Cheryl Blossom’s Wardrobe on ‘Riverdale’ Is Full of Hidden Meanings

Onscreen, Cheryl Blossom is the meanest of mean girls (but with layers) in all of Riverdale, the all-American town with an increasingly high murder rate. (Recent example: After torching Thorndale, her family home—a narcotics-manufacturing base—and mother in the process, she went a step further by threatening mommy dearest’s breathing ability in a borderline murderous power play. And that was just in the season premiere.) But offscreen, Madelaine Petsch, the actress who plays the fiery-haired Queen Bee on the CW’s dark soapy drama, which veered into Zodiac Killer territory last week, is pretty much the polar opposite: “Nice to meet you guys!” she said to a fan who approached Petsch for a picture at the airport while she was on the phone with Glamour. (She very politely took a quick break from the call to make the guy’s day—and we can’t blame people for being obsessed.)

Still, the newly restored River Vixen HBIC has essentially become the show’s standout fan favorite, with her shade-throwing and extremely GIF-able one-liners—as well as for her predominantly black-and red wardrobe, put together by costume designer Rebekka Sorensen-Kjelstrup.

“I’m the only character who’s allowed to wear red on the show, which I find hilarious,” Petsch laughed. Although, things are changing for Miss Blossom. Spoiler alert: “I have some exciting news—in the next episode, I get to wear blue,” she said. “It’s a big moment for me.”

Because with Mrs. B (willingly or not) taking a step back from the family business, Cheryl is now the top Blossom. Her matching-set-filled wardrobe is evolving, along with her character arc. “Last season I feel like Cheryl was almost forced to be ‘put together’ all the time, and when she had a hair out of place—or she was wearing white, instead of red—you knew something was about to go down,” explained Petsch, bringing her apparition-esque arson outfit to mind. “That was because she was so controlled by her parents that they always wanted her to be perfect. I imagined they hired her a hair and makeup team, kind of thing.”

The upcoming shock of blue signifies Cheryl “slowly taking reins out of her mom’s hands,” according to the actress. The new Head Blossom will still wear her signature palette but in doses: “We’re really playing with different colors but incorporating the red in smaller accessories and details, like my nails or my spider brooch, versus overall being red-on-red-on-red. Although, I still do have those days as well.”

Eagle-eyed viewers and Riverdale fashion conspiracy theorists probably noticed the return of Cheryl’s creepy-chic spider brooch, which we saw throughout the first season. It reappeared in court early on in season two, accessorizing her red, black, and white witness outfit (you know, when she lied under oath during F.P.’s trial.) Maybe Jughead, played by Cole Sprouse, gave it back to her after the season finale. Or, more likely, she has loads of arachnid-themed jewelry, which maybe weren’t incinerated in the fire.

“Absolutely,” Petsch said about the return of her ominous accents. “It’s my favorite accessory. I have some cool spider earrings as well.”

Speaking of, Cheryl’s accessorizing game was on point at the fund-raiser to save Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe—you know, former “DEATH DINER,” now Jingle Jangle–dealing central. The Riverdale High ladies all wore the same retro T-shirt and hot-pants outfits. But, in a pure fire power move, the high school junior differentiated herself with a pair of matching over-the-knee wine-hued boots. “We’re all wearing this uniform, right? But still Cheryl finds a way to make it her own,” Petsch said. “A really huge part of who she is, is that she always wants to stand out. It’s definitely a desperate cry for attention and that’s why she’s wearing those thigh-high boots.”

The actress also sees Cheryl’s retro noir-inspired style as an unspoken way of communicating her complicated persona—in addition to her talent for turning a phrase, which, to be honest, is probably a defense mechanism. “She’s got so many facades up I feel the only way she feels she can express herself is through the way she appears,” Petsch explained. “The only thing she genuinely feels she has control over is her appearance this season.”

But a Cheryl Blossom fashion evolution is nigh. Beware, another outfit spoiler: “I wore pants yesterday [for an upcoming episode]. Can you believe it?” Petsch laughed at the development that might be “crazier than a serial killer on bath salts.” (Cheryl one-liner reference, by the way.) “We’re definitely changing things up, and we’re having a lot more fun with designers and making her more fashion-forward—and less just skirts and crop tops every day.”

Unsurprisingly, Petsch sometimes finds herself tempted by Cheryl’s wardrobe, but mainly the accessories, like a pair of Christian Louboutin pumps and Valentino Rockstud ankle-strap heels. Truth be told, she actually covets another character’s style the most and you haven’t met her yet. “Toni Topaz—she’s a Serpent and [played by] my best friend off the show, Vanessa Morgan,” the actress said. “I’ll go to her fittings sometimes just so I can pick pieces out and be like, ‘I’m going to go buy that later!’”

Despite her coveting another character’s aesthetic, Petsch does admit that playing Cheryl Blossom has affected her own style and how she expresses herself in real life, just not in a way you might expect. “I wear so much skintight clothing and bright colors on the show that I’m always in black [off the show], and I almost never have my hair and makeup done,” she said. “I’m at the airport right now, and I’m literally wearing giant sweats and a guy’s sweatshirt. Very different.”

The actress’ choice of off-duty athletic wear is more than just about comfort. “If I want to be noticed or I’m OK with being noticed, I’ll definitely actually put together an outfit,” she explained. “But a lot of time, I’m wearing bigger hoods and putting my hood over my hair so people can’t see it,” she said, about her dead giveaway (pun unintended) feature.

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She’s also taking advantage of the current sportswear trends to both enjoy relaxed silhouettes and experiment outside of her sartorial comfort zone with edgier, streetwear designers. And she partially has boyfriend Travis Mills, who—fun fact!—originally auditioned to play Jughead, to thank for that.

“My boyfriend is super fashionable as well, so we have a lot of fun together,” she said. “He’ll send me links to stuff and he’s like, ‘This is super cool, you should cop it.’ He knows what’s cool before everyone else does.” Some labels he’s recommended to her include Heron Preston and Virgil Abloh’s Off-White. “I never was into the underground designers until very recently, so that’s a fun thing for us to do together and it’s a fun way for me to express myself in general. I don’t know if it emotes anything for me because I don’t feel like regular people do that. Do they?”

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Well, Petsch isn’t totally a “regular” person, especially considering her many opportunities (and obligations) to dress up for the red carpet. For those occasions, she consults longtime stylist Adena Rohatiner, whom she credits for urging her to be more open-minded about venturing outside her sartorial comfort zone. “I’ve learned how subjective fashion is, like, I could love something and she could hate it and vice versa. It’s so interesting,” Petsch said. “And it’s really just about you feeling good. Like who cares what everybody else thinks? As long as you feel good in it and you feel confident in it and you feel powerful in it then like, who really cares?”

Petsch’s last memorable outfit moment took place at September’s Environmental Media Awards, to which she wore a divine puff-sleeve and sheer-paneled Red Valentino LBD, which she and Rohatiner saved for “the right occasion.”

“It was one of those moments from the minute I put it on, I felt so good and right for anything,” she recalled. “I was presenting that night—and it was my first time presenting an award—and I felt confident. It’s crazy how clothing can do that for you. I guess I kind of just negated the answer I said earlier: ‘Oh yeah, I don’t really emote through my clothing.’ Now I’m like, ‘I feel super confident when I wear this.’ See, I’m contradicting myself. I didn’t even know I did that, but I guess I do!”

It’s OK. The real life Cheryl Blossom is just too nice for us to get mad at or anything.

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