Sabrina Carpenter Trades Short N’ Sweet Glitz for Quiet Patchwork Vintage

Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet tour was full of sequined bodysuit and the prerequisite amount of pop star razzle-dazzle. With her tour now finished, Carpenter hit the red carpet over the weekend in something decidedly different: a quietly minimal patchwork gown directly from the Americana archives.

To attend the Variety Hitmakers event in Los Angeles on Friday, Carpenter sourced a dress from Ralph Lauren’s spring 2003 collection. Made of pieced-together patchwork fabric, it was designed with varying strips of fabric in plaid, gingham, and distressed florals assembled in a simple silhouette. It nipped in at Carpenter’s waist and flared out at the bottom of its skirt.

Not only did Carpenter’s dress stroll its way down the runway over two decades ago, it also made its way onto Penélope Cruz. Shortly after the design debuted during New York Fashion Week, Cruz slipped it on for a charity event in Beverly Hills.

Like Cruz, Carpenter styled the curve-hugging design with a light hand. The “Manchild” singer wore her famous blonde hair in tousled waves and sported natural, sun-kissed skin with swipes of blush on her cheeks.

Dressing from the archive is nothing new for the singer. Over the past couple years, the singer (and her stylist, Jared Ellner) have tracked down standout vintage looks from some of fashion’s most important designers.

Although the majority of Carpenter’s archival finds are quite flashy—like the trio of ’70s Bob Mackie designs she wore to the VMAs in September—her latest trip down memory lane is much quieter. But with her Short N’ Sweet era behind her, perhaps this “Busy Woman” needed a fashion palette cleanser.