Kelly Ripa's Most Out-Of-Date Outfits

She's been in the spotlight since kicking off the '90s with her first appearance on "All My Children," so Kelly Ripa has stepped out in too many head-turning outfits to count. She can be a trendsetter whose fresh, modern looks quickly sell out online, but she's also not afraid to look like a blast from the past. In fact, she might get buried in an outdated outfit.

On a 2024 episode of "Live with Kelly & Mark," Ripa revealed the morbid way she's prepared for her funeral. According to the talk show host, she has already chosen the last look she'll ever wear because she's fearful that her husband, Mark Consuelos, might make good on his threat to dress her in something "crazy" when she's laid to rest. "Let me remind you where the outfit hangs. It is labeled. ... It's a Dolce & Gabbana black dress," she told Consuelos (via People). Of course, Ripa could remain in the land of the living for several more decades, so isn't she worried about the dress looking démodé when she does depart this world? Well, according to the modern-day Morticia Addams, the designer piece was already retro when she picked it out. "It's 10 years old. It's elegant, it's gorgeous," she said.

In her defense, a black dress can be timeless, and trends are cyclical. This is why Ripa being a clothes hoarder isn't a bad thing — some of the garments she's held onto for decades might now be the vintage pieces that stylish Zoomers scour thrift shops for. But then there are the fashion fossils that need to remain buried — and the ensembles that just look like they're from a bygone era. 

Just days before Halloween in October 2024, Kelly Ripa attended the opening night of "Sunset BLVD" on Broadway in a dress that would have worked as part of a costume. Her '80s prom queen and Madonna mashup was borderline wicked, thanks to the black and green color combo. You can even find vintage '80s prom dresses for sale online that feature similar shiny green skirts and basque waists.

It was during the same era that Madonna popularized turning lacy lingerie into racy tops. The sheer bodice of Ripa's Rodarte gown definitely resembled the underwear that the Material Girl used to wear as outerwear back in the day, but with even less material. Lingerie-inspired designs have become a recurring fashion theme since Madonna popularized the look, but Ripa was doing it all wrong for 2024. 

The trend then was to style boudoir wear with something unexpected — think Dua Lipa rocking a red lace baby doll with a burgundy leather jacket. And if Ripa wanted to play with one of Madonna's favorite styles, she should have found inspo in the singer's famous "Like a Virgin" bridal look, as white lace was having a moment at the time. Ripa could have even tossed a moto jacket over her decades-old $200 wedding dress. Unfortunately, her take on visible lingerie looked a little like something a sorceress would wear in a cheap knockoff of a Disney fairytale movie (but at least she managed to snag Prince Charming's coat at some point before getting vanquished by him in the final act).

She had style, she had flair, she was there — and by "there," we mean back in the '90s. While interviewing late "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve's look-alike son Will Reeve in 2025, Kelly Ripa was clad in a dress that could have come from the wardrobe department of "The Nanny." On the beloved sitcom, which ran from 1993 to 1999, Fran Drescher played Fran Fine, the "flashy girl from Flushing" who did not tone down her wardrobe when she went from selling makeup door-to-door to caring for the children of a blue-blooded Broadway producer.

Fran wore a lot of animal print on the show, including a black coat with oversized metallic buttons, a faux fur leopard-print collar, and matching cuffs. The garment actually made an appearance in the series premiere when Fran first met her employer, Mr. Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy). As you can see, it was a kindred spirit of Ripa's leopard-trimmed LBD pictured above. However, while Fran's look was a JCPenney original, Ripa's dress was a Dolce & Gabbana design with a price tag of over $2,000. Fran's hourly wage on the show was just $6, which means it would have taken her about two months of keeping those kids smiling before she earned enough to afford Ripa's designer frock. Ripa can slam '90s fashion all she wants, but her leopard look proves that the era's aesthetic still has its claws in her. 

After going on a rant about how much she can't stand '90s fashion during a 2023 episode of "Live with Kelly and Mark," Kelly Ripa told viewers which era she is fond of. "I like the '70s. I like a little sequin," she said (via Decider). But at the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame Awards Anniversary Gala in 2019, her look harkened back even further — and it featured more than a few sequins. The all-over sparkle, long sleeves, and high slit were giving Rita Hayworth or Marlene Dietrich, but she ruined what could have been a glamorous look with an accessory straight out of the 2000s: a wide sash belt (hey, at least it wasn't a necktie).

Ripa's gown did feature one design element that originated in the '70s, but the wrap dress has never really gone out of style since Diane von Furstenberg introduced it to the fashion world. Unfortunately, Ripa's styling prevented her outfit from having that same enduring quality. Her shoes also looked rather retro (it's easy to imagine Ginger Rogers cutting a rug in the two-tone T-straps with slightly rounded toes), but the silver clashed with the dark color scheme of the rest of her outfit. Speaking of which, bright colors just seem to suit Ripa better. For something that popped against her pale, pink-tinged skin, perhaps she should have taken a page from Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and rocked a sequined scarlet dress instead.

