If there’s one thing clear about Sydney Sweeney’s recent red carpet appearances, it’s this: every detail is intentional.
On February 8, at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where she was presented with the Virtuosos Award, Sweeney arrived in a look that didn’t whisper Old Hollywood — it declared it. The inspiration wasn’t vague nostalgia. It pointed directly to Marilyn Monroe.
The cream-hued gown she wore, sourced from Timeless Vixen, was an original vintage design by Ceil Chapman. The silhouette holds particular significance: it mirrors the dress Monroe wore for her first Life magazine cover in April 1952. According to stylist Molly Dickson, the connection was deliberate. This was not coincidence — it was calculated homage.
The dress featured a soft off-the-shoulder neckline, elegant three-quarter sleeves, and a sparkling circular brooch resting at the center of the bodice. Chapman’s signature draping and precise ruching sculpted the waist into a classic hourglass form — the very shape that defined 1950s screen sirens. Nude pumps and brushed-out blonde waves completed the transformation, sealing the Old Hollywood illusion.
Chapman herself once dressed a roster of legends, including Elizabeth Taylor, Jayne Mansfield, Deborah Kerr, Eva Gabor — and Monroe. After launching her label in 1940 alongside Gloria Vanderbilt and her twin sister Thelma, Chapman became known for bias-cut gowns that celebrated feminine curves rather than hiding them. Though she passed away in 1979, her designs remain red carpet treasures — and Sweeney made sure this particular piece returned to the spotlight.
But this wasn’t an isolated fashion moment.
Weeks earlier, at the Los Angeles premiere of The Housemaid, Sweeney wore a plunging white gown by Galia Lahav with a feathered skirt that instantly called to mind Monroe’s iconic wind-blown dress from The Seven Year Itch. The resemblance felt purposeful.
Her references to Monroe haven’t stopped at movie debuts. In January, she fronted the Annual Best Performances issue of W Magazine adorned solely in a striking Haute Joaillerie statement necklace by Chopard, with her hair styled in plush, polished curls that echoed Marilyn Monroe’s timeless allure.
A few months earlier, at the Governors Awards, she surprised fans with a sleek, freshly cut bob, complementing custom looks from Miu Miu styled with soft, retro waves — an understated tribute to Monroe’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes era.
The parallels are undeniable. Yet this isn’t imitation.
At 28, the Euphoria star finds herself in a career chapter where conversations often circle her appearance before her craft — a dynamic Monroe knew all too well. Both women have faced being distilled to their looks. Both, however, have demonstrated a sharp awareness of how image can be power.
Sweeney’s choices feel less like costume and more like commentary. Less like recreation and more like reinterpretation.
Because sometimes revisiting an icon isn’t about living in the past — it’s about reclaiming its narrative for the present.
