Paul Rudd‘s face may never change, but his style most certainly has. The Marvel superhero may be one of the most beloved celebs of all time and was even voted People’s Sexiest Man in 2021, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t made a fashion faux pas at some point in his life. Now, the actor is looking back at his style history and yes, there is a little bit of cringe to be found.
Rudd is one of the ageless of Hollywood, probably the poster boy for it in fact given that he looks almost the same as he did 30 years ago. Despite his Peter Pan looks, Rudd’s style sensibilities have definitely changed. The actor spoke to People about how, during his teenage years, one movie character’s style spoke to him – Duckie from Pretty in Pink. Back then Rudd was told that he bore a certain resemblance to the character,
“I remember when the movie Pretty in Pink came out. I hadn’t seen it, but people in my school said, ‘I just saw this movie and there’s a character named Duckie and he totally reminded me of you,'”
This led to Rudd watching the movie himself and, after seeing some resemblance in features, decided to take it one step further.
“I really embraced New Wave fashion. I did not dress like your typical Midwesterner. I really prided myself on the fact that I didn’t own a pair of jeans.”
He styled himself based on New Wave fashion that was popular in the 80s; in addition to Duckie, think Cyndi Lauper, and even Madonna for a spell. The layering and mash of colors pushed the boundaries of what was “acceptable” with men wearing makeup and everyone, regardless of gender, dripping in accessories in an androgynous and flamboyant way. Rudd recalls one look, saying,
“I remember one day, I went over to my friend Jethro’s house after school. I just stayed in the clothes that I wore — black pleated pants, black slip-on loafers, pink socks. My shirt was black, the sleeves were gray. I had a pink tie with pink piping on the pocket and on all the seams”
The outfit was so out there for where he was living at the time that many thought he was in some sort of costume. He recalled his friend’s mother asking if there was a space-themed event being held, “I guess my outfit looked so futuristic to her,” he said.
Now a leading man in Hollywood, Rudd’s style has adapted to the times and he likely has a stylist helping him pick his outfits to help ensure he has no fashion disasters on the red carpet, though we now would love to see the actor give us a taste of his teenage style one of these days.
You can catch Rudd in a completely different, and tighter, costume in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in cinemas Feb. 17.