The Fug Girls on Katy Perry’s Style Evolution
Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Four years ago, would you have believed that the hot-pants-loving singer behind “UR So Gay” would end up with 22 million Twitter acolytes, an approximate net worth of $44 million (two bucks a follower!), and her own concert movie, Katy Perry: Part of Me, chronicling both thousands of performances wherein she is dressed as a glamorous banana and her high-profile divorce? Yeah, neither would we. But it’s futile to resist: Katy Perry is officially a phenomenon. Join us as we see how the erstwhile Katy Hudson — lover of low-heeled shoes and awkward haircuts — gave rise to Katy Perry, perky cocktail of Candyland, Lady Gaga, and Rosie the Riveter, dipped in caffeine and rolled in sparkles.
When: February, 2004
Where: The so-called "Jimmy Choo Annual Oscar Collection Preview and Tea"
What: WHAT indeed. From the...
When: February, 2004
Where: The so-called "Jimmy Choo Annual Oscar Collection Preview and Tea"
What: WHAT indeed. From the waist down, Katy looks like she's in the middle of trying on someone's Saturday Night Fever tribute night costume. From the waist up, she looks like she's twenty minutes from expiring of consumption. Perry was in the middle of a doomed collaboration with Columbia Records (ultimately shelved), so maybe we can blame this droopy look on depression and artistic malaise. Photo: Amanda Edwards/2004 Getty Images
When: May 2005
Where: The Lush Swag-Fest and an MTV X-Box party, respectively. In other words: events you attend before you're actually famou...
When: May 2005
Where: The Lush Swag-Fest and an MTV X-Box party, respectively. In other words: events you attend before you're actually famous …
What: … and before you have an actual stylist to tell you that your bra is hanging out and that kitten heels only work with short shorts in really specific and questionably legal situations.
When: June and August 2006
Where: ALucky party and a vague pop music event, meaning the “Get this kid in front of some cameras, stat" po...
When: June and August 2006
Where: ALucky party and a vague pop music event, meaning the “Get this kid in front of some cameras, stat" portion of Katy's career-building was still in full swing.
What: These two are terrible mistakes of proportion, not to mention design. Also, clearly, Katy’s predilection for shiny, shiny, shiny is inborn — extending right down to her panty hose, which are so frumpy even the Queen would suggest she go bare-legged.
When: February 2007
Where: EMI's post-Grammy party. This is still prior to the release of One of the Boys — the album featuring "I ...
When: February 2007
Where: EMI's post-Grammy party. This is still prior to the release of One of the Boys — the album featuring "I Kissed a Girl," etc. — which at least explains why no one seems to care enough to fix this poor child's bangs.
What: Tragedy. If Katy had only held onto this for five more years, she could have worn it as a particularly downtrodden background player on Game of Thrones. Photo: Mark Sullivan
When: September 2007 and February 2008
Where: Erin Fetherston’s runway show, and an EMI party
What: Seriously, Katy was into the nud...
When: September 2007 and February 2008
Where: Erin Fetherston’s runway show, and an EMI party
What: Seriously, Katy was into the nude hose long before Kate Middleton made us reconsider whether anything beats a great pair of L’Eggs. Add in the bubblegum-ballerina froof and furbelows and she looks like a life-size version of Royal Ascot Barbie.
When: Summer, 2008
Where: TRL — aw, remember TRL? — and the MTV VMAs, proving she was finally famous enough to attend some recognizable acron...
When: Summer, 2008
Where: TRL — aw, remember TRL? — and the MTV VMAs, proving she was finally famous enough to attend some recognizable acronyms
What: Perry's wholehearted embrace of the retro pinup girl aesthetic had begun with a vengeance. A girly, heart-and-glitter appliqued vengeance. It is weird, in retrospect, to note how relatively unpolished she still looks here. She clearly had no idea that she didn’t have to be worth a kajillion dollars before she could afford a really good flat iron.
When: June and October 2008
Where: Her record release party, and the MTV Latin America awards
What: It makes sense that Katy celebra...
When: June and October 2008
Where: Her record release party, and the MTV Latin America awards
What: It makes sense that Katy celebrated her music debut looking like the offspring of Charo and a watermelon, considering that, in many respects, Charo is her patron saint. Unfortunately, we're still stuck at the intersection of “Hideous” and “Unflattering” — no wonder Little Bo Peep lost her sheep; she was hopped up on painkillers thanks to having her mammaries so roundly crushed.
When: November 2008
Where: MTV Europe Music Awards
What: Real talk: This is ridiculous. It's too tight, she's got eyeballs on her bo...