In the '90s, Gwen Stefani perfectly captured how distressing it can be to navigate the world while female in her 1995 hit "Just a Girl." One of those nagging worries that some women have about their wardrobe is their bra being exposed in some way, whether it's by being visible through their clothing or a bra strap showing. Then came Stefani, who defiantly wore a black bra underneath a white tank top in her female empowerment anthem's music video and elsewhere. Suddenly, visible bras weren't just acceptable but a trend.

By 2017, Stefani's fashion statement was rather stale. However, at an ovarian cancer research benefit, Ripa tried giving it her own spin by wearing a black bra underneath an oversized white tee with dolman sleeves and a wide V-neck. She ventured into the aughts below the waist; skirts with colorful stripes were one of the era's trends (often seen with an asymmetrical hemline). 

Unfortunately, Ripa didn't manage to successfully meld the punk rock and preppy sartorial genres because everything appeared to be on a downward trajectory. Her shirt's wide neckline was sliding off one shoulder, and her sparkly skirt appeared to be made from a heavy material that was weighing her down (it was even dragging on the ground behind her). A miniskirt with the same rainbow stripes and a pair of cute wedge sandals would have lightened her load and improved the look.

Kelly Ripa wasn't keeping up with the Kardashians sartorially in 2017. That year, skirts got flouncier, shoulders got wider, and belts got bigger. Meanwhile, Ripa was still wearing clingy bodycon dresses like those Kim Kardashian has accumulated by the boatload. She also made the unfortunate mistake of accessorizing one with a very '90s leather belt that was totally unnecessary.

Five years before Ripa rocked a figure-hugging lace dress to Logo TV's "Fire Island" Premiere Party, Kardashian wore a similar red number on "Live with Kelly." Hers hit below the knee and had a low, square neckline, while Ripa's was a little more matronly — more momager than internet-breaking sex symbol. In fact, Kris Jenner even wore a similar Valentino dress in 2013.

While Jenner and Kardashian showed two different generations how figure-flattering a lace bodycon dress can be, Ripa hopped on the trend a bit too late. Half a decade might not seem that long, but Ripa herself has realized how quickly an outfit can become passé. While discussing some of her most regrettable looks on "Live with Kelly & Michael" in 2015, she admitted, "Now, when I look at pictures of me from five years ago. I think I look like a fool. So, it's just a sign of the times and how much you change over the years fashion-wise."

Butterflies were fluttering about everywhere in the '90s and early 2000s, from the sides of zigzag parts in pink-streaked hair to the fronts of baby tees and legs of flared jeans. They even took up more permanent residence above whale tails on many lower backs. None of the era's trends were more whimsical or fun, and they've always seemed primed to come back in a big way someday, but Kelly Ripa failed to usher in the butterfly's triumphant return with the dark and dreary Carolina Herrera dress she wore to the 89th Annual Academy Awards in 2019.

Sadly, the butterfly appliques scattered on the midnight blue gown looked like lifeless, tacked-on afterthoughts unworthy of adorning the wall at a late '90s prom with an enchanted forest theme. If Ripa wanted to revisit the era when this beloved bug was ubiquitous, she should have drawn inspiration from butterfly queen Mariah Carey and given us a fresh take on the singer's iconic beaded butterfly top — it would make a great naked dress. We also would have accepted a crown of glittery butterflies with flapping wings or some colorful temporary butterfly tattoos like those Salma Hayek sported at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. Sure, these nostalgic nods to famous looks could have still felt outmoded, but at least they wouldn't have sapped the joy out of the trend.

Does the style of skirt here look familiar? If you grew up watching young stars sing and act on the Disney Channel in the 2000s and early 2010s, you likely saw multiple variants of it. However, it was usually part of an outfit with far more layers; those tiers on Kelly Ripa's skirt wouldn't come close to being enough foofaraw to satisfy Ashley Tisdale, who never encountered an accessory she wouldn't add to her outfit back in the day. As for "Shake It Up" star Zendaya, she once rocked a similar pink skirt with a bedazzled top, cropped denim vest, metallic leggings, polka-dot socks, and sparkly Chucks. 

The Disney starlets' outfits were always flashy, and they'd definitely consider the navy blue minidress that Ripa wore to a 2014 QVC event too basic. However, she actually might have benefited from ditching her most noticeable accessory: the limp white ribbon tied around her waist. Those random pink beads on her necklace were also a tad distracting and totally something that would be in Lizzie McGuire's or Sharpay Evans' jewelry box. 

