Every outfit tells a story, but especially so after Selena Gomez has worn it. No celebrity has had as many headlines or worn more little black dresses as Gomez, 32. Between winning her first Emmy Award for Only Murders in the Building and traversing the globe to promote her latest film, Emilia Pérez, she continues to redefine the look of the classic LBD at every turn.
A singer, actress, beauty entrepreneur and the newest addition to the billionaire club, Gomez has worn many hats over the years, and her style has evolved to match each career milestone.
Set to play Linda Ronstadt in an upcoming biopic, Gomez dressed the part of a leading lady with a rock ‘n’ roll romantic twist when she stepped out on Saturday, October 12, in London.
While attending a special screening of Emilia Pérez, the actress channeled another musician and fashion icon who first rose to fame in the ’70s: Fleetwood Mac frontwoman Stevie Nicks. Boylan and James Keach produced the 2019 documentary, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, featuring Nicks as herself, and they’re also set to make the biopic starring Gomez.
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Many credit the actress’s authenticity for catapulting herself to success, and true to form, she didn’t deviate from her dark glamorous aesthetic on Saturday evening in a sheer black gown with floral sequins. The detail nodded to Ronstadt, who often wore flowers in her hair onstage.
Gomez opted for a swingy cape coat with silver appliqué and a fringe scarf, which recalled the legendary witchy black shawls and larger-than-life capes that Nicks, 76, made her signature.
And Gomez would know, considering she currently calls a mansion in Encino, California, home that one belonged to the late Tom Petty. For the uninitiated, Petty and Nicks wrote songs for each other and also sang together on stage, frequently performing impromptu live versions of fan-favorite hit songs (cue Alexa to play their most popular single, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart”).
After purchasing the property in 2022, she told New Daily Music on Apple good vibes were in the walls (the in-home recording studio surely also helps): “It’s that spirit, and knowing Stevie Nicks was here. There’s so much history, so when I’m in that zone, I feel like it’s very special.”
For her part, Nicks had a history of piling on leather and lace by the pound before performing. Yards of fabric were like fashion armor for the singer, who struggled with severe stage fright. A master of transformative style on-stage and off, the Grammy-award winner rather infamously employed multiple wardrobe changes, switching into a different black outfit after every song.
The quick change, of course, is also familiar territory for Gomez, who hasn’t gone a day without wearing at least one LBD, and sometimes, she dons dual black dresses just a few hours apart.
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Styled by Erin Walsh, Gomez’s press tour wardrobe has struck the perfect balance of strong femininity and soft power — and uses fashion to influence, seduce, charm, beguile and bewitch. In an interview with Netflix, Walsh shared insight behind Gomez’s all-black style streak. The key to “powerful felinity,” she said “is not being afraid to go toward darker tones and textures.”
Indeed, from pop stars to rock stars and all-around style stars, Gomez and Nicks are proof that the LBD is a defining piece that presents no shortage of styling possibilities — or staying power.
