What almost every Bachelorette has worn on night one of 'The Bachelorette'
Gabbi Shaw
- Season 21 of "The Bachelorette" began on Monday.
- In honor of the new season, we found what other "Bachelorette" stars wore on their first nights.
It's summer, which means it's once again time to head over to the Bachelor Mansion and watch the latest Bachelorette fall in love on reality TV.
For "The Bachelorette," one of the most important looks of the season is the night-one look. It's both the lead's first impression with her potential suitors and with the world as they watch her begin her journey to find love.
In recent years, "Bachelorette" leads have worn custom beaded dresses that cost upwards of $10,000, usually designed by Randi Rahm.
But the night-one gowns weren't always red-carpet worthy.
Here's how the style of "The Bachelorette" has evolved across 21 seasons.
Trista (then) Rehn was our very first "Bachelorette" star. Her night-one look is much more understated than they would soon become.
The inaugural "Bachelorette" season premiered on January 8, 2003. Rehn had initially appeared on the first season of "The Bachelor," vying for Alex Michel's heart in March 2002. Rehn was the runner-up.
Rehn found her soulmate on the show in Ryan Sutter. The two are still married and have two kids, Max and Blakesley.
Meredith Phillips was the star of the second season. Her dress was a little more glamorous with the glittering detailing on the back.
Phillips' season premiered in January 2004. She placed third on Bob Guiney's season of "The Bachelor" back in November 2003.
Phillips got engaged at the end of the show to Ian McKee, but they broke up a year after the finale aired, according to People.
DeAnna Pappas' dress was more daring than her predecessors' dresses. She wore a plunging neckline.
After a three-year break, "The Bachelorette" returned in 2008 for season four with Pappas, one of the two final contestants who were rejected by Brad Womack. Womack was left with two women and didn't choose either one.
She got engaged to Jesse Csincsak but the two broke up soon after the finale aired, reported People. They both ultimately found love within Bachelor Nation, however. Pappas married Stephen Stagliano, whose twin brother Michael appeared on Jillian Harris's season. Csinscak is married to Ann Lueders, who was eliminated on night one of Jason Mesnick's season.
Jillian Harris' dress on her first night as the lead was all about the back.
Harris was the fifth woman to take up the mantle in May 2009 after coming in third on Jason Mesnick's season. Notably, she was the first non-American to become a lead — she was born and raised in Alberta, Canada.
Harris chose Ed Swiderski, who'd actually left mid-season and returned, and the two were engaged for about a year before breaking up, reported Us Weekly.
Ali Fedotowsky chose a simple black gown and, as a result, blended in with her suitors. It's now easy to understand why leads are decked out in sequins.
Fedotowsky won our hearts when she made the tough decision to leave Jake Pavelka's season because of her career. She probably dodged a bullet anyway — Pavelka's not remembered fondly by Bachelor Nation.
She went on to get engaged to Roberto Martinez, but according to People, the two only lasted a year.
Ashley Hebert rocked a jewel-encrusted dress on the first night of her season — it's a trend that lives on to this day.
Hebert came in third on Brad Womack's more successful second season — more on that later. She had to deal with all-time villain Bentley, but eventually got her happy ending with JP Rosenbaum.
The couple married and had two children together, Fordham and Essex. But in October 2020, they announced they were splitting up after eight years of marriage.
The color of Emily Maynard's dress also became a popular choice among the leading ladies.
Maynard actually won the season of "The Bachelor" she appeared on. She was engaged to Brad Womack for a few months before breaking it off.
Her season was filmed in her hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, because she didn't want to leave her daughter for months at a time as she was filming.
Maynard chose Jef Holm as her winner, but the two broke up shortly after filming after a cheating scandal.
Desiree Hartsock wore a metallic silver dress.
Hartsock came in fourth on Sean Lowe's season of "The Bachelor." Luckily, it worked out for both of them. Lowe is still with his winner, Catherine Giudici, and Hartsock married her season's winner, Chris Siegfried, in 2015, according to ABC. Hartsock gave birth to their second baby, Zander, in January 2019.
Andi Dorfman's dress was more ornate than any other "Bachelorette" star's.
We'd expect nothing less from Dorfman, who broke from "Bachelorette" tradition and dumped Juan Pablo Galavis on his season of "The Bachelor" because she simply wasn't feeling it.
Dorfman's relationship with her winner, Josh Murray, only lasted a few months before ending. He went on to appear on "Bachelor in Paradise" and had another devastating breakup.
Kaitlyn Bristowe and Britt Nilsson wore black and white dresses, respectively. We can't help but feel that their color choices were intentional — Nilsson was the traditional America's sweetheart, while Bristowe was a bit edgier.
Both Nilsson and Bristowe were chosen to be "The Bachelorette" for one night only in season 11. The men were then asked to vote for who they wanted to find love with, and Nilsson left the show brokenhearted while Bristowe went on her journey to find love.
Bristowe stayed with her winner, Shawn Booth, for three years before breaking up in 2018. She then dated another member of Bachelor Nation, Jason Tartick, for four years before breaking off their engagement in August 2023.
