Sabrina Carpenter Does 'Clueless' Cosplay in a Plaid Skirt Suit

The pop star is pulling a Cher Horowitz on a trip to Paris.

sabrina carpenter
(Image credit: Backgrid)

Pop's newest It-Girlie is playing dress-up. Sabrina Carpenter was spotted out and about in Paris on Tuesday, June 11, wearing a skirt suit a la Clueless. But instead of Cher Horowitz's yellow-and black-plaid set, Carpenter opted for white-and-ink tweed with frayed edges and traded Horowitz's kilt style for pleats.

Carpenter is mainly recognized for her on-stage fashion, a cross somewhere between pin-up model, burlesque dancer, and Gen Z e-girl. She's a big fan of mini skirts, corsets, and generally flirty feminine styles, by a mix of up-and-coming designers like Frolov and fashion month staples like Versace with a dash of relatability from brands like Victoria's Secret. The skirt suit, whose tags haven't been revealed by stylists Jason Bolden or Ron Hartleben, is a definite departure from her typical look book. But it makes sense as a next step for the singer, toward something a little more polished and preppy.

The pop star wore her matching skirt suit set over top a crisp white button-up. Carpenter's long locks, courtesy of her hairstylist Scott King, were blown out and teased into bouncy, Hollywood bombshell mane.

sabrina carpenter

Sabrina Carpenter pulls a Cher Horowitz in Paris.

(Image credit: Backgrid)

She's not the only celebrity putting her spin on the office-core trend. Just this week, actress Ayo Edebiri wore a turquoise shorts suit, aka trousers cropped into Bermuda shorts and an oversized blazer. Over the past few months, Zendaya has worn both a vintage neon green pencil skirt suit set by Mugler and custom white Calvin Klein skirt suit with nothing but a Bulgari snake necklace underneath her blazer.

Zendaya wears a green mugler suit leaving Good Morning American on Tuesday April 23

Zendaya tried a skirt suit on the Challengers tour, a vintage Mugler pull from stylist Law Roach.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Businesswear is currently celebrities' favorite way to, well, take care of business. Kendall Jenner suited up in a monochromatic olive outfit, a double-breasted blazer paired with pleated trousers. Beyoncé introduced the business cowboy look earlier this year, channeling a ranch-owning millionaire magnate in khaki-colored Ferragamo suit and matching ten-gallon hat. Rihanna put a David Byrne in Stop Making Sense twist on workwear through an ultra-baggy tailored jacket. And we can't forget Gigi Hadid, who wore not one, but two suit sets over the course of one day.

Kendall Jenner stands in front of a step and repeat wearing an olive suit

Kendall Jenner hasn't yet tried the skirt suit, but she has worn traditional suiting.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Sabrina Carpenter is trying her version of the existing trend, shirking the more masculine menswear angle and giving the classic suit a girly makeover. It's fitting with the micro-mini silhouettes she wears in her recent "Please Please Please" music video, alongside Prada's color-changing lip balm.

The "Espresso" singer began plotting her street style takeover more than six years ago. In a 2018 interview with Glamour, Carpenter said she looks to other pop icons for outfit inspiration. "I never leave my house [dressed like] Rihanna, but I strive to be that kind of bold."

Shop Skirt Suits Inspired by Sabrina Carpenter

Julia Gray
Contributor

Julia Gray is a contributing fashion writer at Marie Claire, where she covers runway trends, celebrity style, and shopping. In her six years as a journalist, Julia’s reporting has ranged across style, music, Internet culture, art, retail, tech, and more. In addition to Marie Claire, Julia writes for outlets like the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Ringer, New York Magazine, Pitchfork, Nylon, and Vice, among others. Julia's fashion reporting is led by curiosity. Julia is not only interested in critiquing and covering pop culture, but in understanding what our pop culture says about how we live and modern values. When she’s not writing, Julia hosts a podcast called Girls Room, where she and her co-host revisit shows like Girls and Gossip Girl from the beginning with guests like comedian Cat Cohen and writer Hunter Harris. Girls Room was recently cited in the New York Times.