Fug Girls: The Fashion (and Star) History of Nicole Richie
Photo: Getty Images
NBC brings back its semi-maligned (and now apparently semi-revamped) Fashion Star on Friday, and returning with it is mentor and judge Nicole Richie — a designer and business owner who has come a long way since frightening country folk on The Simple Life. Indeed, Richie has so sufficiently cleaned up her act that it’s hard to reconcile her stylishly Bohemian persona with the shaggy, artless party girl who once hung out with Paris Hilton and was briefly jailed for driving on the wrong side of a Los Angeles freeway. We rifled through Richie’s photographic history (some of which she doubtless wishes would have stayed buried in one of those farmers’ pastures) and compiled a slideshow of her impressive evolution from scruffy to sleek — or from “hott” to haute, as Paris might have put it. Spoiler: Removing that particular accessory was one of Nicole’s best moves.
November 2001
Eleven months after Britney and Justin wore their infamous coordinated denim outfits, Nicole and her appendage, Paris Hilton, one...
November 2001
Eleven months after Britney and Justin wore their infamous coordinated denim outfits, Nicole and her appendage, Paris Hilton, one-upped them with actual matching Canadian tuxedos. Sadly for them, it did not vault them into the Spears-Timberlake stratus of America’s favorite couples, although at least neither of them looked like a delusional rodeo clown (ahem, Justin), even if Nicole’s makeup is disturbingly aggressive. Photo: Getty Images
June 2002 and June 2003 Nicole was an extremely early adopter of the current sheer trend that is trying to blind us all. In fact, she loved this ...
June 2002 and June 2003 Nicole was an extremely early adopter of the current sheer trend that is trying to blind us all. In fact, she loved this see-through jumpsuit so much that she wore it to more than one red carpet. Just sit quietly and think about that for a moment. And no, she never ended up getting it hemmed.
Photo: Getty Images
April 2002; January and July 2003 The Hilton-era Nicole Richie had zero sense of occasion. There's a well-worn joke that a famewhore will show up...
April 2002; January and July 2003 The Hilton-era Nicole Richie had zero sense of occasion. There's a well-worn joke that a famewhore will show up to the opening of a barn door, but Nicole actually dressed for that particular event. Yes, frocks over pants happened in real life, but trotting that out at a Vogue event defies rational thought (we can only imagine what Anna’s eyes looked like behind her scorn-proof shades). To a Golden Globes gifting suite – a glorified PR opportunity – she slouched around in Uggs and ill-fitting scrap-heap separates. And the TCAs, for her, were a work event, so her employers were doubtless thrilled she arrived looking like she got lost on the way to Zuma Beach.
Photo: Getty Images
November 2003 – May 2004 Sure, Nicole's wardrobe here is wretched – she looks like a blind sorority girl on laundry day, in hell – but it’s time ...
November 2003 – May 2004 Sure, Nicole's wardrobe here is wretched – she looks like a blind sorority girl on laundry day, in hell – but it’s time to address the ongoing tragedy taking place on her head. She looks like she ordered her hair extensions from a girl on eBay who plucked the hair from her My Little Ponys and wove the detritus together. You know the situation is dire when a pink Von Dutch trucker cap (remember those?) is a massive improvement.
Photo: Getty Images
September and December 2003 Did someone tell Nicole that Teen Vogue was handing out free pap smears? Two weeks after she wore that micro-skirt, R...
September and December 2003 Did someone tell Nicole that Teen Vogue was handing out free pap smears? Two weeks after she wore that micro-skirt, Richie attended an EW event in one that’s modest, by comparison, yet still looking like she’d been awarded the red ribbon for Best In Show by Speculum Monthly. Basically, if she ever critiques a Fashion Star contestant for a botched fit and unflattering hemlines, this period of time proves she knows whereof she speaks.
Photo: Getty Images
February 2004 We’re relieved that, even in these dark days, Nicole was aware that her usual shlubbery wouldn’t fly at the Vanity Fair post-Oscars...
