Retro or raunchy? Why Olivia Rodrigo's babydoll dress is dividing fans

Olivia Rodrigo is thrilling fans with her latest musical era, but her fashion choices may be striking a sour note.

The Grammy-winning singer, who's gearing up for the release of her third album "You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love," made waves online after her performance at Spotify's Billions Club show in Barcelona, Spain, over the weekend. The "Billions Club" series recognizes artists whose songs have accumulated more than 1 billion streams on the streaming platform.

During her May 8 performance, the 23-year-old pop star wore a white babydoll dress. The short-sleeved frock featured a floral pattern and a skirt that hit above Rodrigo's thighs, and she paired the look with knee-high black leather Dr. Martens boots.

The retro-inspired dress echoed the outfit Rodrigo donned for her "Drop Dead" music video.

The outfit's dainty look sparked backlash on social media, with some comparing Rodrigo's dress to children's clothing.

"Can Olivia Rodrigo dress like a normal pop star and stop trying to dress up like a toddler?" @arepababyy wrote on X. "If you don't see it, you are blind."

The babydoll dress is a short, loose-fitting nightgown-style frock often worn by adult women. The dress's skirt typically falls around the upper thigh. The garment is associated with a distinctively feminine look, including accents such as lace, ruffles, appliques, marabou, bows and ribbons. Babydolls are sometimes made of sheer or translucent fabrics, including nylon, chiffon or silk.

The dress's origin is often attributed to lingerie designer Sylvia Pedlar, who developed the mini dress in 1942 in response to fabric shortages during World War II. The babydoll was popularized in the late '50s by the Carroll Baker film "Baby Doll," as well as Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga.

The style experienced a revival in the '90s thanks to grunge and alternative rock artists such as Courtney Love and Kat Bjelland.

Fans debate Olivia Rodrigo's babydoll dress

Rodrigo's babydoll dress divided fans on social media, as some commenters viewed the ensemble in a risqué light.

"Rodrigo isn't wearing '60s-era babydoll dresses, which are mini dresses that have a mature fabric, color and design with an empire bodice," @missiongirl4 wrote on X. "She is wearing pink dresses that are similar to what toddlers wear with frilly underwear beneath it."

"We have to talk about the weird trend of heavily sexualized pop stars dressing themselves as little girls," @LoisMcLatch commented alongside a side-by-side photo of Rodrigo and fellow pop star Sabrina Carpenter.

"Olivia Rodrigo wore an infant's sleep shirt and diaper cover," @xoalajaisnzloa wrote.

Some fans came to Rodrigo's defense and pushed back against the characterization of the babydoll as an item of children's clothing.

"Olivia Rodrigo has been making a lot of references to the past during this era like these, and the babydoll is one of them," @liviefiles wrote. "Although its name may cause confusion, its history, design and purpose are clearly linked to women's lingerie and have nothing to do with children's clothing."

"The more I see and listen to Olivia Rodrigo, the more I fail to understand anyone who is upset at her fashion or performance choices," @wickedspecialst commented. "Her primary audience is teenagers, but she herself is not any longer and her music has always been a little spicy at times, like the artist herself."

"It's literally just a babydoll dress, [and] they conveniently cut off the photo to not show Olivia Rodrigo is wearing knee-high LEATHER boots," @lliveandalive wrote. "Y'all are being weird. Courtney Love was wearing similar [clothes] a decade ago. Her makeup was just smeared. Predators are the problem, not pop stars."