The Blake Lively Dress Branded A Fashion Flop By Fans Deserved So Much Better

During the promotional trail for "It Ends with Us" in 2024, Blake Lively cycled through a series of playful outfits, from floral-patterned suits to ethereal dresses, inspired by her character in the film, Lily Bloom. And although she wore plenty of standout ensembles, including her Versace dress once famously worn by Britney Spears, not every look was as successful. For a rainy outing in New York City in August 2024, Lively stepped out in a short designer frock that was equal parts daring and tight-fitting. The Oscar de la Renta piece was from the fashion label's Pre-Fall 2024 collection and featured a scoop neck with gorgeous floral embroidery. The dress itself wasn't awful, really, but the proportions were off and kind of distracting. She completed the look with a pair of dangle earrings and silver heels from Altuzarra. 

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In a Reddit discussion about Lively's press looks, fans shared what they loved, and didn't love, about her "salad" dress. "So ladylike and ethereal at the same time. The fit is a bit odd on her though," one said. Another wrote, "[It's] giving 'unconventional challenge' on project runway." A third added, "I think the first dress is quite pretty but the bottom right area is giving hard boiled egg to me and it's distracting from the rest of it." Others suggested she should take notes from Zendaya and hire her own Law Roach (aka stylist). "She's doing themes for her outfits very literally and it's coming off as costume-y," a fifth user commented. 

But looking back, was Lively's dress really as terrible as those commenters had suggested? We're inclined to disagree. Sure, it could have used some proper tailoring, but to label it a fashion blunder feels like a stretch. In fact, depending on who you ask, it may have been one of Lively's best outfits from that era. And honestly, who doesn't love a leggy look?

Blake Lively's promotional styling for the "It Ends with Us" media tour includes a handful of memorable outfits and, as mentioned, some fashion fails. One was the Versace ensemble she wore in New York City, where the usually stylish actor paired a bright pink slip dress with neon tights for her bottoms (seen above left). Eek. Another fashion offense was the all-leather look she donned ahead of the film's premiere in the Big Apple, consisting of a floral leather jacket that Lively left open to show her cleavage, along with matching shorts, marking one of her most inappropriate looks ever.

"I tend to dress like my characters when I'm doing a movie because fashion is always the way in," Lively, who famously doesn't work with a stylist, said of her press looks in an interview with People. "I tend to dress like the character because I fall in love with whatever that is." She's done it for her other films, including "A Simple Favor" in 2018, which starred Lively alongside Anna Kendrick. With a limited press budget, Lively turned to method dressing as a clever way to market the film. "The only thing people really pay attention to at these junket interviews is the photos of fashion," she explained. "It's a marketing hack to try to get people to pay attention to our movie. And," according to the A-list star, "it worked."

When it comes to her personal style, Lively didn't hesitate to admit that she takes her fashion inspiration from her characters as well. "My style is just all over the place. I don't think anyone would go, like, 'Oh, that's super her!" she said. She likes a mix of everything. "So my closet is an amalgamation of that, and then my own style is an amalgamation of that," she revealed, adding, "I'm just kind of a blend of all of them."