Humor is her No. 1 accessory
Shopping in Silver Lake with ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ star Rachel Bloom yields new outfits and quips.
Before the hungry Saturday brunch crowd started rolling into Silver Lake, Rachel Bloom, star and co-creator of the CW show “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” visited a few stores and boutiques near Sunset Junction on an August morning.
There was Mohawk General Store, Lacausa and Bucks & Does, all within walking distance of one another on a fashionable stretch of Sunset Boulevard. As Bloom sought out rompers, voluminous pants and tie-dyed pieces, she was also busy creating characters for each of the garments she swiped on the rack. “Tel Aviv hipster.” “Me if I owned a yoga studio.” “Girl who made fun of me in middle school.”
“Expensive jewelry shop owner. The lead in a romantic comedy — written by a man,” she said, pulling out a red-and-blue bodiced gingham dress, before taking her haul into a fitting room.
The parade of wacky characters might feel familiar to viewers of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” which received four Emmy nominations.
In the comedy series, Bloom’s exuberant and nuanced performance as love-struck lawyer Rebecca Bunch is heightened and explored through musical numbers.
So it’s no surprise that in real life, Bloom sees the potential for multiple personalities in every form of creativity. “Most days when I get dressed, I feel like I’m playing a role. Today, I’m the girl wearing the costume of a L’Agence shirt-dress,” she said, gesturing to the cornflower blue maxi-dress she’s wearing.
“Other than being able to wear a normal bra and being comfortable, I can’t yet define my style,” Bloom said. “I think personal style is a thesis statement you develop after years and years of learning about clothes and what looks and feels good on you.”
Bloom’s sartorial back story began with a so-so start — elementary school years plagued with a self-described “weird taste” in clothes that got her teased. College in New York was more about staying warm and comfortable during class. But now, the 29-yearold’s status as an executive producer and star of a TV show has helped usher in a bigger fascination with fashion.
“It helps that my writing partner, Aline Brosh McKenna, wrote the script for ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ ” Bloom said. “Both she and our line producer [Sarah Caplan] are extremely fashionable. So we talk about fashion a lot on set.”
They talk so much about all things fashion that Bloom can’t stop herself from shopping for both of them. “This is so Sarah,” she murmured to herself at Mohawk General Store, before gasping at a dress for McKenna.
Also helpful for Bloom’s fashion renaissance was her light-bulb moment in the “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” costume department about silhouettes and tailoring.
“I’m learning what I like and what works for my body and not feeling like I’m a slave to the fit of off-the-rack pieces,” Bloom said. As she stepped out of the dressing room at every shop, she pinched and pulled straps and waistlines like a stylist, angling for a superior fit.
Bloom’s commentary was as entertaining as it was empowering.
On sensible heels: “I’d rather be behind the times and not have to get my knees replaced.”
On color choices: “I’ve been told I look good in white, but I also spill a lot of food.”
On fashion mistakes: “I used to buy things aspirationally like, ‘Oh! I’ll find a bra to make this work!’ Now I know. There is very little fashion that is worth being uncomfortable.”
However, when it came to the dressing room, she’s game for anything. She was awestruck by the shops’ selections but not so much that she couldn’t poke fun at the clothing she admires.
A Dries Van Noten pearl vest piqued her interest at Mohawk General Store. “Sexy fashion knight!” she dubbed it.
Later, she joked that the open weave made it a great candidate for “getting drunk and throwing up.” Though she seemed smitten, the vest didn’t go home with her, though a shantung-silk Isabel Marant dress did.
Then it was on to the next store. At Lacausa, Bloom stepped out of the fitting room, glowing in a slip-like camisole she’d previously written off as “too effortless.”
“I’ve always aspired to achieve this look of being cool and not caring,” she explained. “I associate that with being very skinny and just throwing something on. When you have curves, that’s a challenge because more things are an effort.
“There’s nothing I do in my life that can be described as ‘chill,’ ” she said. Though later when she changed into Lacausa’s pale-blue satin pants (another purchase), she looked like an old Hollywood siren in repose; she’s clearly adept at making all that effort look easy.
Luckily for fans of “Crazy ExGirlfriend,” the lack of “chill” translates into gloriously calculated, big-think episodes. And of course, there will be the songand-dance numbers, including a “very experimental ‘Lemonade’ homage” — Bloom’s referring to Beyoncé’s hit visual album — that will air during Season 2, which will premiere Oct. 21 on the CW.
As to what she would wear to the Creative Arts Emmys this weekend, Bloom remained tightlipped, saying only that she’s wearing an unconventional, nongown choice. “I like playing dressup, all the fuss and frills of a big occasion,” she said. “Traditionally, I’d either dress really schlubby — or all dressed up. Now, I’m starting to understand the middle ground more.”
And where better to explore that middle ground than Bucks & Does, a shop where day dresses by the Odells hang next to Mother Denim flare jeans ?
That’s where Bloom, who tried on dozens of pieces during this shopping trip, zeroed in on a pair of white Thinking Mu pants printed with bananas.
So, what character wears these pants? Bloom’s eyes remained locked on the trousers. “Honestly?” she said. “These just feel like me.”