Ariana Grande has always been selectively distinct with her fashion sense, choosing to take the trends and add just a little bit more.. glamour, one might call it.

The Beginning

Remember her early 2000s days? Cat Valentine's bold red streaks and contradictory childlike aesthetic: a noticeable lack of makeup, a innocence reminiscent of fairy princesses, were removed in a heartbeat with the rise of her newer music.

As My Everything debuted, she was seen in a similarly simple style: blocked, solid colors with skirts and small dresses, and the occasional more eye catching pattern. While she occasionally made the bolder choice, such as her inclusion of cat-ears in her wardrobe, during this time, it could easily have been assumed that her stylistic preferences were similar to that of Taylor Swift: kept to a minimum, and only discussed due to the fame of the wearer.

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Entering Focus

However, it was quickly apparent that Ariana Grande had no plans of simply letting her other pursuits speak for her. As Focus was released, featuring Ariana Grande in a soft blond wig and a jaw-droppingly glamorous, sensual aesthetic. Focus's musical merits, however, were lacking, and Grande had no intentions of redefining herself just yet.

The Rebirth

Her rebirth was assumedly during her 3rd studio album. Fashion became a medium of expression during the iconic Dangerous Woman era, featuring Grande in a blond-brown cut with clear bangs, a slightly more intentional and deliberate impression, and most recognizable of all: the latex gloves and the bunny mask. While certainly a bold choice, calling this a true reinvention is debatable: as it would be proved later, a complete stylistic transformation is simply another year for Grande (or another album), something that happens so frequently and so constantly that I find myself liking Grande to a doll, petite and soft-featured, simply dressing up into whatever she happens to need to be at the moment.

This pattern isn't just observable in her clothing. It is shown in her demeanor, in her voice (she is well known for switching accents depending on her current project), in her constantly changing hair color, in her attitude. It's clear that the star actress finds playing a character just another path to express herself. It makes sense, after all, she's been performing for most of her life.

Growing Up

Grande's life experiences, however, are certainly a part of her fashion journey. After the notorious Manchester Arena bombing, of which Grande witnessed all of, Grande returned to the music scene looking decidedly older, and decidedly more personal and mature. Her sexuality was no longer a commodity seemingly exploited but an intimate part of herself that she chose to own, and show off, as she wished.

Her lyrics, too, showed a remarkable amount of growth and emotion (something I believe Grande herself would admit she struggles to express in her work), not in the sense of a reinvention, but rather an evolution, a changed, more serious version of herself. Her dreamy, soft vocals gave way to lush dresses, costume-like performance wear, and glamorous, wholly original aesthetics. This, I believe, marks the true turn of Grande from a typical rising celebrity to a person with a much better of sense of who (and where) she is.

So when tragedy struck again in Grande's life, this time in the death of her beloved ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller, Grande expressed this with style. Her cover for her groundbreaking album thank u, next features her lying, ponytail sprawled as if underwater, on a pastel pink background, her black gratified chest and heavy eyeliner offsetting the supposed lightheartedness of the piece. The album's name sprayed across her chest, her body seems otherworldly, almost dead or revived.

The shadow, too, adds to this feeling, creates a disconnected sensation as the dark shadow could never have been caused by the sunny background of the piece. It creates a deep sense of.. if not grief, a dead, anamatronic feeling.

Into Positions

So picture our gratitude when we discovered she had found love and happiness with someone new. (Disregard, for a second, how it ended.) She seemed almost unrecognizably joyful, while certainly not her early twenties self. She clearly carried a reflective, introspective ability she did not before, one that she expanded on clearly in her R&B influenced, honeymoon-vibes album Positions. Her style, too, seemed to have switched once again, into one less reliant on makeup and more reliant on styling, more than ever reminiscent of a Barbie switching outfits.

There is a natural sense of happiness about her, a joy as if her trying on clothes paralleled her trying on a different futures. For someone seemingly lost for many years, this newfound hope is refreshing and unexpected. So, with no further ado, let's break down the looks of this era.

1. The Green Miniskirt and Crop Top

This one lives in my dreams as an example of what an already cute, simple piece can do with the right styling. I'll get to the hair in a little bit (the hair deserves it's own section), but if I'm being honest, this is one of my favorite outfits Grande has ever worn. Balancing the simple and the fancy takes effort, as does incorperating a fantasy into the mix, something Grande did throughout this era. (Who could blame her, getting married and looking forward to her new life?) The intentionally shaped cutout piece of the top implies an elegance to it, one that she capitalizes on through her hair (oops, can't not talk about it), yet the piece itself is so simple and small it looks as if just about anybody could have sewn it.

Grande balences her aspirations and dreams as well as her fantasies of herself as a simple wife and belonging to a simple, peaceful family of her own. The soft, muted green also provides a vintage, colorful-yet-old-timey-simple appeal.

2. The Hairstyling and Earrings

Dan!. 1960s Dan!. Reminiscent of sx symbol and TV bombshell Bridget Bardot, this hairstyle is absolutely gorgeous: elegant, dollike, and just the right amount of over-the-top. Grande's claiming over her sexuality is a huge part of this album, so the refrence to Bardot fits.

