Celebrity Style
25 Years Ago, Julia Roberts Paired A Sequin Dress With Armpit Hair
She later revealed the true statement behind this look.
In 1999 Julia Roberts was approaching the pinnacle of her career. She had just starred in the box office success Stepmom, and she’d already taken home two Golden Globe awards for her early ’90s performances in Steel Magnolias and Pretty Woman. Roberts would soon go on to win her first Academy Award in 2001 for Best Actress for her leading role in Erin Brockovitch.
But right before that, Roberts starred in what is arguably one of her most memorable roles — a movie that will forever go down in history as one of the most beloved rom-coms ever made: Notting Hill. The film, which stars Roberts and Hugh Grant as an adorably unlikely couple, premiered in May 1999. And it wasn’t just the movie that had everyone talking at the London premiere.
Roberts’ look for the big event was what really caused conversation. She wore a red short-sleeved dress for the occasion. What made this dress so unforgettable, you ask? She didn’t shave her underarms.
Julia’s Infamous Red Sequin Dress
Roberts arrived at the Odeon Leicester Square in London wearing a red sequin dress designed by Vivienne Tam. The short-sleeved sparkly number hit just above Robert’s knee and offered a pretty modest design. It had a loose-fitting silhouette and mostly covered Roberts’ body. Operative word here being mostly.
The dress fully exposed the movie star’s hairy armpits. At the time, Roberts’ grooming decision had far reaching consequences and is often remembered as a moment that empowered women to do whatever they want with their own bodies — a core tenet of feminism.
The Hand Waving
In a 2018 TV interview with Busy Philipps, when asked if it was an intentional feminist statement to show off her unshaven armpits that night, Roberts said, “I think I just hadn’t really calculated my sleeve length and the waving. It wasn’t so much a statement as it’s just part of the statement I make as a human on the planet, for myself.”
And what a statement it was. Though she revealed years later that it was unintentional, Roberts’ evening in her red sequin dress will forever go down as an unforgettable pop culture moment.
