We need to talk about the outfits Sabrina Carpenter wore in her Netflix Christmas special
The queen of inuendo brought nonsense to Netflix this year — and a nonstop stream of iconic holiday looks.
I'm vocal about my adoration of Sabrina Carpenter — not only for her series of infuriatingly catchy hits that have secured her as one of the most revered pop girlies of the moment, but also because she's a fashion role model for short girls everywhere.
I mean, let’s be real: it’s no small feat (pun intended) to be a 5’1” fashionista in a world where designer clothes are tailored for 6’5” runway models with ballerina frames. Yet Sabrina consistently nails it.
So it came as no surprise that she arrived to the premiere her new special, A Nonsense Christmas, in vintage Chanel.
The special aired this weekend after a whirlwind week for Carpenter. News of her split with yearlong boo Barry Keoghan has swirled into cheating rumors that have largely turned the internet against the Irish heartthrob of Saltburn fame. Amidst all the drama, her special felt like a triumphant, festive celebration.
Carpenter has conquered Christmas music, with original hits like "buy me presents" and "cindy lou who" from her 2023 album, Fruitcake. But she also reigns when it comes to her holiday looks. Case in point: who could forget the icy blue outfit from last year’s "santa doesn’t know you like i do" video, which single-handedly launched my fuzzy earmuff obsession?
If A Nonsense Christmas was a festive revue of Sabrina's holiday hits, it was also stunning showcase of her stylists' talents when it comes to outfitting America's favorite pocket-sized pop star. The special featured 12 outfits that only became more dazzling throughout the night.
Let's start with her opening number, "buy me presents," which featured her grooving above the studio audience in a breathtaking red-pink floor-length gown with opera gloves and diamond accents. Sabrina shimmered atop a cake-shaped stage surrounded by tuxedo-clad dancers, channeling old Hollywood glamour with Monroe-level class.
One quick-change later and Carpenter went straight into a witty welcome parody of "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" in a feather-fringe-trimmed red minidress. According to Femestella, it was an archival 1950s Christmas costume from London's West End from Annie's Ibiza.
But the real show-stopper of the special's first 10 minutes had to be the plunging vintage Bob Mackie sequin and feather costume Carpenter wore in her rendition of "This Christmas" with special guest Tyla — who dropped jaws on her own wrapped like a present in an outfit of red ribbon and bows.
Sabrina revived her fluffy "santa doesn't know you like i do" look in a cloud-soft fur coat for her solo performance of the song afterwards. The songs were then sandwiched between short, holiday-themed comedy sketches. Carpenter wore an adorable blue buttoned cardigan and a plaid bubble skirt that almost made me think twice about disliking bubble skirts for a skit involving suspicion that perhaps her boyfriend, Nick, could actually be Santa Claus. The fringe looks continued in Sabrina's "Santa Baby" duet with Shania Twain with a black-and-silver halter mini.
Let's not forget that all of these looks were paired with Sabrina's signature towering platform heels that add as much length as possible between her feet and hips — short girl fashion 101.
For the next comedy sketch, Sabrina wore possibly the most wholesome outfit of the evening: a blue snowflake sweater turtleneck over a black skirt and tights for her heavily autotuned skit featuring SNL alum Kyle Mooney, but went straight back to sexy in a pink teddy with her next duet of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" with Kali Uchis.
Right into another skit featuring Quinta Brunson and Cara Delevinge, Carpenter wore another adorable halter mini dress with tulle peeking out of the bottom.
The next duet, a living room karaoke session with Chappell Roan, was easily the one I personally anticipated the most out of the night. Both singers donned stunning bejeweled velvet jade sets and fur coats. Obsessed.
Carpenter's next outfit, which was notably "for the gays," was a purple chiffon gown that flowed in the artificial wind as she sat at the piano for a performance of "cindy lou who."
Finally, for the closing number "A Nonsense Christmas," Carpenter donned a red sequin one-piece that she wore with tights and fur-trimmed boots and gloves to bring the house down.
Sabrina Carpenter has proven she’s more than a pop icon — she’s the queen of holiday aesthetics. From the music to the fashion, A Nonsense Christmas was the festive gift we didn’t know we needed.