February 2004 We’re relieved that, even in these dark days, Nicole was aware that her usual shlubbery wouldn’t fly at the Vanity Fair post-Oscars party. Alas, her taste level at this point still hadn't moved pass this question: “What would my favorite lamp at Madam Trixi’s Hot Cup of Brothel wear?”
Photo: Getty Images
June 2004 A MIRACLE OCCURED. If you were, say, in junior high in 2004, you might not realize what a revelation it was to see Nicole Richie – she ...
June 2004 A MIRACLE OCCURED. If you were, say, in junior high in 2004, you might not realize what a revelation it was to see Nicole Richie – she who once embraced every piece of sartorial sludge that darkened the early aughts – turn up somewhere looking cleaned up and classy. Trust two old crones: It was a big deal. A nation is still grateful.
Photo: Getty Images
November/December 2004 The transformation from trashy to classy was swift and highly visible once Nicole hooked up with Rachel Zoe. Heading into ...
November/December 2004 The transformation from trashy to classy was swift and highly visible once Nicole hooked up with Rachel Zoe. Heading into the 2004 holidays, these looks were like presents for our eyes. Both frocks are fantastic on her, and the fringed flapper number in particular is an accurate harbinger of Nicole's current predilection for going vintage.
Photo: Carlo Allegri/Getty Images Maury Phillips/WireImage
February 2005 This was another score for Richie – the yellow gown is perfect on her, a combination of the looser Boho style she clearly loves, an...
February 2005 This was another score for Richie – the yellow gown is perfect on her, a combination of the looser Boho style she clearly loves, and the formality the Grammys (at least pretend to) require. The accessories have personality but aren’t distracting. Nicole is one of the poster children proving that Rachel Zoe is very good at her job. Between this and the last slide, it's clear that Zoe scraped away the debris, kept a few kernels of personality to build on, and started with really simple, flattering cuts with well-chosen accessories, essentially giving Nicole the fresh base she still uses today, long after they parted ways.
Photo: Getty Images
February 2005 This is a stunning movie-star moment for someone who at that point hadn’t ever appeared in an actual movie. Helen Hunt had an Oscar...
February 2005 This is a stunning movie-star moment for someone who at that point hadn’t ever appeared in an actual movie. Helen Hunt had an Oscar and this was still the best she could muster.
Photo: Getty Images
Spring/Summer 2005 Nicole's love for the quasi-beachy, full-length patterned gown runs deep. Thank God this love is a mutually beneficial one and...
Spring/Summer 2005 Nicole's love for the quasi-beachy, full-length patterned gown runs deep. Thank God this love is a mutually beneficial one and not one of those things where your friends feel the need to stage a carefrontation.
Photo: Getty Images
September 2005 So, going by the law of averages, it was basically statistically impossible for Nicole to continue to hit it out of the park at ev...
September 2005 So, going by the law of averages, it was basically statistically impossible for Nicole to continue to hit it out of the park at every red carpet event, right? This misstep was always coming. It's just a shame it had to come in the form of such a hideous negligee.
Photo: Getty Images
March 2006, April 2007, October 2008 The good news is that Nicole's foray into dressing like the heroine of a Danielle Steel novel plotting reven...
March 2006, April 2007, October 2008 The good news is that Nicole's foray into dressing like the heroine of a Danielle Steel novel plotting revenge in her dressing gown did not last. Over the next couple of years, she took some time off to have her kids, but popped out for at least three major events – the Vanity Fair Oscar party, the Australian VMAs, and the Carousel of Hope – requiring seriously major dresses. The black Oscars gown, paired with that fantastic bob at its follicular best, is maybe one of her best looks ever.
Photo: Getty Images
June 2008 We’re not sure if this is a nightie, a shawl, or a dress with an attached cape. A girl needs to experiment (we get that!) but let's jus...
