

Henry Beguelin Leather Hobo Bag

(buy it now price $769.99)

NEW Stella McCartney Denim Sandals

(buy it now price $398)

NEW Rebecca Taylor Bloomie Dress

(buy it now price $198)

Stephen Dweck Gemstone Bracelet

(buy it now price $49.77)

"ADRIANNA is the feminine, vintage-loving character. She is played by Jessica Lowndes and has a new singing career on the show and in real life. Her fashion style is very reminiscent of Brigitte Bardot meets Zooey Deschanel. She loves vintage bracelets and romantic prints. We have put her in Alice + Olivia, Rebecca Taylor, Anthropologie, and lots of amazing local vintage finds (Wasteland, Golyester and local jewelry designer Laura Kranitz, who has created one of kind hand dyed ribbon wrapped rhinestone bangles for her). In real life, Jessica is similar to her style on the show; she loves girly pieces and pretty platform shoes. She is a dead ringer for a young Elizabeth Taylor!"

IVY

NEW Classic Vans

(buy it now price $24.99)

NEW Erin Wasson RVCA Denim Shorts

(buy it now price $75)

Vinatge Isabel Marant Necklace

(buy it now price $60)

Silence and Noise Bomber Jacket

(buy it now price $40)

Ivy "Gillian Zinser plays bohemian surfer tomboy IVY on the show. She is the most like her character in real life in some ways. She loves thrashed t-shirts and vintage, faded pieces. She has a knack for putting odd combos together that work. Ivy is a surfer and skateboarder who doesn't let fashion interfere with her mobility on the board, so if she can wear a skirt tied in a knot and still be able to bend, she will. She likes that we mix leather on top of her dresses and tone down the feminine with Converse or Vans shoes. Sort of an Erin Wasson type as her style icon."