1997

This was at the Scream 2 premiere. I did NOT remember she participated in that. It premiered the same year she debuted as Buffy. Maybe vampires inspired her coatigan here. This is just such an I'm Going To Stand In Line To Get Into A Bar With My Friends clubbing outfit from this era. How was NOBODY styling the movie's stars? (Of course, maybe someone WAS.)

1997

Dear sweet SMG. Your head was at the gym. Your body was standing in front of your clost wondering what sweater to wear; your feet got bored and put on the nearest shoes and walked you out of there before you were done.

1998

Wait, did she date Jerry O'Connell?!? These flashback deep-dives have been so informative. Also, those glasses came back in again and are already out again, THANK GOD.

1998

The shoes really do end up being one of the first telltale signs of the late 90s/early aughts.

1999

But our girl did not NAB.

2000

Our girl DID do this, though. Yes, we saw it recently in the Cruel Intentions premiere post, but how could I not fold it into this too? Everyone has a skeleton in their closet. Even a Slayer.

2001

I love this, though the shawl looks like such an irritating extra now, doesn't it?

2001

Look how BILLOWY Freddie Prinze Jr.'s clothes were. This isn't even David Silver. It's... LAZY David Silver.

2001

Listen, if your pants need a sash THERE to stay up, then you're doing pants wrong.

2002

Sarah's navel had been waiting and planning and praying for this moment: When she'd step on the red carpet and it could activate the pulley system, getting its star turn at least as it winked in the sun.

2002

If you want ultra-low pants, the answer absolutely is NOT to saw off the entire waistband.

2002 in Vera Wang

This feels like something Vera would have designed for an ice-skating program about Carolyn Bessette.

2003

Early boob tape, it turns out, was just torso belts.

2004

And the SMG's small pants grew two sizes that day.

2004

Whereas... are these even hemmed or did she just roll them up ON THE INSIDE?

2004

What a nice, unexpected rib guard.

2004

And what a horrifying melange of leftovers, as if the styling rack caught fire in only very specific nice places.

2004

That's a little shapelessly froofy, but it's so much better than the previous slide. (She needs a necklace though.)(Also, hi, Jason Behr!)

2006

"Dear Freddie: Having a gas in Cannes, although I think I got pranked. Someone told me the French require a certain percentage of your outfit to be black so I glued some shit onto my shoulders and then... yeah. Gullible."

2006

"P.S. I'm best friends with The Rock now."

2006

If you bind your dress tightly enough at the knees, you can store a bag of chips in the skirt without fear of dropping them.

2006

Fiery! I like it.

2007

Aw, her head is SO CUTE here. Why is she wearing a truly bad curtain?

2007 in Chanel

Chanel has gotten so much worse. I'd be THRILLED to see this from them now.

2007

I hope she kept the shoes, but I'm glad Socialites On Safari didn't succeed.

2008

This is so good, though!

2008

And this! I'm not into the bandage skirts but that giant coat is so chic.

2011

Did I sneak in a still from Ringer here, just to weep over how I miss it and link to my old recaps, and to wish fervently that The CW would rerun it during our time of need? Yes. Yes I did.

2012

People thought we were nuts for liking this, but both of us did then, and I still do. It's unusual and it's fun, and at the time, patterns of any sort felt so few and far between. I was READY, and got a huge kick out of it.

2013

The waist scrunchie was a definite no, however.

2013

She loved a peplum around this time. This one works.

2016

Time jump! If only I looked this cute walking around town. Ever, I mean, not necessarily right now. I do not lament my uncuteness at this time.

2017

Her face says, "Are my shoes TOO interesting with this?" No, SMG, they are perfect. It's not your fault they matched the carpet.

2017

They are good here, too, but those pants need to be groomed.

2019 in Siriano

Yes. YES. See, one reason we ned SMG back on the fancy party circuit is so that Christian can make her a proper GOWN.

2019

These two are apparently extremely good, real, true friends, and it warms my heart.

2019

Ditto with these two. They lost their shared stylist this year, and Shannen and Selma are both so (differently) dealing with ill health, AND then she lost a father figure in Robin Williams and earlier this year Edmund from AMC died and she wrote an Instagram post that cited him as a similar influence in her life. It's hard out there for a SMG sometimes. So here's hoping 2020 brings her, and all of us, a LOT more in the "joy" side of the ledger from here on out, okay, universe? OKAY?!?!? OKAY.

I Am So Glad Sarah Michelle Gellar Was Born

'Twas upon this day, moons ago.