When: November 2008
Where: MTV Europe Music Awards
What: Real talk: This is ridiculous. It's too tight, she's got eyeballs on her boobs, and she's carrying a purse made out of a cupcake. But is it weird that, three and a half years later, we suddenly find it somewhat hilarious? Listen, once you've seen Lady Gaga pop up wearing the Aktins diet, a girl with peepers on her knockers ain't so bad. Photo: Getty Images/2008 Getty Images
When: February 2009
Where: A variety of Grammys-related events, up to and including the actual Grammys.
What: Apparently, the theme ...
When: February 2009
Where: A variety of Grammys-related events, up to and including the actual Grammys.
What: Apparently, the theme of the 2009 Grammys was PASTELS. Or maybe BOOBS. Perry brought both, with a side of ruffles and a handful of glitter. In other words: business as usual.
When: September 2009
Where: The VMAs
What: Now we’re getting some attitude, some edge. This is obviously still crazy — Katy looks li...
When: September 2009
Where: The VMAs
What: Now we’re getting some attitude, some edge. This is obviously still crazy — Katy looks like Joan of Arc, if the Crusades were fought on ice and set to a strings version of Mötley Crüe’s greatest hits — but mercifully less like she was inspired by a cluster of discarded Bazooka Joe chunks underneath a desk somewhere. Photo: Michael Loccisano/2009 Getty Images
When: October 2009
Where: The premiere of This Is It, the Michael Jackson post-mortem concert movie
What: Nothing says “So sorry Mic...
When: October 2009
Where: The premiere of This Is It, the Michael Jackson post-mortem concert movie
What: Nothing says “So sorry Michael is dead” quite like some cleavage-dragging glad rags that might actually be made of something manufactured by Glad. Photo: Jason Merritt/2009 Getty Images
When: November 2009
Where: The MTV Europe Music Awards
What: We actually like the black lace creeper on her side — there’s an elegan...
When: November 2009
Where: The MTV Europe Music Awards
What: We actually like the black lace creeper on her side — there’s an elegance to its edge — but it’s made even more palatable by the abomination she sported inside. We've been confining this retrospective to red-carpet appearances, but an exception must be made for pearl nipples and illusion-netted hot pants that give her a phantom package. We’ve had smaller UPS deliveries.
When: February 2010
Where: A mélange of Grammy festivities
What: What kind of a world are we living in when an artist changes...
When: February 2010
Where: A mélange of Grammy festivities
What: What kind of a world are we living in when an artist changes into a considerably more formal outfit for the after-party than the one she wore on the red carpet for the actual awards proceedings? No one has any respect for the natural order of things anymore.
When: March 2010
Where: The Vanity Fair Oscar party
What: This very grown-up and glitzy Zuhair Murad is actually rather stunning — y...
When: March 2010
Where: The Vanity Fair Oscar party
What: This very grown-up and glitzy Zuhair Murad is actually rather stunning — yes, it’s revealing, but in an incredibly flattering way. And, not for nothing, the pattern reminds us of the delicate icing motif often used on petit fours, so now we also want dessert. Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/2010 Getty Images
When: May 2010
Where: The Met Ball, which, possibly not entirely coincidentally, she has not attended since
What: The light-up theme...
When: May 2010
Where: The Met Ball, which, possibly not entirely coincidentally, she has not attended since
What: The light-up theme was funky — and apt; in many ways, it had felt like the only thing Katy Perry’s wardrobe was missing was a battery pack — but the dress itself looks like it was constructed using wads of Kleenex. Which may have come in handy, assuming Anna Wintour saw this and wept for the neon pall it would cast over her party’s carefully chosen décor. Photo: Larry Busacca/2010 Getty Images
When: June 2010
Where: Canada's MuchMusic Awards, the MTV Movie Awards
What: Welcome to the nudity portion of the evening.
When: September 2010
Where: The VMAs
What: We’ll say this as delicately as pos...
When: September 2010
Where: The VMAs
What: We’ll say this as delicately as possible: That haphazard white wrapping looks like she’s hiding something, à la the “oops” shot in a Tampax commercial. Photo: Christopher Polk/2010 Getty Images
When: November 2010
Where: The MTV Europe Awards. Katy Perry has seriously never met an MTV–hosted event she didn't attend.
What: Th...
When: November 2010
Where: The MTV Europe Awards. Katy Perry has seriously never met an MTV–hosted event she didn't attend.
