Lili Reinhart is not merely promoting a rom-com. She is rebuilding the entire genre's wardrobe.
While promoting The Love Hypothesis, the actress has turned method dressing into a love letter to the movie heroines who taught audiences about grand gestures, backless yellow gowns, and the importance of making an entrance. Rather than simply dressing like her character, Olive Smith, Reinhart has been hopping through decades of cinematic romance.
Forget conventional press-tour wardrobe; Lili Reinhart time travels through the rom-com archives to rummage through the best-dressed corners of an old DVD collection.
Lili Reinhart Finally Gets Her Uptown Girls Dream Dress
Her latest homage may also be the most personal and most anticipated across the fandom. On Monday, 21 September, Reinhart slipped into the Blumarine spring/summer 2002 dress worn by Brittany Murphy as Molly Gunn in Uptown Girls.
Covered in delicate flowers, fairytale beading, and dreamy pastel tones, the dress has apparently been waiting in Reinhart's mental wardrobe since childhood. Talk about couture manifestation.
'A genuine dream dress since the day I first saw it when I was 7 years old,' she wrote on Instagram, adding that Murphy and the 'magic she brought to Molly Gunn' made it unforgettable.
Some childhood fashion crushes clearly just require patience and access to a very good archive.
Lili Reinhart Raids the Rom-Com Wardrobe
The actress previously channelled Kate Hudson's Andie Anderson from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in a butter-yellow gown with the film look's unmistakable open back.
For Ever After: A Cinderella Story, Rodarte created an embellished period gown inspired by Drew Barrymore's Danielle. Reinhart revealed that she coveted her childhood VHS copy of the film and credited it with sparking her love of period pieces.
Barrymore approved, commenting that Reinhart was 'putting the period in period piece'.
Sandra Bullock also gave Reinhart her blessing after the actress recreated Gracie Hart's lilac post-makeover look from Miss Congeniality. Reinhart paired the bandage dress with delicate jewellery and matching heels, prompting Bullock to tell her that all she needed was a 'crown and a stunt mat'.
Then there was 13 Going on 30, with Reinhart tracking down the vintage Nanette Lepore polka-dot jacket associated with Jennifer Garner's Jenna Rink. At this point, her press tour needs a Blockbuster membership.
Method Dressing With a Rom-Com Heart
The references make particular sense for The Love Hypothesis. Reinhart reportedly said the team wanted the Ali Hazelwood adaptation to feel like a 'really timeless romantic comedy', which likely explains why she's been diving into the closets of fellow romance heroines.
Instead of borrowing from one character, her wardrobe has built a family tree of the films that came before it.
That is what separates Reinhart's approach from method dressing that simply recreates a costume and verges on cosplay. These are movies she remembers watching, dresses she remembers wanting, and heroines whose wardrobes remained lodged in pop culture long after the credits rolled.
Reinhart is selling a new romantic comedy by reminding everyone why they missed the old ones.
Turns out the rom-com comeback did not need a makeover. It just needed someone to raid its closet and remind us that the best part of old-school love stories is dressing the part.
