My Father the Hero is the Most Fashionable Movie of 2015

Is this Cara Delevingne's latest vacay insta post? Nope! That's Heigl as a wee babe

Hear me out. This proclamation may be shocking for those of you who have actually seen this ultimately heartwarming, but incredibly cheesy teen comedy from 1994. It stars Gérard Depardieu and a very, very young Katherine Heigl. When I saw the movie browsing on Netflix I turned my phone off so I could watch it without distraction. I had it on VHS tape in middle school and watched it on repeat until the film melted. (OR my mom lit it on fire, TBD...) This is one of my favorite teen movies of all time.

The whole entirety of the story is given away in the film description so I don't feel bad telling you that My Father the Hero is the story of a teenage girl who pretends her father is her lover. This brilliant plan is all to get the attention of a cute boy in a resort in the caribbean. Said boy calls her "kid" and "girl" for a few scenes* thereby inciting the kind of duplicity and emotional fireworks only someone who has been a teenage girl could possibly understand. Or maybe just a compulsive liar.

Nicole (Niki) ultimately woos her potential paramore Ben, mostly by looking amazing at all times while using her most grown up voice to remind him that "Seriously, you are such a child."

Somehow, despite all that AND a heavy dose of slapstick, I still can't help loving this movie. *Point of fact, he's only 17 to her "14 and a half" so who's he calling kid??

Sometimes your favorite childhood movies are best left in the past. Watching them again, grown up, can take away the magic, that suspension of disbelief that is much easier when you are young. However, my fears were for naught. I loved it. I couldn't take my eyes of the clothes. They are perfection. Not 1994 perfect - now perfect. This movie is like giving The Reformation website a plot line. I thought Nicole (Niki) was so ridiculously cool back then... but watching it 20 years later (OMG I'm SO OLD) I still think "This is what cool girls look like."

And it may be true - could Niki (Nicole) be the teen role model for the 30 somethings now running the fashion world? Food for thought right there. But I digress...

Unable to help myself as this sartorial enchantment unfolded, I began a campaign to screenshot every look. Once documented the looks needed to be recreated, searching deep into my mental archives (where I keep a running stock list for what Revolve, Nastygal, Shopbop and ASOS have on site) against an aspiration to be as frugal as possible.

A labor of love, I tried my best to get as close as possible to the looks in every way and without getting spendy. I'm still not satisfied with the 90s ingenue dress after extensive searching (I want the neckline! The buttons! Those perfect little cap sleeves! And a black with tiny tiny florals... is that too much to ask??) but I decided that this dress at least captures the right overall gestalt. If you have suggestions or additions let me know!

Without further ado, behold - 10 looks that provide evidential proof that My Father the Hero is the greatest fashion movie of 2015.