What: There's "delightful BeDazzled whimsy" and then there's "opening the door for bloggers to make inappropriate sex jokes." You choose which category this falls into. Photo: Ian Gavan/2010 Getty Images
When: February 2011
Where: The Grammys, with Russell Brand and Katy's actual grammy
What: There is something sweet about Russell Bra...
When: February 2011
Where: The Grammys, with Russell Brand and Katy's actual grammy
What: There is something sweet about Russell Brand and Katy's grandma coordinating their ensembles for this event. There is something sort of weird about going somewhere with your elderly loved one dressed as though you might, at any moment, escort her to heaven. Photo: Larry Busacca/2011 Getty Images
When: July 2011
Where: The premiere of The Smurfs
What: This is ridiculous, obviously. If everyone came to their movie premieres in ...
When: July 2011
Where: The premiere of The Smurfs
What: This is ridiculous, obviously. If everyone came to their movie premieres in character, then the Saw premieres would be, at best, extremely red. But at least it was event-appropriate and not sported at, say, a fund-raiser for Some Terrible Affliction. Photo: Charles Eshelman/2011 Charles Eshelman
When: August and November 2011
Where: Various musical awards ceremonies
What: In retrospect, we know Katy's marriage was falling apa...
When: August and November 2011
Where: Various musical awards ceremonies
What: In retrospect, we know Katy's marriage was falling apart around this time, so there could be a number of psychologically interesting explanations for her veering into looking less like herself and more like a caricature. Then again, it’s Katy Perry, so it’s not like “oddball” was virgin ground for her. That last gown might not even be terrible, if not for her roots and the fact that it’s a cup size too small, but the others are totally Cocktail Geisha and Betsey Johnson Presents: American Bandstand.
When: February 2012
Where: MusiCares Person of the Year Tribute to Paul McCartney
What: Katy coped with divorce by becoming a wallfl...
When: February 2012
Where: MusiCares Person of the Year Tribute to Paul McCartney
What: Katy coped with divorce by becoming a wallflower. Except, literally. Photo: Jason Merritt/2012 Getty Images
When: February 2012
Where: The Grammys, and Elton John's Oscar viewing party
What: Just as Picasso had his Blue Period, so did Katy ...
When: February 2012
Where: The Grammys, and Elton John's Oscar viewing party
What: Just as Picasso had his Blue Period, so did Katy Perry. This is officially the only similarity between Pablo Picasso and Katy Perry, except possibly for very complicated contortions of breasts.
When: April and May 2012
Where: More music business awards — man, and everyone thinks actors are the ones who need constant validation
...
When: April and May 2012
Where: More music business awards — man, and everyone thinks actors are the ones who need constant validation
What: One dress might be pretty, if she cared about keeping it on; the other might be pretty … if it were a completely different dress entirely. But mostly, we just really need to sit Katy down and explain the concept of “upkeep.” Don’t half-ass your dramatic hair color or you end up looking like an M&M someone left out in the rain.
When: June 2012
Where: A City of Hope event honoring founder of MTV Bob Pittman
What: Okay. The Great Gatbsy reboot has officially g...
When: June 2012
Where: A City of Hope event honoring founder of MTV Bob Pittman
What: Okay. The Great Gatbsy reboot has officially gone too far. Photo: Frederick M. Brown/2012 Getty Images
When: June 2012
Where: MuchMusic Movie Awards
What: Katy herself looks like she just fell out of an unseen Indiana Jones follow-up, ...
When: June 2012
Where: MuchMusic Movie Awards
What: Katy herself looks like she just fell out of an unseen Indiana Jones follow-up, and we are mildly terrified by what she’s wrought upon that poor, innocent posse of Petite Perrys. It’s no surprise that her childlike penchant for glitter and pink makes more sense on actual children, but it’s highly questionable to put a cupcake bra with cherry nipples on a kid who probably still hasn’t noticed that Ken isn’t anatomically correct. Photo: George Pimentel/2012 George Pimentel
When: June 2012
Where: The premiere of Part of Me, which we keep wanting to call Piece of Me — which is a Britney Spears song, although throw...
When: June 2012
Where: The premiere of Part of Me, which we keep wanting to call Piece of Me — which is a Britney Spears song, although throw in a dance beat and you might not be able to tell
What: This is elegant and flattering, but still colorful and retro. Is it possible that Katy's turning over a new, sophisticated leaf? That the release of her documentary signals the beginning of a more refined Katy Perry? Well, she changed out of this to perform in an ensemble featuring film reels over each breast so … apparently not. But a little campy whimsy, much like donuts, is okay in moderation. Here’s hoping she keeps balancing her diet. Photo: Jason Merritt/2012 Getty Images
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