Lili Reinhart is not just promoting a rom-com—she is dressing like she already lives inside one. For the press run around The Love Hypothesis, which begins streaming on Prime Video on September 23, the actor and executive producer has been working with stylist Ib Abdel Nasser on a tour that reads like a love letter to early-2000s leading ladies: archival pulls, careful recreations, and sidewalk “paparazzi” moments that feel deliberately cinematic.
The film, adapted from Ali Hazelwood’s bestseller, casts Reinhart as Stanford PhD candidate Olive Smith opposite Tom Bateman’s Dr. Adam Carlsen in a fake-dating plot with real romantic stakes. The clothes on the carpet have become a parallel story. According to W Magazine, Reinhart’s wardrobe nods are specific—not vague Y2K glitter, but named costumes and collections that rom-com fans can clock in a single scroll.
The polka-dot trench heard round the timeline
On September 17 in New York, Reinhart stepped out in a lacy Fleur du Mal slip under a polka-dot trench with sharp lapels and chocolate-brown piping—the coat Nanette Lepore designed for Jennifer Garner’s Jenna Rink in 13 Going on 30, loaned for the photo opportunity, per W Magazine. It is method dressing with receipts: lingerie-adjacent slip, hurried-exit trench, flirty early-aughts energy without a costume-party wink.
That same day she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in a dress from Emanuel Ungaro’s ’90s archives—scoop neck, criss-cross straps, bold pattern meeting sheer layers. Minimal silhouette, maximal rom-com playfulness: exactly the mix that made late-’90s and early-2000s red carpets feel light on their feet.
Elie Saab, Uptown Girls energy, and Ungaro deep cuts
Less than 24 hours earlier, at the New York premiere, Reinhart wore a pastel look from Elie Saab’s spring 2004 couture collection—gauzy draping, mint-green floral appliqués, a trailing train. Fans, W Magazine reports, quickly linked it to Brittany Murphy’s Blumarine moment in Uptown Girls. Whether or not every viewer catches the parallel, the mood is unmistakable: confection, softness, early-aughts effervescence.
On September 9 she reached further into Ungaro history with a color-blocked spring 2001 gown from Giambattista Valli’s years as the house’s creative director (1998–2004)—teal petal motifs, beaded tassels, a Y2K mermaid finish. In Brazil on September 2, she doubled down: a turquoise butterfly two-piece from the same Valli-at-Ungaro era by day, then an archival Roberto Cavalli dress with gilded beading and a sweeping halter by night. The message is consistent—archives as wardrobe, not museum.
How to Lose a Guy, Ever After, and Atonement Easter eggs
Perhaps the most viral tribute, per W Magazine, arrived September 6: a butter-yellow dress echoing Kate Hudson’s look in 2003’s How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. The original was custom Carolina Herrera with costume designer Karen Patch; Abdel Nasser sourced an aughts-era replica from Caché for Reinhart. Close enough to spark recognition, different enough to avoid cosplay accusations.
Other references stretched the timeline. A custom Rodarte gown on September 8 nodded to Drew Barrymore in 1998’s Ever After, based on Jenny Beavan’s original costume—empire waist, crystals, sheer sleeves. A deep-green Tory Burch dress, originally created for the 2025 Hollywood-themed Vogue World event, doubled as a callback to Keira Knightley’s emerald Atonement frock. Reinhart’s tour treats rom-com fashion as a continuum from Renaissance fantasy to mid-2000s gloss.
Versace ’98, sheer twists, and sidewalk Mean Girls energy
The archival streak continued into mid-September interview days. theFashionSpot reports that for a sit-down with Bateman, Reinhart wore a one-shoulder top from Versace’s spring/summer 1998 collection—blue star-and-swirl print with a sheer mesh floral panel at the strap—paired with wide-leg denim and René Caovilla Flora Gold sandals. Opaque archive, sheer update: a formula that keeps a 27-year-old piece from feeling costume.
Everyday outings got the same treatment. W Magazine notes an August 27 Los Angeles stroll in a Leo Lin Resort 2027 floral miniskirt set under a shrunken pink cardigan—mall-queen energy adjacent to Regina George without quoting the costume line for line. Reinhart has also been photographed in a Fleur du Mal micro minidress and a sheer Valentino micro miniskirt around New York, per theFashionSpot, keeping the texture-driven, nostalgic brief intact between premieres.
What to steal from the tour (no couture required)
One hero coat, one soft layer. A printed trench or polished mac over a slip or camisole is the fastest 13 Going on 30 shortcut.Butter yellow as a statement neutral. A single yellow dress or set reads rom-com without needing the exact Hudson replica.Archive-adjacent shopping. Look for Ungaro, early Elie Saab, Versace, and Cavalli silhouettes on resale—scoop necks, petal appliqués, one-shoulder prints—rather than forcing modern fast-fashion “Y2K” graphics.Sheer as the modern edit. Keep the vintage print; update one panel or sleeve with mesh so the look does not freeze in 1998.Cardigan + mini for off-duty. Cropped pink knit over a decorated mini is the press-tour’s sidewalk uniform.
Why method dressing works for this particular film
Olive Smith is a scientist who fakes a relationship; the press tour’s fashion thesis is almost the inverse—Reinhart makes a very real relationship with rom-com costume history. W Magazine frames the project as Reinhart entering the rom-com canon and using clothes to honor the leading ladies who came before her. That framing matters for readers who care about more than a single viral trench: each look is a citation.
It also explains the mix of true archives (Ungaro, Elie Saab couture, Versace 1998, Cavalli) with intentional replicas (the Caché yellow dress) and contemporary pieces that still read as callbacks (Tory Burch green, Leo Lin mini set). The tour does not pretend every garment is the original screen costume. It pretends—convincingly—that Olive’s promotional universe shares DNA with Jenna Rink’s Manhattan, Andie’s yellow carpet energy, and the glossy optimism that made mid-2000s romantic comedies feel like fashion magazines you could walk through.
For editors and shoppers, the distinction is useful. Archival loans create headlines; drugstore-adjacent yellow and a printed trench create traffic. Reinhart’s run offers both, which is why the coverage has stayed dense from early September Brazil dates through mid-September New York TV and premiere nights.
Reinhart’s Love Hypothesis wardrobe works because the references are researched and the styling is current. When the film lands on Prime Video September 23, the clothes will already have done half the marketing—proof that rom-com fashion still moves culture when someone wears it like a thesis, not a meme.