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Jennifer Lopez is having a good week. Just days after tying the knot with Ben Affleck, she is taking over the internet with her envvy-worthy honeymoon outfits. And what better reason to take a nostalgic look back at her sartorial highlights? Any excuse…
When you think of ’90s style icons, you likely head straight to the likes of Naomi Campbell, Winona Ryder, Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Love, Drew Barrymore, etc., but while we have all been in love with J.Lo (or is it J.Aff now?) for as long as we can remember her undeniable status as a major fashion figure often gets overlooked.
Perhaps it’s because we’re busy focussing on her endless other talents – we’d be happy with just one of her triple-threat traits from that voice to her acting and dance skills – but J.Lo’s recent return to the limelight thanks to a rematch with A-list ex-boyfriend Ben Affleck has sent the majority of millennials down a rabbit hole of ’90s nostalgia.
And the one thing that stands out from our J.Lo reminiscence — other than the fact that, at the age of 53, she still looks exactly like she did in her twenties — is her wardrobe.
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The red carpet queen owned the 2021 Met Gala, showing up in a jaw-dropping metallic Ralph Lauren gown with a feathered trim and a thigh-high slit paired perfectly with a cowgirl hat to fit the all-American theme of the night – an assignment, not many of the other guests understood.
JLo looked happier than ever as she posed with Affleck once again after the two made their red carpet debut (since reuniting) at Venice Film Festival 2021.
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Met Gala aside, there were so many iconic looks that we’d forgotten about.
Sure, there’s the Versace dress. THE Versace dress. You know, the palm-print chiffon one. The one that saw her appearance on the Grammys 2000 red carpet become (and remain!) one of the most significant fashion moments of the new millennium. The one that quickly became the most searched-for term Google had ever seen. The one that was the reason Google Images was born, after these searches only offered text results (we’re not kidding).
But there have been so many other major fashion moments that J.Lo has given us that we’d forgotten about in the haze of green chiffon.
There was the color-block one-shoulder gown she wore to the 1998 Golden Globes with a cut-out that wouldn’t look out of place in a 2021 wardrobe. There was the chainmail crop top and low-slung leather trousers at the 1998 MTV Movie Awards. There was the full embellished — even up to the headpiece — Versace looks at the 2019 Met Gala. There were so many.
Scroll to see 27 of Jennifer Lopez’s most memorable fashion moments:
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In one of her early appearances, J.Lo arrived at the Independent Spirit Awards in 1997 wearing an epic white column dress with a metallic floral print running through.
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Already making a name for herself as a real trendsetter, J.Lo arrived at a Fashion Benefit for APLA in 1997 in a strappy backless gown that wouldn’t look out of place today.
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There was nothing we didn’t love about this color-block one-shoulder gown that Jennifer Lopez wore to the 1998 Golden Globes, and it confirmed her status as one of the decade’s best dressed.
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Ever the style instigator, J.Lo made sure cropped tops were a red carpet staple and paired a chainmail number with a maxi leather skirt on the 1998 MTV Music Awards red carpet.
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Later on at the MTV Video Music Awards she swapped into another crop in the form of a bralette and paired it with a particularly epic blazer.
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Another cream crop and trousers look, this time at the 1999 FHM Awards in London.
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THE Versace dress, worn on the 2000 Grammy Awards red carpet
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At the Paris premiere of ‘The Cell’, J.Lo trialled a little knitted camo action and kicked off her love affair with the hooped earring.
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Back to the cropped bralettes, she arrived on stage at the 2001 Super Bowl in perhaps the most recognizably J.Lo look of them all.
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Wearing a sheer-topped, metallic skirted gown to the Oscars in 2001.
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The next year J.Lo opted for a more slim-fitting pastel pink number by Versace for the 2002 Oscars.
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It was a one-shouldered Valentino gown in mint for the 2003 Oscars.
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In 2006 J.Lo opted for something a little more alternative by shopping vintage at Lily et Cie for her Oscars look.
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Perfectly on-brand, J.Lo wore a plunging gold Marchesa gown for the 2009 Golden Globes.
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Having a real princess moment in Armani Privé at the 2010 Oscars.
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Wearing Zuhair Murad at the 2014 Hollywood Film Awards.
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J.Lo wore Atelier Versace at the 2015 Met Gala which had the theme ‘China: Through The Looking Glass’.
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Having her own Angelina leg moment, she paired black accessories with this beautiful fuchsia gown.
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While promoting the second season of the NBC show World of Dance in 2018, she wore a strapless ruffled mini from Ester Abner’s Resort ’18 collection with a pair of Jimmy Choo heels.
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No one does a hat like J.Lo, as proven at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
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February 2019 at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, a show-stopping J.Lo plumped for an appropriately epic Valentino gown.
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Arriving at the 2019 Met Gala wearing a silver Versace gown and matching headpiece for the gala’s ‘Camp’ theme.
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At the 2019 Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences Governors Awards in a floor-length mustard Reem Acra gown.
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Winning the ‘People’s Icon’ award at the People’s Choice Awards in 2020, J.Lo wore a red puffball mini dress by Christian Siriano.
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Kicking off 2021 in serious style wearing an all-white Chanel look for the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden.
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One of few to actually follow the 2021 Met theme, JLo channeled her inner cowgirl in a stunning Ralph Lauren gown with a feathered trim, a dramatic thigh-high slit, and a plunging neckline that dropped our jaws to the floor. Naturally, she had a cow boy hat to complete the look.
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Arriving at ‘Global Citizen VAX LIVE: The Concert To Reunite The World’ in May 2021.
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Silencing all those who declare the skinny jean ‘over’, one casual ‘pop to the shops’ at a time.
Originally published in Glamourmagazine.co.uk
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