Just like X-Men’s Jean Grey changes her suits, Riverdale’s Cheryl Blossom changes her outfits. By far, she is the most stylish character on the show with her trademark color being red and her clothes mostly being comprised of three colors: black, white, and red.
However, to fully understand Cheryl’s sense of fashion, we need to look at the most prominent examples of what kind of clothes she usually wears. Here are Cheryl’s 5 best outfits and her 5 worst.
Worst: Red Trim Dress (S01E09)
Unlike in the comics, the show’s Jason Blossom is dead. This leads to numerous scenes where Cheryl is mourning him and trying to make everyone else mourn him with her. However, for the annual maple tree-tapping ceremony, Cheryl asks Archie to accompany her. This is the scene where see (yet again) how similar Archie is to Jason and how he could potentially be a Blossom.
Nevertheless, this is also the scene where Cheryl wears one of the most illogical outfits in the show. Despite the fact that it is snowing, she puts on this short red trim dress and a weird-looking overcoat.
Best: Rose Mesh Top (S01E07)
Though we didn’t get a very good look at this rose mesh top, it still looks amazing even in this short scene where Cheryl encounters the pregnant Polly in Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe.
Unfortunately, many great outfits we see Cheryl wear appear only in very short scenes, so we don’t get to appreciate them enough. It’s great to know, though, that dedicated fans spend hours looking for these clothing items to purchase and wear them afterward.
Worst: Patchwork Sweater Dress (S02E13)
This patchwork sweater dress is not as hideous as some of Betty’s sweaters, but it comes in as a close second. Just like with some of Cheryl’s better outfits, we don’t get a full view of the sweater dress, but even a glimpse is enough to judge its degree of non-stylishness.
On the other hand, this is a rare scene where Cheryl shows her compassion for a character other than her twin brother. After hiding a dead body the day before, Betty feels nauseous at school and runs to the toilets to let her breakfast out. Cheryl notices her and asks whether she is alright while looking genuinely concerned.
Best: Bitchy Cherry Raglan Top (S01E08)
Another blink-and-you’ll-miss-it outfit Cheryl actually wears in a flashback is this bitchy cherry raglan top. We see a montage of different scenes that recount how Jason’s and Polly’s relationship developed and Cheryl is having a drink with her friends at Pop’s in one of the scenes.
The top is definitely something Cheryl would wear with the word on it perfectly describing her whole character. It’s somewhat of a deviation from her usual look, but it’s still in-character, so it doesn’t seem off.
Worst: Patched Dress (S02E05)
This could have been a great dress in the end, but it turned out more weird than the original concept design probably looked. Cheryl wears this dress at a get-together with friends that ends up in Betty storming out after an argument with Veronica.
In addition to the generally odd look of the dress, it doesn’t feel like something Cheryl would wear. Of course, it’s a get-together with friends, so we don’t expect her to follow a strict dress code, but this choice of outfit does seem weird, even for her.
Best: Blue Lace Red Collar Tee (S03E01)
It’s a pity these many great Cheryl outfits go unnoticed because of their rare and short-lived appearances. Cheryl wore this blue lace red collar tee to Archie’s last trial before he is sent off to jail for a murder he didn’t commit (he was framed by Hiram).
Cheryl doesn’t usually wear blue, so once she does put on this tee we finally see how much this light color actually suits her. Perhaps if she decided to wear light blue tones instead of bright red ones she could have appeared less intimidating and would be more friendly.
Worst: Printed Moto Jacket (S02E03)
It’s funny that Cheryl actually wore this jacket twice (along with this episode, she also wore it later in the same season). Thankfully, she eventually switched it for the red Southside Serpents jacket given to her by Jughead in that later episode.
While the overall look of this printed moto jacket is fine, there still seems to be something strange about it. Maybe it is the fact that Cheryl rarely wears jackets at all and prefers simply wearing sweaters instead.
Best: Red Ruffle Cold Shoulder Sweater (S02E22)
Cheryl definitely needs more screen time so that we can admire her beautiful outfits. For example, this red ruffle cold shoulder sweater should have gotten more attention, but it only appeared once in the second season’s final episode in the last scene where Archie gets arrested.
The bright red is the classic look Cheryl usually has. More often than not, she wears bright red dresses and skirts as well as sweaters once in a while, but sometimes we get something innovative like this item.
Worst: Embellished Choker Dress (S02E07)
It’s hard to determine Cheryl’s worst outfit because she simply has too many good ones and so few bad ones, but this embellished choker dress tops them all. Not only is it boring (which is very much unlike Cheryl) but it also doesn’t suit her that much.
Moreover, the design is absolutely disappointing and uninteresting. Cheryl usually goes for more interesting designs, even if they are simple. But this particular one just looks odd and makes you wonder why she decided to wear it. Thankfully, this was only a brief scene and she never put it on again.
Best: Black Lace Long-Sleeved Top (S03E11)
You would think that the best outfit Cheryl ever wore was one of her numerous red dresses, but there is actually something better than them: this black lace long-sleeved top (which does look a lot like a dress).
Cheryl wore this on the day she and her family were mourning Claudius Blossom, Cheryl’s uncle who was murdered in a prison cell. Despite such a terrible event, Betty arrives at their house to talk to Cheryl and tell her about the secrets her mother, Penelope Blossom, is supposedly hiding. Of course, Cheryl dismisses Betty’s suspicions and goes back to mourning and looking stunning at the same time.
