Set Visit: The Goldbergs

Interview with Keri Smith

As the show takes creative liberties in terms of the years represented, do you pull fashion from any year of the decade?

Yes, it’s all a mishmosh.

When you have particular pop culture influences in episodes, such as the Troop Beverly Hills film that was released in 1989, do you try to pick wardrobe from that chosen year?

I don’t. I don’t like to pigeonhole a certain time period because that’s when things get out of wack. Even though the audience looks up when [the film] was made, it was more important to do it justice and get their scarves right, the vibe right, and her outfit right. Laney (AJ Michalka) wears the actual outfit. Everybody else just needs to feel like the 80s, any part of the 80s.

How much of the clothing is vintage and how much is new but vintage-inspired?

I would say probably 80% is vintage, and mostly Hayley’s is vintage-inspired. Being someone who has grown up as a teenager in the 80s, it’s not the most flattering of styles. For television, it just isn’t right for our kind of TV, to have this cute girl in these big sweatshirts. We just make everything a little more cute.

For Hayley specifically, I noticed she
dresses feminine
but with touches of structure and wears a lot of knit sweaters, large geometric accessories, low-slung belts, and metallic eyeshadow. What was the thought process behind her original wardrobe?

It’s interesting, again,
I feel like I related to her because I was the oldest and I have two older brothers. You go through so many changes because there are so many musical influences and so many other celebrities through the 80s that you’re constantly trying to be someone else and see what works for you. We had to settle on something that was a little more across the board that everyone could relate to in modern times. I think she is girly but she also has a little bit of edge .≤cause she still wants to be in the music business. [On occasion], we’ll throw in a music T-shirt to show that she has that edginess.

Hayley holding up one of Keri’s personal vintage shirts

Keri holding up one of Beverly’s sweatshirts

Hayley sharing one of the most colorful pairs of boots in the closet.