Makeover Montage: A Fashion in Film Podcast · Marie Lodi and Blaire Bercy

Bubble Skirts and Fishnet Arm Slings in Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

·1 hr 10 min·4 clips

Little Shop of Horrors has two endings, and the alternate version adds a whole city-destroying plant sequence.

Blair and Marie open with the kind of giddy energy that suggests this conversation was meant to wander a bit. Blair comes in as Audrey 3, and Marie sounds more than ready to get delightfully weird about Little Shop of Horrors. They treat the dark comedy musical as a costume show first and a plot machine second. Merritt Allen's work sits at the center. The blue polka-dot bubble skirt look gets a long, affectionate breakdown. They focus on the bubble over the peplum and the fitted skirt underneath. The whole thing gets read through 50s and 60s girl-group styling. Gloves, headbands, and bouffant variations all matter. The chorus girls wear related looks that still let each person feel distinct. Blair keeps linking the outfit to Mermaids, and the comparison lands like a well-worn costume memory. The show makes clear that Little Shop feels more like a precursor than a copy. They also admire a lavender dress with chunky pearls and a cleaner, more demure line. The episode keeps circling back to the fact that these costumes are doing narrative work. The clothes introduce characters and move scenes forward. That is part of why the talk keeps jumping from one outfit to another without losing its thread. Their excitement is messy, funny, and precise at the same time. The hosts are willing to interrupt themselves, correct themselves, and chase a reference until it clicks. The conversation closes by inviting listeners to call or text with favorite makeover-montage movies or outfit thoughts, which fits the show's open-door feel. The whole thing plays like a conversation between two people who love clothes enough to let them pull the movie into a better argument.

As heard by us

A lively Little Shop costume chat that turns Merritt Allen's details into playful criticism.

Little Shop of Horrors is framed as a costume-first dark comedy musical, with Blair and Marie drawing attention to Merritt Allen's silhouettes, color pairings, and story-sorting choices.

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Why you'd press play

Play this for a playful costume gush about Little Shop of Horrors and Merritt Allen.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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