Entertainment
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ByTreva Bowdoin/
By her own admission, Lauren Sánchez finds it hard to resist the siren song of a seductive dress that clings to her curves and flashes a little flesh. But while the fiancée of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos might look amazing in the styles that she gravitates toward, they aren't always occasion-appropriate.
In an interview with Vogue, Sánchez admitted that she showed some restraint when picking out her Oscar de la Renta gown for the 2024 Met Gala. Of the early designs the fashion house sent her, she said, "If you saw them, you'd be like, 'Oh, that's very Lauren' — extremely sexy, low cut.'" But according to Amy Odell, Anna Wintour was not about to let Sánchez land on any lists of the worst-dressed Met Gala attendees. In her Back Row newsletter, Odell, who penned a biography about Wintour, reported that the Vogue editor-in-chief was offering Sánchez a little sartorial assistance. An insider told Odell this is because Wintour believes Sánchez possesses "poor taste." However, the former "Extra" host insisted to Vogue that it was her idea to tone down her look. Whatever the truth is, her stained glass-inspired ball gown adorned with mirrored roses was one of the night's big triumphs.
It's just a shame that Sánchez doesn't dial down the va-va-voom factor more often — so many designers would love to help the future wife of one of the world's richest men look like American royalty rather than a Bravolebrity.
Things can get chaotic when she tries to cover up
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It's fun to imagine Anna Wintour flipping through photo archives of Lauren Sánchez's old looks and slowly shaking her sleek bob in disapproval. Over two decades before Vogue profiled the helicopter pilot, Sánchez took a gamble on an especially unfortunate outfit for The Junior League of Los Angeles' 2002 "Viva Los Angeles" Casino Night.
It's hard to say where she got her ensemble inspiration from, but the tour bus of a '70s rock band is one contender. Her pants could have been crafted from its brown vinyl seats, and her fringed poncho looked like the diaphanous scarf a band-aid might toss over a lamp to create mood lighting in "Almost Famous." Unfortunately, Sánchez was not channeling Penny Lane, but if she had traded her boot-cut bottoms for some penny-colored leggings, her outfit might have been more successful. Her poncho with velvet floral details was semi-sheer, so a utilitarian white bra was another odd choice; she had to realize that her boring lingerie would be visible.
The Sin City-themed event that Sánchez got uncharacteristically covered up for was held at Jim Henson Studios, so another possibility was that her chaotic outfit was an homage to the '70s-era Muppet band Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem — minus all the fun colors.
Her Oscars Party gown wasn't a winner
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At the 2007 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Lauren Sánchez got to rub elbows with some of the biggest celebrity power couples of the aughts — they included Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Madonna and Guy Ritchie, and Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. These stars' relationships would ultimately end in heartbreak, and Sánchez was also there with a future ex. However, she was dressed like she was trying to catch the eye of a life-size Oscar statuette.
The only movie credit Sánchez had to her name that year was "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," in which she played a news reporter. However, she was garbed in gold, a color that's considered lucky for Academy Award nominees. Unfortunately, her ruched strapless dress was not a winning choice. The flared bottom of the skirt was severely wrinkled, and the taffeta fabric was an odd color — instead of giving future billionaire's wife, it brought to mind a tarnished coin at the bottom of Scrooge McDuck's pool full of gold. Even Donald Trump would be ashamed to hang the material up as curtains inside his Mar-a-Lago beach club.
Around her waist, Sánchez wore a black ribbon tied in a bow. It was slanted a bit, adding another messy element to her ensemble and giving her outfit a gift wrap vibe.
Her state dinner look was too sexy for some
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Lauren Sánchez looked more like she was ready to flip some tables than dine with foreign dignitaries when she accompanied Jeff Bezos to a White House state dinner for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in April 2024. She stood out from the stuffy politicians in an off-the-shoulder red Rasario dress with a corset bodice and a low neckline that revealed a dinner plate-sized swath of her décolletage. The red-hot number was totally something she could have gotten at a fire sale after Teresa Giudice lost all of her money — if "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star was actually willing to part with the contents of her closet.
Just like American politics, Sánchez's dress was divisive. It even earned her the rare honor of forcing The Hill to do a little fashion coverage. "Many people would probably choose something else and still be able to make a statement with a gorgeous gown," an anonymous ex-White House official told the publication.
One critic on X, formerly known as Twitter, suggested that Sánchez's gown looked more suitable for partying with the MAGA flock at Mar-a-Lago. A few people also compared her to a Trumpette with a penchant for dressing inappropriately, Donald Trump Jr.'s fiancee Kimberly Guilfoyle, and one person tweeted, "Is she classless? That is not an appropriate dress. Especially to meet officials from Japan. It is insulting."
Pattern pandemonium at an Amazon Prime event
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Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos walked their first red carpet together in 2020 at an Amazon Prime Video celebration in Mumbai, India. Four years later, Sánchez would tell Vogue that she and her husband-to-be are the living embodiment of the Barbenheimer meme. "Of course, Jeff's favorite movie was 'Oppenheimer,' and I love 'Barbie.' And there you have us summed up in two movies," she revealed. However, at the event in India, the pair looked more like fire and ice than a mass-marketed doll and the physician who ushered in a new era of mass destruction.
Sánchez's red-and-black dress was created with the fabric form of the popular childhood game The Floor Is Lava. It also featured a thigh-high slit, deep neckline, shimmery beading, and sheer black balloon sleeves. There was way too much going on, and the black-and-white pattern on Bezos' blazer was almost just as busy. It was reminiscent of a rocky Alpine peak blanketed in snow, and he looked as stiff as an icicle in it. Sánchez's look was a lot by itself, but when paired with her beau's outfit, it created a sensory overload — gazing at pictures of the couple's inharmonious outfits is a bit like watching a "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" double feature.
Megyn Kelly came after her hard over a lace look
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During Milan Fashion Week in 2024, Lauren Sánchez rocked a look that was very on-brand to a Dolce & Gabbana party. She naturally chose an ensemble designed by the Italian fashion house, and she made certain that it was a revealing one: Her black lace dress was almost completely sheer. It featured a corset top with visible boning, and the Black Ops Aviation founder's V-cut underwear were visible as well.
The racy look had Megyn Kelly reading Sánchez to filth. On "The Megyn Kelly Show," she addressed the aviatrix directly, saying, "You look like a hooker and you're dating the richest man in the world, or one of them. Try to be a little classy. Must everything be an exposé of your obviously over-enhanced assets?" That was way too harsh, Kelly —with a black blazer elegantly draped over her shoulders, Sánchez looked more like a mob wife who had to rush out of her boudoir because her home was being raided by the feds. And Sánchez would truly be an asset to any mafioso, as she could pilot their getaway copter. While chatting to Vogue about pilot-appropriate footwear, she even boasted, "I have flown in heels before." She also had something to say to critics of her style. "I always found it interesting that people say, 'Well, Lauren, you definitely dress more for men.' I actually dress for myself." Preach, girl!
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