15 Lessons We Learned Watching 'Steel Magnolias,' In Honor Of Its 35th Anniversary

There will never be a year that passes without Steel Magnolias remaining a Southern classic, but especially as it celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2024. It’s something we can turn to when needing a movie that makes us laugh and cry, or when we need to remember just how special friendships can truly be. ​​As a treasured snippet of the South’s cinematic history, it’s unsurprising that we can quote most of the movie by heart. Steel Magnolias is filled with many things, including friendship, love, and laughter. Something else it is certainly not short on? Lessons to be gleaned and held onto. 

In honor of the movie hitting 35 years, here are 15 lessons we learned watching Steel Magnolias, with the help of Southern Living editors who love it even more than most.

On Beauty

Show up prepared

Girdle and all. Otherwise, you'll look like “two pigs fighting under a blanket.” 

Accessories are important

Because, "the only thing that separates us from animals is our ability to accessorize." 

Know your colors

After all, blush and bashful are two different shades of pink, and “one is much deeper than the other.” 

Sometimes the truth hurts

Friends are there to be honest with each other, even when it isn’t what you want to hear—even if it’s to tell you that your hair looks like a “brown football helmet.” Take it or leave it, but at least they did their duty. 

On Life

Choose your battles

And whatever you do, “never say a thing like that to a woman who’s marinating 50 pounds of crab claws.” Timing is of utmost importance.

Forget the facade

Whether it is simply stating your mind—like when Clairee smiled proudly, "Very good Annelle, spoken like a true smarta**"—or embracing your own quirks, life is much sweeter when being true to yourself.

Follow your mother’s recipe cards 

Those old, tattered recipe cards won’t disappoint, especially elusive ones like “Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa” cake, a Truvy special. 

When in doubt, don’t be too serious

Life is hard enough as it is—an example shown in Steel Magnolias’ Shelby, of course—and that is precisely why everyone needs friends: "If you can't say anything nice, come sit by me." “A dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste." 

On Friendship

The power of female friendships

Whether it’s offering a slice of "bleeding armadillo" cake or being able to use a friend (Ouiser) as a punching bag in times of grief, the characters of Steel Magnolias show how the bonds created through friendship can end up being what gets you through hard times.

Laughter is the best medicine

As Truvy said: "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." Every quip uttered throughout Steel Magnolias is an example of how friends can bring out happiness, even in difficult times.

True friends aren’t afraid to be honest

Even if it is as unserious as aging—"Honey, time marches on and eventually you realize it's marchin' across your face”—friends have a way of being honest without being harsh. 

Friends know what you need, sometimes better than you do

Friends are there to give you what you really need, not always what you want or think you need. Would Ouiser invite an old flame to park at her house for the festival, a particular annoyance for the sometimes-grouchy and always-sarcastic lady? Never! But Shelby did it for her.

On Love 

What it means to feel “seen” 

To know that there are those in which you can confide without any fear of judgment, such as when Annelle feels safe to divulge her mysterious past, is a mark of true friendship and understanding. 

To be accepting of faults

The friendships in Steel Magnolias also show how much accepting others' faults does for establishing trust and love, which comes in handy when you might say something you don’t really mean—thankfully for Ouiser, who admittedly has "been in a very bad mood for 40 years."

How opposites can attract, in the best way

Between Ousier’s persistently sarcastic nature, Annelle’s religious devoutness, and Truvy’s playful sass, it goes to show that closeness can come from something much deeper than interests or personality traits. 

The ladies of Steel Magnolias are perhaps best at just this: making each other (and us!) smile and laugh when it’s needed most.