“The Sex Lives of College Girls” Costume Designer Breaks Down Each Character’s Look

One key theme of season two of “The Sex Lives of College Girls” is exploration. The new season dives into how Bela, Leighton, Whitney, and Kimberly take on their friendships, love lives, and insecurities. Fashion helps bring their distinct personalities to life, just like their fun hair and makeup looks. Costume designer Salvador Pérez Jr. crafted the looks in season one, with Phoenix Mellow taking the reins for season two. Mellow was already a fan of how the show had established their personal styles and loved that each girl had her distinct aesthetic. This time around, though, she wanted to dig even deeper.

With a fast-moving script and four core characters — not to mention several supporting ones — the HBO Max series has an ample costume closet. What’s more, Mellow explains, there isn’t much overlap when it comes to the four girls’ styles. Inspired by influencers and stylish stars on TikTok and Instagram, she created mood boards for each character. For Bela, she looked to those with quirky, bold style, like Ella Emhoff, Annie Lee Larson, and Olivia Rodrigo. Leighton’s ensembles, meanwhile, were heavily influenced by real-life, wealthy It girls, including Gigi Hadid and Bettina Looney. For Whitney’s outfits, she took inspiration from Aleali May and Chloe x Halle.

To assemble the girls’ wardrobes, Mellow shopped from each character’s perspective. For instance, Leighton would likely shop in New York City at stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s, while Kimberly would go to Target or Madewell for something a little nicer.

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