STYLE ICON: Winona Ryder
As a child, Winona Ryder was encouraged by her parents, both artistic intellectuals, to be independent and off beat. For a period of her life they lived on a commune with several other families choosing to forgo electricity and contact with the outside world (radio, television). At the age of 10, Winona's family moved to Petaluma, CA; however, she attended mainstream public school quite briefly. Mistaken for an effeminate boy, she was relentlessly bullied, resulting in homeschooling for the remainder of the year. At 12 years old Winona enrolled in the American Conservatory Theatre, and by the time she graduated from Petaluma High School in 1989 she had a 4.0 GPA, and a burgeoning career.
Winona was one of the most pervasive figures in 90's pop culture. Not only was she prolific in her career, but she dated a string of high profile men, most notably Johnny Depp, but also Dave Pirner of Soul Assylum, and later on in the decade, Matt Damon. Here is a selection of images cataloging Winona's style in the early days of her career. While she certainly had an aesthetic that had mass appeal, she was not over-processed or made-up, a look that was becoming the status quo in 90's pop culture. Most notable is her chic take on tomboy style - clean, fresh, feminine and unmistakably authentic.
