Ahh...Lawndale's elite. The Fashion Club. Who could have guess that under their perfect exterior lay such a jealous, back-stabbing background? Well...just about anyone who's known girls like the Fashion Club girls. Unlike cheerleaders, Fashion Club girls are just too great to be impressed by anything other than themselves, and they definitely would never dress in uniforms and cheer; actually *cheering* for guys lacks dignity, as they don't need to cheer or jump around or anything to attract hordes of guys. Their goal is, in their little world, a surprisingly thoughtful one: to set a guide for less fortunate and less popular people so they, too, can experience the joys of being envied. As long as the unpopular girls aren't being envied more than them.
First, and foremost, there's Sandi, the President. For those who are like me and can never remember which one *IS* Sandi, she's got a big, round, smooth looking head and that *voice*. She and Quinn appear to be the only ones with real leadership qualities. This makes Sandi very insecure, because up until Quinn's arrival, for all we can tell, Tiffany and Stacy just followed her around and agreed to whatever she said. Quinn's ambition to be THE Most Popular threw a wrench into all that. Tiffany and Stacy liked Quinn enough to let her be VP over them even though they had seniority (who was VP before? They must have kicked her out. Gotta keep it exclusive.) Suddenly, Sandi's supremacy has been challenged!. And although guys tend to flock around Sandi, they'll ditch her for Quinn anyway. No wonder Sandi is always trying to make Quinn look bad. Quinn, however, is not willing to sit around and let Sandi sabotage her, although she's perfectly willing to feign submissiveness ("Don't even SAY that! I would never want to be President over you!") A final showdown must be somewhere in the future.
Then there's Stacy, the one with braids, or ponytails or something. Now HERE'S a girl I'd send to the low self-esteem class. Staci is the least antagonistic of the Fashion Club Girls and also, apparently the least intelligent. She wants nothing but to be just like Quinn. She spends an entire episode in tearful remorse of some guy who got away, which is evidence that she is the least popluar of the Fashion girls...Quinn can't keep guys away, whereas Stacy is actually LOSING them. Still, she's usully perky and doesn't seem to have ulterior motives behind her comments nearly as much as Tiffany, Sandi or Quinn. She's the "nice" one, but she seems to be the fifth wheel, so to speak (since there's just 4) of the Fashion Club. Just goes to show how far "nice" gets you in the realm of popularity.
Finally, there's the only mere "member", Tiffany. With her ability to kiss up, it's a wonder she hasn't gotten along farther in the Fashion Club rankings. Tiff knows just whose side to take, and when. If Staci is doing well in one of her battles with Quinn, tiffany takes her side. If Quinn is doing better...well, you get the picture. She has no qulams about telling both that *they're* the best when the other has their back turned, and surprisingly (or perhaps not), this plan hasn't backfired on her yet. When the final showdown comes, Tiffany is likely to become VP after the other is ousted. Maybe then they'll induct that blonde girl than hangs with them in "The Invitation" and "Too Cute". (Maybe her analysis of who's popular, how much, and why, in "The Invitation" was a tryout of sorts for the Fashion Club. Are you Popluar enough to know everyone's popularity status?) So, perhaps Tiffany is more than just a useless sycophant but is taking a tip from many of the people who have managed to climb the ladder of power: When in doubt, kiss up.
Let's not forget Sandi's mom, Linda, who regularly exchanges catty lines with Helen. Helen, however, doesn't quite have Quinn's ability to react when it comes to Linda. Instead, she politely...if not timidly, tries to defend herself, and calls Linda a "witch" behind her back. Perhaps Helen would like to call her a "bitch" but is afraid of getting bleeped. But maybe she really *is* a witch...that would explain why Sandi could open the door just by pointing at it in "Gifted". ;)
And the final question remains... will Quinn stay with the Fashion Club? She's getting increasingly more exasperated with Sandi's backstabbing, Tiffany's kissing-up, and Stacy's overstated Quinn-worshiping. I believe that if Tiffany hadn't thrown her out in "Gifted", Quinn would have eventually left of her own accord just as she did with Stacy. She was getting pretty darn annoyed with the "Do I look fat?" routine.
Here's how I see it: many, many episodes down the road, in Daria's final season, Quinn will have a final battle with Sandi...to the death if you will. Whoever loses, is out of the club. Quinn will emerge victorious (leaving Staci to run off and have a nervous breakdown somewhere, or plot, along with her mother, a hideous revenge) and become the new President (appoiting Tiffany VP) but, get bored within minutes and quit herself. That will leave Tiffany presiding over a club of one: Stacy. Perhaps Stacy will then want to become Tiffany.
Anyway, the less said about the Fashion Club, the better (as I pause to take in the stifling hypocracy of this statement). Apologies for any of the times I switched Stacy's name with Sandi's, spelled Sandi's name witha 'y' or Stacy's name with an 'i'. Sheesh, they're like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern...