Blake Lively Once Wore A Forever 21 Dress On A Red Carpet & Called It ‘Vintage’ Because She Was Embarrassed

It’s no secret that Blake Lively is a fashion icon, but like most of Hollywood, the actress had some humble beginnings. Opening up about her unique, and often praised sense of style, Lively sat down with The Handmaid’s Tale star Sydney Sweeney (who’s a big fan of Lively and her red carpet looks) for a fashion-centric piece in InStyle Magazine.

Sweeney, who clamored at the opportunity to interview Lively, said she idolizes her fellow actress for making fashion choices that are bold one day, yet elegant the next. She told Lively that she’s been following her red carpet looks for years, even when Lively was obsessed with wearing some looks from mall staple brand Forever 21, which Lively famously wore to one of her first red carpet appearances.

“I wore Forever 21 much longer than I admitted. I just started saying it was vintage because I was so shamed for it. [laughs] For me, fashion is a form of self-expression. It also really takes me out of my comfort zone,” Lively shared.

Lively also revealed that her time working on the popular series Gossip Girl — where she played fashion-forward Serena van der Woodsen — helped to shape her unique sense of style and gave her a better appreciation for all things fashion. It was her time on Gossip Girl that allowed her to make major connections with some of the biggest names in fashion, and she still holds some of these relationships today, though it wasn’t always easy cultivating those kinds of alliances with designers.

“For one of my first events, I wore a dress that I was so insecure in, but I was told that I couldn’t back out because it was made custom and it would hurt my relationship with the designer. It didn’t fit right though, and everybody knew it was a mess,” she shared while adding that when she looks back on the photos, she can tell just how uncomfortable in her own skin she was in the attire.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants actress also opened up about how her style has evolved since becoming a mother. Though she quipped that she still holds on to several baby-doll dresses from the early 2000s — and needs to adopt the Marie Kondo method to chuck them from her closet — she’s likely to never wear them again, though she still enjoys wearing “frills” from time to time.

And who does Lively turn to when she’s getting ready for a major event and needs an opinion on her ensemble? Her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, of course. But since becoming a mom, Lively’s been roping her kids into the mix, too, and she highly values their opinions because, like most young ones, they have no filter.