Explainer: What are babydoll dresses and why are they controversial?

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Uploaded: 2026-06-05T06:03:30.000Z
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STORYGloria Tso

Jun 5, 2026

Olivia Rodrigo wears a babydoll dress on stage last month in Barcelona. Photo: Getty Images / TNS

Celebrity style

Olivia Rodrigo’s recent makeover sees her join the likes of Sabrina Carpenter as a fan of the style – but her choice met fierce pushback from critics

Olivia Rodrigo’s third studio album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, drops on June 12. The American pop princess has been teasing her new era for months, with a fresh aesthetic defined by bubblegum pink and babydoll dresses, a wardrobe choice some have deemed controversial and which has largely overshadowed any other discourse around the album.

Rodrigo, 23, kicked off the next phase of her career by donning an off-the-shoulder blouse and matching bloomer shorts from Chloé’s pre-fall 2026 collection for the music video of the album’s lead single, “Drop Dead”, and unveiled a Target-exclusive version of the album cover in which she wears an Anna Sui babydoll dress.

She wore a similar dress by French label Génération78 for her Spotify Billions Club live performance in Barcelona on May 8. Some social media users slammed her outfit choices as “inappropriate” and “problematic”, going so far as to claim she was presenting herself as a “sexualised child”.

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Explainer: What are babydoll dresses and why are they controversial?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Olivia Rodrigo’s recent makeover sees her join the likes of Sabrina Carpenter as a fan of the style – but her choice met fierce pushback from critics

Olivia Rodrigo’s recent makeover sees her join the likes of Sabrina Carpenter as a fan of the style – but her choice met fierce pushback from critics