In case you needed reminding, Lily Allen knows exactly what she’s doing. The 40-year-old’s album, West End Girl, has become a global phenomenon, sparking viral conversations around nonmonogamy, infidelity, and what it means to be a woman who’s taking control of the narrative. Written in just ten days in the wake of her split from Stranger Things star David Harbour, Allen’s album has been viewed by some as an eviscerating act of revenge, with fans around the world making all sorts of assumptions about what really went down in the celebrity couple’s short-lived marriage.
It was a matter of time that Allen would go a step further, progressing from the revenge album to the revenge dress as she did this week making a surprise appearance at the 16Arlington x Antony Price fashion show on Monday. Paying homage to Audrey Hepburn’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s look, the musician sauntered down the runway with her hair in a slick updo while smoking a cigarette. As for the dress, it was a classic revenge aesthetic: fitted, velvet, strapless, and complete with a plunging neckline, thigh-high slit, as well as a splash of colour by way of a lime green interior. She looked sensational.
But revenge dressing is not as easy to pull off as it seems. Far from a simple case of slipping into a slinky gown, slapping on a bit of lipstick, and tottering out the front door with a packet of Marlboro Lights and a machiavellian disposition, this is a careful, strategic move that requires meticulous planning. Do it right, and you’ll get attention for all the best reasons while torturing an ex who you’ve successfully reduced to a puddle of melancholy and regret. Do it wrong, and, well, you’ll only wind up torturing yourself when you inevitably archive the Instagram posts as if deleting a sadder, more desperate version of yourself you’d like to forget.
In the case of Allen, the success of her revenge dress was partly down to context and timing: she’s riding the wave of global fame off the back of West End Girl’s success, hence why walking in the show confirmed her It Girl status. Everyone is talking about Allen, and she’s ensuring it stays that way.
To be clear, this is a tactic typically employed in the wake of any breakup, specifically one that occurs after a man has behaved badly. The revenge dress is seen as a way of reclaiming one’s power and reminding the world of your authority, poise, and beauty. Beyond showing an ex what he’s missing, it’s about owning your story and ensuring that everyone’s eyes and ears stay fixed on you rather than on them.
And yes, that was the precedent famously set by none other than Princess Diana in 1994 when she arrived at a Vanity Fair party in London’s Serpentine Gallery wearing a black velvet strapless gown by Greek designer Christina Stambolian. The dress sent literal shockwaves around the world for several reasons. The first was down to the dress itself. With an off-shoulder silhouette, mid-length, and slightly v-shaped plunging neckline, it defied many royal sartorial rules all at once, like no black and no skin on show.
The second reason Diana’s revenge dress worked wonders was thanks to timing: the night of the party was the same night that the then-Prince Charles confessed to having been unfaithful to Diana on national television, confirming rumours of his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles, whom he ultimately married. By wearing a dress so daring for the time, Diana ensured she was the one on the front of newspapers the following day as opposed to her husband.
Since then, scorned women everywhere have followed in Diana’s masterful footsteps, attempting to have their own revenge dress moment in public. In 2014, Rihanna arrived at the 2014 CFDA Fashion Awards in a sparkling sheer gown by Adam Selman that was rumoured to have been a clear message to her on-off boyfriend, Drake. “Every time a man cheats on you or treats you badly, you need a revenge dress,” the musician told WWD in 2017. “Every woman knows that.”
In 2017, Bella Hadid had a stab at her own revenge look when she arrived at the Met Gala following her breakup with the Weeknd, who was at the same event with his new girlfriend, Selena Gomez. Hadid arrived in a beaded, black mesh Alexander Wang catsuit that featured an off-shoulder neckline as well as a low back. The look was so skintight that the model had to be sewn into it; she was widely praised as one of the best-dressed on the night. Revenge dress achieved. And before all that, there was Elizabeth Hurley, who split from Hugh Grant in 2000 and swiftly arrived on the red carpet for a Valentino charity benefit in a plunging silk gold gown that completely stole the show.
With all this in mind, the three golden rules for pulling off a revenge dress are as follows.
- Timing is everything: ideally, as soon as you can after a breakup. That way, emotions are raw, and your actions are likely to have the greatest impact on you and your ex. You’re also likely to be in your most delulu phase, which means you’ll have the audacity to wear something bold.
- Wear something extraordinary: In order to qualify as a true revenge dress, your outfit has to break the mould in some way. A naked dress is always a strong option, as is anything off-shoulder, backless, or with a slit. Regardless of the style, if it’s something you wouldn’t normally wear, it will have a strong impact.
- Consider the context: Where you wear your revenge look will dictate how it’s perceived. Ideally, you want it to be in the most public place you can find, somewhere you’ll be looked at, photographed, and adored by as many people as possible. For a celebrity, this might be a red carpet event. For us mere muggles, it might be a birthday bash, a wedding, or, if you’re feeling particularly daring, the office Christmas party.
Whatever event you choose, just remember the most important thing of all with revenge dressing is to make sure you feel good. As long as you feel your best in what you’re wearing, the rest of the world will think you do, too.
