Melissa Joan Hart wishes she took more of the wardrobe from Clarissa Explains It All.
Hart, 48, exclusively opened up to Us Weekly about which pieces she kept from Clarissa Darling’s closet — and which she still has three decades after the show wrapped — while celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Clarissa Explains It All finale.
“I still [want Clarissa’s closet],” Hart told Us,” wishing she kept more of her character’s iconic looks. “I took all the Betsey Johnson [designs.] I still have all the Betsey Johnson!” she exclaimed.
Hart continued, “I never took a whole outfit. I took all the necklaces she had — all these big, long necklaces — and I hung them in my bedroom for a long time.”
Over the years and while moving houses, Hart admitted that she lost “a lot” of her Clarissa Explains It All accessories, and even a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award.
Clarissa’s fashion sense consisted of colorful tops, mixing prints and patterns, overalls, crochet sweaters, colorful tights and more — all of which are still right on trend today. When it comes to reviving fads, Hart couldn’t be happier that combat boots are everywhere this fall. (Think: Olivia Rodrigo rocking her Dr. Martens on the Guts World Tour, Taylor Swift wearing chunky Christian Louboutins while cheering on Travis Kelce at Kansas City Chiefs games and more.)
“I should never have let mine go,” Hart told Us. “Big mistake. I think that they’re just the most versatile shoe there is.” The Sabrina the Teen Witch alum continued gushing about the shoes, “They’re not a sneakers, they’re not cowboy boots or too uncomfortable to walk in — and they’re not a high heel, but they’re lifted for shorties like me.”
While she’s very into the combat boot, Hart is ready to say goodbye once and for all to crop tops.
“At my age, can we get rid of crop tops please?” she said. “Can we have some long shirts? If you’re going to offer it as a crop top, at least offer it in a long [version] as well.” Hart suggested that brands have two options for one style: one for “the 20-year-old and [one for] the 40-year-olds.”
Although Hart still reminisces on Clarissa’s closet, her most cherished memories on set were spending time with the cast and crew.
“It’s so much it’s impossible to pick one thing, but I’d say it was the people,” she gushed to Us. “Being amongst the writers and the producers, and messing around with the equipment, learning how to use it all and diving into the production side of things within the wardrobe.”
Hart told Us that she lost touch with some of her castmates, including Joe O’Connor and Elizabeth Hess who played her on-screen parents but is still “best friends” with several members of the crew.
“The producer, the showrunner, Mitchell Kriegman, and I have been in touch over the years,” Hart told Us. “Michelle [Martinez] worked in wardrobe, and her husband, David [Roofthooft] was the executive producer’s assistant, and they became like family to me.” She even revealed that the couple are her “oldest son’s godparents.” (Hart shares sons Mason, 18, Braydon, 16, and Tucker, 12, with husband Mark Wilkerson.) Work besties, indeed.
With reporting by Sarah Jones
