Lexi Minetree Is Reese Witherspoon's Mini-Me in Her 2001 'Legally Blonde' Premiere Dress
What, like it's hard?
Almost a decade ago, Reese Witherspoon celebrated 15 years of Legally Blonde by trying on some of Elle Woods's most iconic outfits. Pulling the Playboy bunny costume out of her archives confirmed she held on to a lot of the costumes. Turns out, Witherspoon saved her red carpet premiere dresses, too. And now, she's ready to pass them down to the next Elle: Lexi Minetree.
At her first Legally Blonde premiere in June 2001, Witherspoon's spaghetti-strap Marc Jacobs dress could've been cut from the same Barbie pink cloth as the Elle-approved carpet. It also looked like something her character would wear on a date with Warner or a Delta-Nu sorority dinner. Clearly, she was a method dressing professional before it became Hollywood's leading red carpet trend.
Reese Witherspoon first wore the Marc Jacobs dress at the 2001 Legally Blonde premiere.
For the first layer, fuchsia-tinted taffeta formed a plunge V-neck, a skintight bodice, and a pleated, knee-sweeping hemline. Then, transparent black netting washed over every element, even the teeny-tiny straps. The tulle trim extended a few inches beyond her little pink dress, but not too far that it hid matching slingback pumps.
In the 2001 cult-classic, Witherspoon's character rarely takes off her Tiffany & Co. Heart Toggle Necklace. The Oscar winner's premiere accessories were more subtle, including petite diamond drop earrings, a bedazzled zebra-print clutch, and bubblegum pink lip gloss fresh from Elle's Bottega Veneta Intrecciato Bag.
Witherspoon looked every bit her on-screen alter ego.
One Broadway musical, sequel, and prequel later, Witherspoon passed the early-aughts baton to Lexi Minetree, who plays Elle as a teenager in the new prequel, Elle. On June 17, the 25-year-old debuted her first style tribute to Witherspoon. Teaming up with stylist Molly Dickson (the brain behind Lana del Rey, Sadie Sink, and Keke Palmer's latest looks) proved she's taking this press tour as seriously as Witherspoon did 25 years ago.
Right away, Minetree and Dickson set a high bar for themselves on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Witherspoon played a part in her first of many Elle presss tour outfits: a vintage Marc Jacobs midi dress. "Thank you for pulling this dress from your archive to kick off the Elle press tour," Dickson wrote to Witherspoon on Instagram Stories.
Lexi Minetree was Witherspoon's twin in the vintage Marc Jacobs dress.
The pink-and-black midi proved Minetree really is Witherspoon's mini-me. She took the recreation to the next level by skipping a necklace, slipping on hot pink peep-toe mules from Steve Madden, and pinning her Hollywood blonde hair in an updo. Even her French manicure looked identical to Witherspoon's back in 2001.
Minetree's only creative liberty was Kate Spade's $158 Mini Icon Tote in black nylon. Witherspoon never wore the New York-based brand in Legally Blonde, but it was in her regular rotation in the mid-2010s.
Minetree sat down with Jimmy Fallon in a full pink outfit, just like Elle would've.
Witherspoon and Minetree have only crossed paths a few times, but that’ll change soon enough. On June 20, Witherspoon will host Elle World in NYC, to “get ready for the season premiere of Elle,” she shared on Instagram.
Fingers crossed the Elles have a joint method serve up their sleeves for Saturday. Maybe next time, they’ll skip the red carpet archives and go straight to Witherspoon’s Legally Blonde costume rack. Her unforgettable courtroom dress deserves the spotlight again, don't you think?
