Chappell Roan’s Sheer Dress Is Almost 100 Years Old

Sheer dressing is a relatively new phenomenon, but Chappell Roan just approached the art with a piece of clothing that’s nearly a century old. After her debut Met Gala earlier this week, Roan stepped out to Cole Escola’s Broadway sensation Oh, Mary! on Wednesday night in a true, unbranded vintage dress from the 1930s.

Roan slipped into a sheer evening dress, which she and her stylist, Genesis Webb, seemingly sourced from the vintage dealer, 1stDibs. Despite its see-through qualities, the piece was very clearly designed in a bygone era. It featured diagonal stripes and layered, ruffled sleeves that flowed into a tie detail along the neck. In addition to the dress’s plunging front, the backside was marked by a sizable cut-out. Roan wore the piece sans undergarments and added a modern touch to the look with a pair of embossed, square-front boots from Miista. The singer’s signature curls and a “no makeup” beauty look finished everything off.

Often A-listers’ vintage moments are pulled from the archives of major designers—think Thierry Mugler couture from the 1990s, John Galliano–era Dior, and rare Alexander McQueen pieces. Roan has worn her fair share of big-name vintage in the past, too—most recently at this year’s Grammy Awards, where she hit the red carpet in a jaw-dropping couture look from Jean Paul Gaultier’s spring 2003 collection.

And while pulling from the fashion greats is sure to cause chatter among fashion enthusiasts, Roan’s light blue slip dress is another way to show that she truly knows her history. Like many designs from the ’30s, Roan’s dress is unlabeled, and may have been run up by a local seamstress, or for personal use. When it comes to vintage dressing, it’s the original type of “if you know, you know.”