Sure, Pretty Woman may appear to be a romantic comedy about a hooker with a heart of gold, but let’s be real: it’s really all about the clothes. It would be a whole different film if Vivian Ward (played by Julia Roberts) didn’t wear those thigh-high leather boots to Rodeo Drive boutiques, or the diamond necklace to the opera (okay, fine, maybe not a whole different movie, but it definitely would have eliminated our favorite lines). So to celebrate the 25th anniversary of a film with so many fashion gems, we’re rounding up our favorite celebrities who have sartorially channeled the film (both literally and figuratively) in real life.
AKM-GSI; Evan Agostini/AP
First up: the iconic two-piece “dress” that Vivian wears when she first meets Edward Lewis (Richard Gere’s character). If you can believe it, more than one star has worn this look in recent years. For her 2012 Halloween costume, Emma Roberts went the authentic route (wonder if Roberts just stopped by Aunt Julia’s closet?). Complete with all the accessories (leather boots, red sweatshirt tied around the waist and even the blonde bobbed wig), Roberts had to have had the best costume at the party. Next up, Jennifer Lawrence had the most wearable take on the risqué look (if couture can be considered wearable) in a Dior Haute Couture striped sequin tank and skirt number connected by a ring at her waist.
GQ British
Another Emma took the cut-out mini for a spin, but Emma Watson went for the “LA law-breaker” theme on the May 2013 cover of GQ U.K., channeling both Vivan and her character in The Bling Ring (a teen who committed celebrity burglaries).
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And of course, there are stars who have channeled the film’s less, shall we say, provocative looks in real life. Eva Mendes knew from freshman year of high school that she would recreate Roberts’s iconic red dress for her senior prom. “I held on to the image of her in that red dress … in the four years I didn’t deviate from my love of that dress,” she told PEOPLE. “I just made a short — and what I thought was a cooler — version of that. Looking back, I could have done a lot worse!”
Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic; Splash News Online
Earlier this year, Miley Cyrus compared her shopping trips to Rodeo Drive to the infamous scene in the film when the snooty sales lady wouldn’t wait on Vivian. “If you walk in, they give you the worst look you’ve ever seen.” she tells The Daily Telegraph. Why do we have a feeling that Miley has reenacted this exact moment at some point in her life?
Mendes was spotted in another look that is so similar to Vivian’s polo match A-line polka dot dress, we have to assume the movie played inspiration for Mendes’s nearly identical frock. While Vivian matched the print to her hat, Mendes took a different approach and went with matching patterned tights.
What’s your favorite look from the movie? Which celeb’s take do you want to try out? Share your thoughts below!
–Colleen Kratofil
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