Bryce Dallas Howard is still styling herself, shopping consignment, and loving everything that comes with it, which for the actress, includes celebrating her body.
In a new interview with InStyle Howard opened up about how shopping secondhand has benefitted her in more ways than one. “I have a body that fluctuates. And so, it’s wonderful to also be able to have different sizes in my wardrobe so that I’m prepared, and I’m never having to change my body for my clothes. I just changed the clothes for my body,” she said. Adding, “Fashion becomes fun when it’s about celebrating your body and not about making yourself smaller.”
Howard started styling herself back in 2015 for the premiere of the first Jurassic World movie, and made headlines when she wore a Jenny Packham gown from Neiman Marcus to the 2016 Golden Globe Awards. She has been open about the difficulty of finding options in her size and took matters into her own hands.
Howard declared in 2019 that she wanted to shop more sustainably, and wear the dresses she already had hanging in her closet. She began the Rocketman press tour wearing either things she already owned, or attire she purchased secondhand.
“I always feel conflicted when shopping for a press tour, because often these are clothes I will only wear once. In the past, since I’ve purchased rather than borrowed I realized ultimately this wasn’t an entirely sustainable practice,” she wrote in 2019. “For several years now, I’ve relied on the @therealreal religiously to both buy and consign my own clothes. So for this @rocketmanmovie press tour, I challenged myself to exclusively dress in consigned and previously owned pieces.”
Not long after, she walked the red carpet at the 2021 Golden Globes in a pre-loved, sparkling, ombré gown that she purchased from The RealReal and paired it with Alexander McQueen pumps she already owned.
In conversation with InStyle, Howard spoke about how closely she worked with her publicist, Alex Shack, to find the perfect red carpet looks. “She’s the first person that really empowered me to do that because she saw I wasn’t fitting into the clothes that were being loaned to me. Because at that point, there were only sample sizes available.”
She continued, “And she was like, ‘Let’s not play this game. Let’s not. Let’s choose a different path.’ And so, it’s really fun because it’s us texting each other, constantly being like, ‘What do you think of this? What do you think of that?'”
Since Cannes, Howard has not only continued to style herself (which she did during her latest press tour for Jurassic World: Dominion) she also sells pieces back to The RealReal in hopes they can get a second life. Though, special gowns, she saves. “If it’s a ball gown, it’s for a special moment. Then, I’ll save it or auction it off for an organization. You just donate it when you’re affiliated with an organization, or it’s a school auction or for a foundation or whatever, but it’s a great way to raise money,” Howard said.
We can only hope more follow her sustainable lead!
