Tank tops, skinny jeans, and a truly unfortunate Pocahontas outfit — Kaley Cuoco often looks stunning on the red carpet, but that doesn't mean she gets it right every time.
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00:00Tank tops, skinny jeans, and a truly unfortunate Pocahontas outfit.
00:05Kaley Cuoco often looks stunning on the red carpet, but that doesn't mean she gets it right
00:10every time. Okay, so the early noughties were clearly a different time with different fashion
00:17rules. But Kaley Cuoco's look at the 2003 Solstice fashion party still has us scratching our heads.
00:24Take that quintessential early 2000s tank top, for example. Cuoco walked the event's red carpet
00:31in a thin, midriff-bearing white tank, stamped with the faded and sloppy print of a Chinese
00:36character, no less. Cuoco also wore her top with a low-rise black skirt and black pointed heels.
00:43The knee-length skirt was belted and accentuated with silver zippers, including a zip-up slit.
00:49In combination with that tank, this outfit is giving us early Fast and the Furious vibes,
00:55like Cuoco was trying to serve a gender-bent cosplay of Vin Diesel.
00:59Pop the hood.
01:00Pop the hood.
01:01Pop the hood.
01:02For some reason, Cuoco finished the look with a ratty,
01:05hair-metal mullet that can't even be excused by the fashion norms of the time.
01:11In 2007, Cuoco had just landed her iconic role as Penny on The Big Bang Theory.
01:17Penny!
01:18Leonard. Sheldon.
01:19Hi.
01:20Hi.
01:20Hi.
01:21Hi.
01:22By this point, she had matured a little in her style,
01:24but the young actor was still prone to following a fad or two.
01:28Cuoco's outfit at Kenurasi Skin Care's Celebration on the Pier event
01:33encapsulated late-aughts style particularly hard. First, you have the hip-length layered tank tops,
01:41which were paired with that millennial favorite, dark wash skinny jeans. Those sparkly flip-flops
01:47are more confusing than anything else, looking decidedly out of place on a red carpet. And the
01:53coup de grace is Cuoco's straw fedora. Whatever's happening here, this outfit is a perfect product
01:59of its time and place. You certainly wouldn't get away with it nowadays.
02:04Cuoco's ensemble to perform at the 2014 Lausanne, Los Angeles, Masters Charity Pro
02:10Am event was outdated in more than one way. Obviously, the fringed trousers and feather-lined
02:16top were relics of another age, whether they make you think of 60s-era Bohemians or Wild West
02:22Cowboys.
02:23We deal in lead, friend.
02:25Still, this is a costume, so that kind of throwback reference is clearly intentional.
02:30Far worse is the fact that Cuoco thought it appropriate to dress up like Pocahontas,
02:35complete with a terrible braided wig. Cultural appreciation is one thing,
02:40but cultural appropriation is definitely out of style, and Cuoco should have already known better
02:45in 2014.
02:46High-low silhouettes
02:47High-low silhouettes had a big moment in the early 2010s, but they were at an ebb in 2016.
02:55So why did Kaley Cuoco decide to showcase this style at the 22nd Annual Critics' Choice Awards?
03:01To be honest, she might have gotten away with this silhouette if the overall outfit had worked.
03:06Unfortunately, pairing her frilly mullet top with ill-fitting,
03:10matchy-matchy cigarette pants did nothing for the aesthetic.
03:14Cuoco finished the outfit with dissonant accessories. While her strappy sandals seemed
03:18to lean into her monochromatic intentions, she also carried a warm brown handbag that
03:24didn't match anything else in the look.
03:27Sometimes, outdated ensembles are a product of their time. Others, an outfit can be immediately
03:33off the mark. This was the case for Cuoco in 2017, when she appeared at Panera Bread in Studio City
03:40to help launch the brand's new craft beverage station.
03:43Cuoco arrived wearing a long, ruffled maxi dress that was more than behind the times.
03:49It looked like someone had thrown every costume from Little House on the Prairie
03:53into a blender. There's just so much going on here, and all of it shapeless.
03:58The light blue panels clash with the heaviness of the black panels and trim,
04:03while the voluminous layers swallow Cuoco up, pairing the already questionable
04:08Tanya Taylor dress with white, heart-emblazoned Chiara Ferrani sneakers didn't help the disjointed
04:14look. And while sneakers and dresses can be a surprisingly effective duo, in this case,
04:19Cuoco's sporty shoes fought with the maxi's attempt at a romantic vintage vibe. Altogether,
04:26this befuddling outfit came across like a misguided attempt at a hyper-feminine,
04:31Betsy Johnson-like look, bringing all the big energy and girly details with none of the charm
04:38to match.