"Don't need permission, made my decision to test my limits," Grande famously vocalized. And she sure as f** tested her limits here.

Meanwhile, the chunky, flower shaped earrings are a prime pattern of the 60s, cutesy and vintage while maintaining the first signs of gender-neutrality, of simplicity rather than lavishness. It in fact offsets the elegance and embellishment of the headband, a technique Grande also uses in several other outfits, balencing a complex hairdo with simple, chunky stud earrings. With this accessory, Grande cements the nostalgic appeal of the work.

3. The Pink Nightgown (Alexia Maria)

A deceptively simple nightgown, despite being relatively unseen, this dress is one of the first things I think about when I think of the Position's era. Grande's stylists truly worked a miracle here, managing to make a thick satin headband, dangling earrings, and a hairspray-heavy Bridget Bardot hairdo look effortless and intimate, almost as if you are barging in on a private moment, and sexy without showing anything at all.

Utilizing a soft focus filter reminiscent of Polaroid cameras in the 70s and 80s, used for family pictures and ordinary joys with family, Grande's look has the nostalgic feel consistent in this era.

4. The Filters

When Positions (the single) dropped, I, among many, found myself swarming to Reddit and other Ari platforms to comment on the gorgeousness of the cover art. The black and white filter was so soft it almost looked like watercolor, giving the impression that Grande had been carved from stone or porcelain, yet almost blends into the background.

Reminiscent of sepia, but with a cooler tone, the filter gives the impression of nostalgia, while simultaneously adding a twist to it, a reinvention if you will- a major theme of this album's visuals. This is the main filter used in the Positions era, and the one you're most likely to think of.

So when the cover art for the Positions album aired, we were all a little shocked. Grande introduces a second filter, one that maintains the creamy, marblesque features of the previous one but adds a pastel, technicolor feel. One that more clearly seems to embody renovation and futurism.

The third and final filter used through this era is the soft focus filter. This one has a blurry, nostalgic, intimate air, almost as if you're barging on a family Polaroid or old photos of your youth. It gives a kind of joy visible through the screen.

5. The Presidential Era

While this one personally isn't my favorite, it's hard to look through the Position's era without mentioning the constant stream of berets, coats, and business suits Grande is seen in. Grande openly channels the 1960s, (somehow reminding me of Audrey Hepburn?) with an elegance and sophistication much heavier than on the rest of the album's looks, glaringly evocative of Coco Chanel with her pearl necklaces and her berets. Grande seems to believe that maintaining a vintage air is all it takes to maintain cohesiveness, cosplaying as the president during the Position's music video.

As a long time outspoken feminist, Grande was perhaps attempting to maintain her dedication to her career, or to comment on balance between familial and professional livelihood for women, but the semi-era is more resonant of a shallow attempt at feminism, one almost designed using a surface-level algorithm to obtain likes and praise without making any kind of real statement. Jumping into the useless cliche of the ladyboss, girl-power trope, there was clearly zero thought put into the making of the film. Posing seductively while signing papers and dressing up like a Barbie presidents doll may be entertaining, but it has absolutely no real value in social commentary- Grande seems to be more interested in uplifting herself during the film, boasting about her apparent ability to run a country, please her husband, and look pretty with absolutely no effort. The women-can-have-it-all is a tired stereotype that does nothing but further unrealistic expectations for women.

But I'm getting off topic here. While the outfits of the music video certainly did not fit into the theme, they were all individually quite beautiful. Here are my favorite pieces (some not from the video) that ALMOST made me question my opinions about this semiera.

• The entire oval office fit was chefs kiss
• The Lavin Peplum Jacket
• The Vintage Pinko
• The Yellow Two-Piece
• The Oversized White Coat and Headband
• Whatever This Was

Partial Slay: The Gucci Knit Mini Dress

6. The Anomalies

There were some pieces from this era that.. just aren't describable. This leather minidress and giant headphones combination is one of them. There's something oddly futuristic yet retro (like I said, a pretty big theme in this album) about many of the looks from this section, something that cultimated in the infamous 34+35 music video.. that I really don't think all of you are mature enough to understand.

Grande maintains her dollike stature and sexualized innocence, all while balancing the extravagant and the effortless. Don't ask me- you'd literally have to be Grande's stylist to figure out this semiera, so all I'm going to say is nice work, and, see you later!

7. The Tattoo

While certainly not the point of this era, the inclusion of her gorgeous tattoos in the photoshoot was such a nice touch that I just HAD to mention it! The hand tattoos balanced simplicity and elegance so easily it seemed to be made just for the photoshoot, while the cursive lining on her rib helped with the dollike, yet, anti-expectations feel.

Overall, I would say this era was definitely a slay- the 10/10 kind! While Grande certainly made some mistakes, I'm a sucker for the dollike aesthetic she embodies her, and I love that maintained her authentic self, while switching outfits and aesthetics. Let me know in the comments what you think! See you later!