Eva Mendes Wore a $6 Dress From Goodwill to Her 1st Premiere
Eva Mendes is an actor and businesswoman who has been a force in the entertainment industry since the early 2000s. Mendes is known for her roles in movies like Ghost Rider, Hitch, and The Women, as well as for her long-term relationship with Ryan Gosling. Mendes is one of those actors who seems to have a natural affinity for style and has been working with the clothing brand New York & Company for years. Although Mendes has access to the best of the best these days, when she was getting her start in Hollywood, she would often rely on thrift shop finds – even wearing a $6 dress to her very first movie premiere.
What $6 dress did Eva Mendes wear to her first red carpet premiere?
Born in Florida in 1974, Eva Mendes initially went to college to study marketing but left her studies behind when a career in acting came knocking on the door. A few of her earliest movie roles included parts in Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror and A Night at the Roxbury. Although she had acted in a few projects throughout 1998 and into 2000, it wasn’t until 2001 that she was invited to attend her first red carpet, at the premiere of the movie The Others.
According to BuzzFeed, Mendes had to scramble to find an outfit that she deemed red-carpet appropriate. The publication notes that she headed to the thrift shop Goodwill, finding a simple white dress for just $6.
What did Eva Mendes say about her thrift shop find?
Mendes went on to experience fame and fortune in the years that followed her experience at the premiere of The Others, but she never forgot her roots. In 2015, she took to Instagram to share a photo of the occasion, writing about how her appreciation for thrift shops.
According to E! Online, Mendes wrote “The debut of my latest @nyandcompany collection has me throwing back to my first red carpet. I did my own hair and makeup and that’s a $6 dress from Goodwill. I’ve always loved a cheap find. Viva thrift shops! #tbt.”
Mendes’ 2001 look still holds up to this day, with the crisp white shirtdress providing an early look at the simple, chic style that Mendes would later adopt for many of her own designs with New York & Company.
Eva Mendes isn’t the only celebrity with a fondness for thrift shop fashion
While Mendes is open about her love of thrift shops and of saving money in general, she’s far from the only celebrity who chooses to shop at thrift stores like Goodwill, whether for vintage finds or to snag good deals on kid’s clothes. The Richest reveals that even superstar singer Janelle Monae likes to shop at thrift stores because she finds unique pieces that aren’t often available at high-end stores. “I like one-of-a-kind pieces. I don’t like everybody walking around in stuff that I have on,” the singer told the Associated Press.
Jada Pinkett Smith is also a known devotee of thrift stores, with The Richest noting that she has been spotted many times with her daughter Willow, combing through thrift stores in Santa Monica to find good deals on unique clothing. Even Julia Roberts, one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, likes to take her kids to thrift stores in New Mexico. Ultimately, there are a lot of reasons why thrift store shopping can be appealing – it’s environmentally friendly, economical, and lots of fun.
