If Jenna Ortega's 'Beetlejuice' Character Was Real, She'd Dress Like Jenna Ortega
Jenna Ortega dresses exactly how her Beetlejuice Beetlejuice character would dress if she was a real person. Heck, she dresses exactly how her character's mom, Winona Ryder's Lydia Deetz, would dress if she was Ortega's age today.
Ortega, born in 2002, has nailed a personal style that affects the same post-goth cues that Ryder's Lydia epitomized back in 1988's Beetlejuice, just updated for contemporary tastes.
On one hand, it really underscores that Ortega was perfectly cast as Lydia's daughter, Astrid Deetz, in the forthcoming Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
But it also isn't as simple as Ortega cosplaying as Astrid — more like Astrid wishes she had the clothing budget to dress like Ortega.
Whereas the on-screen glimpses of Astrid insinuate that she dresses approachably cool if plain, Jenna Ortega and stylist Enrique Melendez have perfected a collection of unpretentiously elegant monochrome garms that sort of blends Ortega's Beetlejuice character with a little Morticia Addams glam.
While embarking on the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice press tour in New York amidst muggy, miserable August weather, Ortega has dressed with the consistency of a fictional character, just a lil more luxe.
Ortega's uniform typically comprises a relaxed black blazer over mini-ish dresses, the perfect hybridization of masculine and feminine stylistic codes. Interestingly, the gothish characters whom Ortega portrays rarely cater to a single obviously gendered style and neither does Ortega, for that matter.
Neither she nor Astrid (nor Wednesday Addams, for that matter) seem to care much sneakers, save for a pair of beat-up Rick Owens Converse. Otherwise, it's all pumps, platforms and black leather loafers worn with white ankle socks, a semi-formal balance to Ortega's semi-tailored staples.
On a night out, these loosen up without ever shunning Ortega's sartorial inclinations, perhaps best represented by a Billie Eilish-coded pinstriped shirt and short set.
It all feels quite put-together, a sensation amplified by Ortega's daily driver accessories: a Lady Dior handbag and thick, black ovoid sunglasses. Ortega actually flips between a few luxury shades with similar lens shapes, including Maison Margiela's Gentle Monster collab.
Lydia (and Winona Ryder, for that matter) would be proud.
There is a point to all this. For one, Ortega's signature characters often have a real relationship with specific clothes: High collars were a crucial reflection of Wednesday's external austerity, for instance, while Beetlejuice Beetlejuice's Astrid is more casual, reflected by her grungey Heaven By Marc Jacobs sweater.
There may even be a more meaningful implication in Ortega's consistent wardrobe.
“The experience of feeling like a different person every day, not knowing who I am and not knowing what I’m doing… it’s pretty universal,” Ortega once told Highsnobiety.
Perhaps the act of always wearing similar stuff affords Ortega a sense of stability, a reprieve from the actors' burden of always becoming someone else. But, because there will never not be at least some Ortega on-screen, perhaps there will never not be at least some Astrid (or Wednesday) in real life.