June 2008 We’re not sure if this is a nightie, a shawl, or a dress with an attached cape. A girl needs to experiment (we get that!) but let's just call this hilariously sinking ship the Caftanic and move on.
Photo: Getty Images
March 2010 It was very likely someone would wonder, "Um, why is Nicole Richie at the actual Oscars?" Answer: Joel Madden was DJing, alt...
March 2010 It was very likely someone would wonder, "Um, why is Nicole Richie at the actual Oscars?" Answer: Joel Madden was DJing, although why the Oscars needed one is beyond us. Still, this amazing beaded gown instead made everyone say, "Ooh, Nicole Richie is rocking the Oscars."
Photo: Getty Images
September 2010 This feels like a reach. It’s not that Richie isn’t allowed to get poofy and princessy if she wants to, but we prefer “adding a to...
September 2010 This feels like a reach. It’s not that Richie isn’t allowed to get poofy and princessy if she wants to, but we prefer “adding a touch of her signature edge” to “adding a roll of electrical tape.”
Photo: Getty Images
January and November 2011 Two more expensively awkward departures from form. The black Art of Elysium gala gown is so fussy and unflattering – a ...
January and November 2011 Two more expensively awkward departures from form. The black Art of Elysium gala gown is so fussy and unflattering – a casket cover for a saloon funeral – that we actually had to check whether she was pregnant (nope). And what she wore to the MOCA event might have had a chance if it were a minidress, and cut differently, and… yeah, basically, it would’ve been great if it were something else entirely.
Photo: Getty Images
February and May 2011 That period of time where Nicole would only wear white gowns with strategic cut-outs was slightly boring for viewers – we a...
February and May 2011 That period of time where Nicole would only wear white gowns with strategic cut-outs was slightly boring for viewers – we already have a Kate Hudson, and it feels like these were ripped right from her oeuvre – but highly lucrative for Richie’s dry cleaner.
Photo: Getty Images
January 2012 This kind of cut is totally her comfort zone, and with good reason: Nicole knows what works on her when it comes to column dresses a...
January 2012 This kind of cut is totally her comfort zone, and with good reason: Nicole knows what works on her when it comes to column dresses and shifts in a way she hasn’t figured out yet with froofy ball gowns. As far as we're concerned, there’s nothing wrong with a rut when the rut makes you look good.
Photo: Getty Images
January-April 2012 That yellow dress looks like it cost $2 and once appeared in the background of an ABC Family movie about faeries. But go ahead...
January-April 2012 That yellow dress looks like it cost $2 and once appeared in the background of an ABC Family movie about faeries. But go ahead and contrast the other two outfits – part of the press whirl for the first Fashion Star season – with the nightmarish stuff Nicole used to wear to work back in the day. It’s a massive improvement, even if that one blazer veers into Young Judith Light without the hot man-maid at home (we assume).
Photo: Getty Images
September 2012 That peekaboo sequined gown makes Nicole look, unfortunately, like a very exotic fowl that’s molting. But at least it’s more inter...
September 2012 That peekaboo sequined gown makes Nicole look, unfortunately, like a very exotic fowl that’s molting. But at least it’s more interesting than showing up to the Style Awards at Fashion Week looking like a cocktail waitress at a gentleman’s club. The over/under on drink orders she took that night is ten.
Photo: Getty Images
Febuary 2013 Who knew formalwear and biology textbooks could intersect?
Photo: Getty Images
January and February 2013 Once again, Nicole got the nod to do the bulk of the press for Fashion Star, this time making the rounds during awards ...
January and February 2013 Once again, Nicole got the nod to do the bulk of the press for Fashion Star, this time making the rounds during awards season. (Does NBC not trust Jessica Simpson to speak extemporaneously; wait, never mind.) Even with occasional pitfalls, Nicole Richie of all people has grown into the only person on Fashion Star who reliably looks both fashionable and star-like in public.
Photo: Getty Images
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