If one person, nay, one name could sum up glamour, you’d be hard-pressed to argue against the one, the only, JLo. But before that Versace dress, the Super Bowl, the Met Gala, Hustlers and this year's inauguration, there existed a JLo who wore trousers on the red carpet and polo necks (actual polo necks) at the airport.
Of course, it's another airport picture entirely that has captured our attention this week after a photograph emerged of the singer disembarking a private jet with Ben Affleck. Bennifer fans went into meltdown mode at the very thought that couple might be reuniting after 17 years. And while her style now is megawatt looks, in the '90s, pre-Bennifer, it was pretty much the polar opposite (i.e. that effortless brand of pared-back that you wish you could bottle and peddle to Gen Z).
And it’s understandable. In the ‘90s, stars walked the red carpet wearing what mere mortals would now consider ‘smart-casual’.
Things like cardigans were fair game (when was the last time you saw a starlet wearing a cardigan?) and people carried shoulder bags as if they didn’t have a minion on hand to outsource that kind of menial task to. Imagine!
At New York Magazine’s 30th birthday party in 1998, JLo arrived wearing pedal pushers (remember those?), a fur-trimmed cardigan, patent sandals and a shiny black shoulder bag. The overall look was polished, but also had plenty of get-up-and-go. She wasn’t dripping with diamonds, and simply looked like herself.
It was a similar story at 1998’s MTV Music Awards. 20 years later she would wear a custom-made jumpsuit that transformed into a spangled leotard for the occasion, but in 1998 the singer opted for a lemon-coloured trouser suit, a white bralette and a cowboy hat. OK, a foot of toned torso was on show, but it was still unmistakably relaxed.
Where she really came into her own was at the airport, with a series of off-duty outfits that still look so effortlessly cool. There was the slinky all-black co-ord, worn with square-toe boots and black-out shades, in 1997.
Later that month, she then travelled through LAX wearing a leopard-spotted coat, a taupe-coloured polo neck and the very same ankle boots in what, along with Kate Moss’s tank top, jeans and leopard print handbag look from 1994, must be the best example of airport chic from the history books. Finally, we can’t not mention the chunky cream polo neck and matching jeans combo that the star sported one year later in 1998. It’s simply too good for words.
Of course, soon the glamazon would gather speed. At 1998’s Golden Globes, she wore a tri-coloured, one-shouldered gown with a cut-out that showed off her chiselled abs and shoulders. And then at 1999’s MTV Music Awards, she arrived in the utterly fabulous combination of wet-look latex pedal pushers and a similarly skin-tight bronze boob tube. Gone was the girl who wore cardigans, but we wouldn’t change her for the world.
SEE: JLo's Best Style Moments Through The Decades
1 of 38January 2005
In saucy white ruffles and knee-high boots for 2005's NRJ Music Awards in Cannes.
2 of 38January 2009
Shimmering in a backless creation by Marchesa, and matching the statuettes no less, at 2009's Golden Globes.
3 of 38January 2010
Making fishing net fashion fair game on the red carpet, well this was Versace, at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.
4 of 38February 2000
That Versace dress at 2000's Grammy Awards - see-through and slashed to the naval - is arguably JLo's most iconic look of all time.
5 of 38February 2011
JLo dressed like a disco ball, in mirrored Emilio Pucci, at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
6 of 38February 2019
Giving Ralph & Russo even more attitude with the widest of wide-brimmed hats at 2019's Grammy Awards.
7 of 38March 1997
The singer-actor wore embellished Badgley Mischka for the 69th Annual Academy Awards.
8 of 38March 2003
This Valentino number at 2003's Academy Awards, plus diamonds from Harry Winston, was peak Bennifer.
9 of 38March 2005
The singer sported a fringed poncho that was actually from her own label, Sweetface, at an album signing in NYC.
10 of 38April 2004
The 17th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Has a beret ever looked better?
11 of 38April 2010
At The Back-Up Plan screening in Miami, JLo proved she'll always be a snake-print woman at heart.
12 of 38April 2018
Super long locks, and a cut-out minidress by David Koma, for the 2018 Billboard Latin Music Awards.
13 of 38May 2002
Borrowing Paris Hilton's signature - a velour tracksuit - at MTV's TRL.
14 of 38May 2013
Going for all-out glam at the 2013's Met Gala wearing a backless gown and gravity-defying quiff.
15 of 38May 2019
JLo was resplendent this silver-fringed frock by her favourite label, Versace, at 2019's Met Gala.
16 of 38June 1997
Prime '90s territory in backless (and spaghetti-strapped) Tom Ford at a fashion benefit for APLA.
17 of 38June 2013
About to be anointed as a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, JLo had a full-skirted moment in Dior.
18 of 38June 2019
To collect her Fashion Icon Award at 2019's CFDA Awards, JLo showed a slice of skin in tomato red (and extravagantly-trained) Ralph Lauren.
19 of 38July 2001
Did JLo start the current headband trend? Probably. Here she is sporting one with a micro rugby shirt circa 2001.
20 of 38July 2015
All eyes were on JLo at her birthday party at 1OAK Southampton wearing peekaboo Bao Tranchi.
21 of 38July 2018
Only JLo could pull off these slouchy denim trouser boots from Versace.
22 of 38August 2004
A floppy hat completed her look at 2004's MTV Music Video Awards.
23 of 38August 2016
A denim jumpsuit, and a slick of red lipstick, for Jennifer Klein's Annual Day of Indulgence.
24 of 38August 2019
For the Hustlers premiere, JLo arrived surprisingly unbedazzled, instead choosing a sleek burgundy ensemble by Zimmermann.
25 of 38September 2000
At MTV's VMAs in an ab-tastic crop top and bandana headscarf.
26 of 38September 2010
In a shredded mini and thigh-high boots for NYFW.
27 of 38Jennifer Lopez
She proved she's still got it - and then some - at Versace's anniversary show in 2019, sporting a reissue of the famous jungle-print dress from 2000. Internet-breaking stuff.
28 of 38October 2000
Pairing a chunky metallic belt with a plunging playsuit at the Vogue Fashion Awards.
29 of 38October 2014
In leopard-print Valentino for 2014's Variety Power of Women event.
30 of 38October 2015
In a houndstooth coat and thick-rimmed opticals at the Rock the Kasbah NYC Premiere.
31 of 38November 2002
In a chain-embellished top and cargo pants at TRL.
32 of 38November 2014
Arriving to The Late Show with David Letterman wearing Paule Ka wide-leg trousers and a criss-cross crop top from Milly.
33 of 38November 2015
More cut-outs for the 2015 American Music Awards in a dress by Charbel Zoe.
34 of 38December 1999
Top of the crops in a bejewelled co-ord and calf-length boots for the Britannia Record of the Year Awards.
35 of 38December 2018
Regal in white and moviestar shades for NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
36 of 38December 2018
Miles of hot pink Giambattista Valli tulle for the Second Act premiere.
37 of 38February 2020
Looking pin-sharp in three-piece Sally Lapoint at Oprah's 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus Tour.
38 of 38February 2020
In spangled, and full-skirted, Valentino for 2020's Independent Spirit Awards.
READ MORE: The Most Underrated Outfits? Beyoncé's Looks From The '90s And Noughties