amy merrick by 55

living in: the breakfast club



The middle of June triggers serious school nostalgia for me. Everyone was so happy for summer vacation and it felt like the whole school came together in one big bubbling mass of excitement. No one does school nostalgia better than the late, great John Hughes and his The Breakfast Club is a dizzying feat of brat pack amazingness. You absolutely must watch this inspiring and related music video while reading the rest of this post. WARNING- clicking will treat you to the dulcet tones of Simple Minds so please make sure your boss (or detention monitor) is out of earshot.

revlon “kiss me coral” lipstick $7, cz stud earrings $36, bamboo sushi tray $28, vintage school wall clock $65, leather studded fingerless gloves $30, lauren merkin saddle bag $395, red bandana $2, card catalog filling cabinet $1500.




You went to high school, you know the drill. The prom queen, the jock, the brain, the basket case and the criminal- all locked up Saturday morning for detention. What you didn’t know is how much fun detention can be. All sorts of dancing on top of bookshelves, making out in broom closets, illegal smoking and sushi eating. My high school’s detentions never went down like that, which is a shame. In the end it really doesn’t matter because gosh darn it, I’m an honorary member of The Breakfast Club and you are too. -amy m.

barrentine boyfriend shirt $100, risky business sunglasses $11, “do it best” yellow legal pad $1.50, vintage school chairs, vintage lace up riding boots $75, varsity letter $10, pilot varsity pen $3.50, franco ferrari scarf $126.

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55 Comments

alison

Totally forgot that Molly’s character ate sushi! Ahead of her time. That movie is such a classic- I still love it.

Stella

love it!

fyi embarassing mispelling of “clock”

Stella

Um, all my own misspellings were on purpose. Solidarity!

grace

stella

just caught it. and man am i embarrassed that i didn’t catch it on my first reason. eek. not a good one to miss ;)

g

estelle

Tried so hard to pull off Molly’s amazing hair, bought the nail polish and lipstick to match her and so wanted the boots. I was 13 and totally in awe/love/crazy stalker of all things Molly Ringwald.

Kate

YES! About time for the Living In series! Perhaps one of the greatest movie of all time.

Llubav

SUPER! This is a great movie and Molly is so sassy — love her!

trish

another lipstick from that heyday would have been revlon’s “cherries in the snow”!

Nicodemus Green

Um, ok. Not sure where to begin.

This movie was the only thing that got me through freshman year in high school. I wanted desperately to be Ally Sheedy, but was more a fat, gay, neon-wearing version of Anthony Michael Hall.

However, I did trick my BFF (and protector) Yvette Gutierrez into teaching me that lipstick trick that Clare so proudly demonstrated in the movie.

I can still do it today!

Great memories!

summerland

I had Molly’s hair back in high school but not the outfit. I remember pining for clothes like that. Too bad we can’t post pics here or I’d show you my awesome, hot pink neon background, gently-closed-fist-on-chin, Molly Ringwold hair, senior photo pose.

EmilyL

Yes! Another great pick! I’m glad you’re getting around to the ’80s teensploitation flicks! Sixteen Candles, Some Kind of Wonderful, Better Off Dead–these would all make fun fodder for “Living In.” And those boots are gorgeous!

Kristen

Oh I long for a library card catalogue! Partly because it would be awesome for craft stuff and partly to satisfy my inner librarian!

geisslein

This movie was one of my absolutely favorites! Loved Judd Nelson SO MUCH! great movie, I should watch it again… Have a lovely day today! geisslein

Charlotte

Love this inspiration!

I get nostalgic for school too – mainly when buying notebooks and stationary – I have a full-blown fetish!

Blue Skies
Charlotte xx

d*s fan

Perfect timing! I caught some of this movie this weekend on tv and it made me drop everything. Hughes’ work always makes me think about being a teenager again!

Avril

I’ve been on a 25-year mission to recreate Claire’s outfit…that perfect brown suede skirt, that just-right blush pink top. It never looks dated!

Lauryn

This just might be my favorite movie of all time. I watch it every time it’s on TV (even though I own it on DVD), twice in a row if they have an encore showing. Never get tired of the the brat pack movies.

julie

LOOOve The Breakfast Club. I haven’t watched it for years, but at one time had my video tape on high rotation whilst I studied and did my assignments. Must really get it on dvd soon so I can revisit my youth. That song is on my ipod and always makes me feel good :)

Joanna

To this day, I still covet Molly Ringwald’s outfit. It never ceases to amaze me how timeless it really is, and the fact that it came out of the 80′s no less? Astounding.

Maria

ah that moment when she gives him her earring. still gets me every single time. SO HOT.

Style Odyssey

cool post. first time i watched “the breakfast club” was at my best friend’s…we had pizza and wine coolers- right, gross! hey, i was 20 so i’m excused, right? ;)
anyway, thanks for the nostalgic blast from the past!

ThistledownStudio

This is very timely, I just went to a John Hughes film festival. I was struck by the timelessness of Molly Ringwalds wardrobe, those were great boots.

ginny branch stelling

being bad feels pretty good, doesn’t it?

Yanet

Before I even read your post, the first photograph took me back to a different place and time I will never forget.
Great “Living In” post.

Tess

Amy, all the movie reviews in the world (even the brilliant ones from the Portland Mercury) don’t inspire me to watch/re-watch movies the way your posts do.

hrhkat

oh god i love this movie, i just watched it about 2 weeks ago…i swear amy and I constantly watch the same movies at the same time lmao…stop stocking me amy, im gonna call the cops lol. You should have thrown in a joint and had as the contact as to where to buy it “Joint, $20 (from that creepy guy who stands on the corner by your house)”…that would have been funny.

wtg on another great post that brings back tons of memories…

Sally@DivivneDistractions

One of my all-time favorite movies. I was in a counseling class in grad school and we watched it to analyse group therapy! What a hoot! Great, classic movie!

Claire

I love you for doing a post on the Breakfast Club! Oh, how I still wish I’d given Judd Nelson my earring…

Lisa

these are the things I look forward to my daughter watching when she is older!

Parakh

WoW! such a fantastic post! I think I’ll have some sushi and a pixie stick/potato chip sandwich for lunch!!!

Ann

Judd Nelson was the sexiest man alive in that film. I rented and watched it one evening, and got up the next morning and watched it again!

Andrea

Gotta love The Breakfast Club <3 I've seen that film sooo many times <3 it!! thanks!

Shelley

I love this film & these great finds. It would be fun to live in “The Breakfast Club,” for a little while, anyway.

Maggee

I second (or fourth, or fiftieth?) all these comments. The John Hughes movies are just epic. Hands down.

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