By Susan Kirschbaum
Carol Alt was one of the biggest models of the eighties, making her mark as a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model and a Noxema girl. Born in Queens, New York, she likes hockey players and will always be the girl next door.
Is there anything in your closet that you’d never get rid of?
This dark blue cashmere wrap cape with little tails on it that I got on a Virginia Slims shoot in 1985. It’s still a classic. Every year it comes in handy. You never get sick of it. The stylist from the shoot created it just for me, then gave it to me afterward. I still go out in it. It’s great for day or evening, and I can wear it with jeans, a gown, or a cocktail dress.
Have you trashed anything you really loved?
These little Perry Ellis cropped-top, bolero-type jackets that went with high-waisted pants. Perry Ellis gave them as a gift to me in the eighties. They were simple and didn’t have shoulder pads. One was a turtleneck; one was a button-down. Burgundy. Green. Beautiful colors and styles, and now they’re back again. I have no idea where they are. I am so upset, but I’ve moved quite a lot. This is a nomad-type business.
Has your personal style evolved at all since you started modeling?
When I was modeling, I literally walked around in sweatpants. You’d do a cover and they’d ask you to hold an ice cream cone, and it would spill all over your brand new Italian pants. In the nineties, everyone went in Chanel and Gucci. Nobody wears just sweats anymore. Now my style is classic sexy.
What do you consider your biggest fashion faux pas?
I had those Moroccan [harem] pants that come down really low. When you go out, you are in the moment of that fashion. I think headbands are the worst. I used to wear sweatbands out, even in the evening! I don’t mind a fashionable headband, but something like that was so Olivia Newton-John.
What trend/era would you bring back?
We’re mixing from every era right now. It’s not like you can’t wear capri pants from the fifties, or bell-bottoms from the sixties, or gauchos even. I think we’re able to wear everything. Whatever you have in your closet can be simply and easily modified to fit today’s style—except big shoulder pads.
Do you have a favorite pair of jeans?
I have several, but I have a pair of Levi’s I bought the first day I started modeling. They’re big on me, hang low, and they’re completely ripped. My girlfriend said to me, “Are they real holes, or did you buy your pants like that?” They must be 501s. They’re from 1979 and they’re so pale now. I wore them in a couple of movies and they had to sew them up. But even the sewing ripped because they’re just so old!
