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Blake Lively wore a Forever 21 dress on the red carpet and said it was vintage

Blake Lively chat about a time before she was a fashion icon.
Blake Lively fashion, red carpet, style
US actress Blake Lively poses during the photocall prior to the Spring-Summer 2019 Ready-to-Wear collection fashion show by Christian Dior in Paris, on September 24, 2018. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP/Getty Images)Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP-Getty Images
/ Source: TODAY

Blake Lively is one of the most stylish woman in Hollywood, but early in her career, the actress didn't have designers eager to dress her for the red carpet. That's when Lively turned to Forever 21.

The "Gossip Girl" star, 31, admitted she used to wear outfits from the budget fashion chain to red carpet events and pass off the ensembles as "vintage."

"I wore Forever 21 much longer than I admitted," Lively said in a new InStyle interview with "The Handmaid's Tale" star Sydney Sweeney. (She previously shared the story about this yellow dress with Glamour UK.)

2005 Teen Choice Awards - Arrivals
Lively told Glamour UK that this stylish yellow dress was $13 from Forever 21.Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

Lively, who doesn't work with a stylist, said she decided to fib about her outfits after she wore Forever 21 to one of the first red carpet events of her career and was "so shamed for it."

"For me, fashion is a form of self-expression. It also really takes me out of my comfort zone," she said. "One of the reasons I'm an actor is that I’m naturally very shy, so it's liberating to dress up and pretend to be someone else."

As if Lively couldn't already be even more relatable, she has one tip that everyone can steal the next time they want to feel confident rocking a new outfit.

"If you pretend that you're J.Lo, that helps," she said.