Anyone could guess Blake Lively would wear a floral look to the August 6 premiere of It Ends With Us, in reference to her character, florist Lily Bloom. No one could have guessed she'd do so with help from one of Britney Spears's vintage Versace dresses.
After days of channeling her onscreen persona in bouquet-coated jackets by Christopher John Rogers and petal-strewn floral dresses by Dauphinette, Blake Lively decided to dip into the archives of Los Angeles boutique Tab Vintage for her final promotional appearance. The actress and Blake Brown haircare founder sourced a one-shoulder cross between a naked dress and a floral midi from Versace's Fall 2002 collection. Coated in nude sequins with splashes of sparkly pink, blue, yellow, and purple flowers throughout, the piece looked like a copy-and-paste from a pop superstar's world tour wardrobe. And in reality, it was.
Blake Lively confirmed via Instagram Stories, and then in a red carpet interview with People, that her dress isn't merely a vintage pull It's the exact same garment Britney Spears wore to the Versace Fall 2002 runway show.
"It is Britney's actual dress," Lively told the magazine. "It should be in the Smithsonian or the Met. But it's on me. I feel so lucky!"
Over twenty years ago, Britney styled the dress with barrel curls, rosy blush, and stiletto heels. Lively went in a similar direction in the present, pairing it with her signature cascading waves, pink cheeks, and iridescent blue heels. The actress also gave the dress some extra floral accoutrements, courtesy of a peony-shaped clutch by Judith Leiber and smatterings of jewel-tone Lorraine Schwartz jewelry.
Stars from Naomi Campbell to Olivia Rodrigo have lately found that the biggest fashion flex isn't wearing something brand-new; it's referencing a piece of long-lost fashion history by wearing vintage dresses on the red carpet. Boutiques including Tab Vintage, Shrimpton Couture, and Aralda Vintage have connected stylists like Law Roach and Molly Dickson with decades-old archival pieces for their clients' movie premieres; designer labels have also opened up their private collections for celebrities to borrow from when the dress code demands it.
Tracking down a dress from the height of Britney Spears's pop stardom is no easy feat—especially for Lively, who works as her own stylist. (It's also a timely move: Reports surfaced last week that a Britney Spears biopic is currently in the works.) The star wrote a tribute acknowledging what the look meant to her on Instagram, calling Spears "the ultimate queen who made us all want to sparkle and write and share our stories."
"Britney, us millennials all have a story of a moment, or of years that you made us want to shine and inspire awe, with strength, and joy and immensely hard work," she continued. "Thank you for your example and your contribution to women telling their stories."
Blake Lively's vintage Versace moment completes the marathon of flower-centric outfits she's worn while promoting It Ends With Us. Celebrities lately haven't been satisfied with showing off their personal style on the red carpet. Instead, they've chosen pieces that pay homage to their characters, ranging from the chic (like Zendaya's Wimbledon white dresses for the tennis movie Challengers) to the camp (like Anya Taylor-Joy's spiky Paco Rabanne mini to reference her warrior hero character in Furiosa). Lively went in an all-floral-everything direction for her press tour, including floral cut-out jeans by Valentino, embroidered Western chaps by Stella McCartney, and a resin floral coat by Dauphinette.
It might seem like a recent phenomenon, but Lively noted on the red carpet that she's been in a method dressing mode for years—starting with 2018's A Simple Favor. Back then, she hit the press circuit in exaggerated three-piece suits just like the eccentric rich mom she plays in the film.
“I'm so excited method dressing is such a thing now because years ago when I did A Simple Favor, people were like, ‘Why are you dressing like your character? Why are you in suits?'” Lively told People. “And I was like, because we have no marketing money to promote this movie. It's a small movie and the only thing people really pay attention to at these junket interviews is the photos of fashion so if I just wear men's suits, people are going to go, 'Why is she just wearing suits?'"
Then and now, Lively's styling has certainly gotten people to pay attention to her projects. Premiere night didn't end with her Britney Spears Versace, either. Later, she changed into a pink corseted mini dress and matching sandal heels to look like a peony in bloom. The designer behind it? Versace, of course.
