It's 2026, people. Let Olivia Rodrigo wear the dress. | Opinion
Every woman likely has a story about a time when they were criticized for what they were wearing. But society is focusing its energy on the wrong thing.
Once again, the internet is freaking out over the outfit choices of a twentysomething pop star. If only social media users could direct that energy toward literally anything else going on in the country.
At a May 8 performance in Barcelona, Grammy Award-winning singer Olivia Rodrigo, 23, wore a seemingly innocuous outfit: a white babydoll dress with a pink floral print, paired with matching bloomers and a pair of knee-high Doc Martens. It’s a silhouette she’s worn before, like in the music video for her recent single “drop dead.”
Instead of seeing pictures from the show and moving on – you know, the way normal people would – some social media users were quick to criticize her, saying she was infantilizing herself and playing into predators’ fantasies. The backlash has been heavily discussed online, garnering thousands of likes.
“Maybe I’m too woke,” one X user shared, with a video of Rodrigo’s performance attached. Personally, I don’t find it “woke” to critique the outfit choices and dance moves of a young woman, but here we are.
It's a sentiment echoed across social media. It seems that women can’t wear anything without being criticized, from Billie Eilish’s baggy menswear looks to Sabrina Carpenter’s bustiers and garters.
Everyone has an opinion about how these celebrities are influencing young girls, whether they're dressing too femininely or not femininely enough. Yet everyone forgets that these women, most of whom have been in the spotlight since they were children, are allowed to grow into their adulthood however they want and wear whatever they want.
They aren't your teen idols – they are grown women with autonomy over how they present themselves to the world, who are not beholden to a parent's idea of what they should be wearing. It's a criticism every woman knows well.
A history of the babydoll dress in pop culture
To be clear, Rodrigo isn’t doing anything particularly daring or different. The babydoll dress style Rodrigo wore has been subversive since its creation in the 1940s, when lingerie designer Sylvia Pedlar designed a short nightgown as a response to a shortage of fabric during wartime. In the 1960s, babydoll dresses became a symbol of sexual liberation when worn by the likes of Twiggy and Brigitte Bardot.
Yet the most salient association many of us have with babydoll dresses is the “riot grrl” era of the 1990s, when rock artists like Hole’s Courtney Love, Babes in Toyland’s Kat Bjelland and plenty of other women were wearing short, flowy dresses paired with fishnets and smeared makeup.
In a 2023 Rolling Stone interview, Rodrigo shared her appreciation for the riot grrls who came before her, so it would make sense to assume that she’s wearing these dresses as a nod to that.
Love was similarly criticized for her aesthetic. An LA Times reviewer once described her as looking like “a tortured five-year-old,” something she readily embraced.
Rodrigo, perhaps smartly, has not commented on the backlash. Yet part of me wishes she would take a page from Love’s book and stand up to critics. After all, no one is criticizing Geese frontman Cameron Winter for what he wore on "Saturday Night Live," or decrying Benson Boone’s bedazzled jumpsuits. They save all of their criticisms for women, ultimately blaming us for the actions of men based on what we are wearing.
My own dress code experience as a child
Every woman likely has a story about a time when they were criticized for what they were wearing. Even me.
A tree fell near my house when I was in 11th grade, causing a power outage and leading to the entire street being blocked off while folks from the city worked to remove it. I spent the night at a friend’s house in leggings and a t-shirt, with no other clothes to wear to school the next day.
When I got to first period, my pre-calculus teacher wrote me up for what I was wearing.
I didn’t have my backpack or any of my class materials. My mom was unable to get through the massive oak and bring me a change of clothes. My principal had to write me a note excusing my inappropriate outfit, citing the emergency. It was frustrating – the entire incident was more distracting to my class than if I’d been allowed to wear what I came to school with that day.
This is the plight of the young woman – everything we do is too mature, too sexual, even when all we are trying to do is exist. Everyone has an opinion on what we’re wearing and how men and boys will perceive it.
Now, I wear something every day that would have gotten me sent to the principal’s office in high school. I love a slip dress – what was once seen as a garment solely to wear under a dress but has, for nearly a century, become a staple of any cool girl wardrobe. I wear them all over New York City, usually paired with my own platform Doc Martens and a pair of sheer black tights.
I don’t see anything wrong with choosing to wear what I want. If others get worked up over it, that’s on them. I’m sure Rodrigo feels the same way.
If people really want to get worked up over the sexualization of girls, they should focus their energy on the Jeffrey Epstein files, or the creepy things President Donald Trump has said about young women. Choosing to focus on Rodrigo instead of the larger issue of rape culture in the United States does nothing to prevent said culture from proliferating. If we perhaps focused on the real things that drive the sexualization of feminine aesthetics, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal for a young pop star to wear a cute dress.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on Bluesky:@sarapequeno.bsky.social