Perhaps Ripa was just trying to be a cool mom by belatedly rocking something the kids had been into; her daughter, Lola Consuelos, would have been part of the Disney Channel's tweenage target audience at the time, after all. But Ripa eventually learned that dressing to impress a tween or teen as a mom is an exercise in futility. In a 2019 People interview, she revealed how Consuelos feels about her style, saying, "She just feels that what I wear is embarrassing and awful."

In 2025, Kelly Ripa told People her miniskirt days were in the rearview mirror, but she was still rocking the style in 2014 when she was photographed out in NYC with her husband. Like Jessica Simpson, Ripa has dropped a few jaws by flashing her toned legs, and those cork wedges she's pictured wearing above are definitely something Simpson would have worn during her Daisy Duke and "Newlyweds" days, especially with the perforated leather that gives them a slight country vibe. Ripa was doing her part to help the style outlast Simpson and Nick Lachey's four-year-long marriage and even shorter stint as reality show stars, but pairing the shoes with another throwback trend from the early 2000s was keeping her feet rooted firmly in the past.

That ruffled miniskirt with a smocked waist was a higher-waisted, less flimsy version of those Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie wore while filming "The Simple Life." The bug-eye shades and long necklace were two more Y2K trends that did nothing to elevate Ripa's outfit and bring it out of the era of blinged-out flip phones and Blingee art; all she was missing was a Von Dutch trucker hat, purse dog, and lace-trimmed cami.

Kelly Ripa was doing Barbiecore months before the "Barbie" movie's release in 2023, but the color of the dress she wore to Variety's Power of Women event was really all it had in common with the doll's fun fashions. Her footwear is where Ripa tried to go for a more playful vibe, but her shoes were nowhere near as pointy as Barbie's plastic pumps — and they looked more like they belonged on the feet of a teen bopping along to the 2000 Dream hit "He Loves U Not" on their Discman than in the closet of Barbie's dream home.

Minus the random pearls on the side, Ripa's glittery silver and black Mary Janes could have been plucked from the pages of an aughts-era Alloy catalog's "Shooz" section or Seventeen magazine issue, where you'd see them sparkling next to some large text reading, "Mary Janes addiction." But no self-respecting teenage owner of said glossy magazine would be caught dead in a dress with such a dowdy silhouette back in the decade when Cher Horowitz made metallic Mary Janes and high hemlines hella fly. (As if!) Take away its Barbie-pink hue, and it wouldn't have looked out of place in the wardrobe of said teen's mom. Perhaps Ripa should have taken a page from Cher and gone with yellow plaid instead; it would have made more of a statement and made better use of all that fabric she's drowning in.

For her son Joaquin Consuelos' 2017 graduation, Kelly Ripa threw together two '90s wardrobe staples: a cardigan and a floral-print maxi dress. The combo was popular enough that it made appearances on several TV series during the decade, and it kept popping up into the next millennium. Tori Spelling gave the soft, hyper-feminine look a youthful makeover on "Beverly Hills, 90210" by making her blue ditsy print dress a mini, while Jennifer Aniston paired a pink cardigan with a patterned purple slip dress on "Friends."

Unfortunately for Ripa, cardigans and floral dresses have also become go-to pieces for many teachers, so she risked being mistaken for a school staff member at her son's graduation. The dark colors also didn't complement her buttery blond hair and vibrant skin, which had that warm beach bunny glow. And while florals were having a moment in 2017, her black dress's microprint wasn't what was being sent down the runway; it was all about bigger prints in vivid colors. Super bright colors were also big at the time, so she could have swapped her green cardigan with a cropped hot pink blazer and chosen a dress with a large floral print that incorporated the color, along with other bold hues.

The humble white tank was once nothing more than an undershirt for men, but it eventually became the star of the show — and it's been seen on the bods of many a star. As previously mentioned, Gwen Stefani was a fan back in the day, and "My Humps" hitmaker Fergie was wearing one in 2005 when she joined the list of celebrities who have peed their pants. Avril Lavigne also sported the look for her 2002 "Complicated" music video. In the sage words of the "Sk8tr Boi" singer, "It's all been done before."

While you could argue that the tank has proven that it has staying power, Kelly Ripa's styling in the 2014 photo above is very late '90s or early 2000s, thanks to her stacked chunky necklaces and matching white pants. You might remember seeing the all-white look on Jennifer Lopez and the members of Destiny's Child, as well as in the Backstreet Boys' music video for "I Want It That Way." 

Ripa was also color-coordinating her outfit with that of her significant other, another move that is often associated with the boy band era (Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears will never live down their matching all-denim ensembles). If Ripa ditched the accessories and swapped her pants for denim cutoffs, her outfit would have looked a little more effortless and a lot less dated.