JoJo Fletcher combined the shade of Emily Maynard's dress and the sparkles of Ashley Hebert's for her night one look.
Fletcher won over Bachelor Nation when she left Ben Higgins' season brokenhearted after he committed a cardinal sin in Bachelor Nation: He told the final two women that he was in love with both of them.
Thankfully, it all worked out for Fletcher. She tied the knot with her season's winner, Jordan Rodgers, in May 2022, and the two have worked on many projects together, like a YouTube show and a dating show.
Rachel Lindsay's patterned white dress looked beautiful — and yes, it sparkled.
Lindsay was announced as "The Bachelorette" before she had even been eliminated from Nick Viall's season, but she eventually went on to place third.
As the first Black "Bachelorette" star, Lindsay experienced a lot of pressure but handled it extremely well. She temporarily found her happy ending with Bryan Abasolo, whom she married in August 2019 — but Abasolo filed for divorce in January 2024, reported People.
Becca Kufrin also chose a white, sparkly gown.
Kufrin might have been the Bachelorette with the biggest fanbase behind her. After an excruciating on-camera breakup with Arie Luyendyk, people all over the country were sending Kufrin money for wine on Venmo.
She got something even better than alcohol money, though — she became the next "Bachelorette" star to find love with her winner. Kufrin and her final contestant, the controversial Garrett Yrigoyen, were engaged for two years before breaking up in September 2020.
She's now married to Thomas Jacobs, who she met during "Paradise" in 2021. They have a son together.
Hannah Brown's sparkly dress was on trend with "The Bachelorette," but also had a dramatic slit that was very much in line with "Hannah Beast."
Alabama Hannah's journey for love began on May 13, 2019 — here's what this former pageant queen wore on her big night.
While Brown had one of the most beloved arcs in "Bachelor" history, going from a timid contestant on Colton Underwood's season to triumphantly proclaiming that she has had sex, and Jesus still loves her, her season unfortunately ended in heartbreak.
She got engaged to Jed Wyatt, only to find out he basically still had a girlfriend back home. The two lasted a few weeks before calling it off. She now has a fiancé from outside the franchise, Adam Woolard.
Clare Crawley kicked off season 16 of "The Bachelorette" in this funky sequined gown on October 13, 2020.
Crawley also opted for a sequined dress with a thigh-high slit, proving that if something's not broke, don't fix it. However, she wasn't Bachelorette for long, as she exited the show to be with Dale Moss.
Moss and Crawley announced their break-up in January 2021, but it was short-lived. They were spotted together a few months later and then broke up yet again in October.
Crawley is now married to someone outside the franchise, Bryan Dawkins.
Tayshia Adams officially took over as the Bachelorette in November 2020, wearing this beautiful bronze dress.
After Crawley rode off into the sunset with Moss, Adams was called in to replace her as Bachelorette No. 17 — and she looked every bit the part.
She ended her season engaged to Zac Clark, but the two split in November 2021. after a year of dating, reported Page Six.
Katie Thurston opted for a pop of color, something we rarely see from a night one look, for her June 2021, premiere.
Thurston's orange gown resembles shimmery snakeskin — and we're into it. Her bold fashion sense continued all the way through the finale, when she also chose a bright color.
She left her season engaged to Blake Moynes, who had originally vied for Crawley and Adams' hearts, and joined Thurston's season a bit late. They broke up a few months later.
Michelle Young's journey for love kicked off on October 19, 2021. She wore a metallic gown for the occasion.
Fittingly, she looked like she's ready to head into battle with this chain-mail dress, proving that she didn't need a knight in shining armor — she can handle herself.
Young left her season engaged to Nayte Olukoya, but the two broke up in June 2021, around six months after the finale aired, reported The Hollywood Reporter.
In a franchise first, Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey shared duties as co- "Bachelorette" leads in July 2022. Their dresses each conveyed their individual styles.
Recchia opted for an off-white sequined gown with a thigh-high slit designed by franchise-favorite Randi Rahm.
"She wanted that dress from the minute she saw it. I'm sure that the fans will say, 'Oh my God, he's used that same style of dress 14 times. It's another Randi Rahm with a high leg split,'" stylist Cary Fetman told Entertainment Weekly.
As for Windey's sheer black gown, also a Randi Rahm design, Fetman was able to almost entirely deconstruct the beaded gown so that it was almost entirely see-through.
"There's things that were definitely necessary to cover, but the illusion certainly is that you're seeing everything. I can assure ABC, no, you're not seeing everything," he said.
Windey and Recchia are the true lasting love story from their season — neither one lasted long with their respective winners.
Charity Lawson wore a pink-and-red gown designed by Randi Rahm for her premiere in May 2023.
Lawson is, somehow, the first Bachelorette to ever wear pink on the first night of a season.
Rahm told Bachelor Nation that this gown was originally a halter dress, but at the last minute, Lawson asked for it to be made strapless, so they had to "work 24/7 to create a new neckline."
Lawson is still engaged to her winner, Dotun Olubeko.
Jenn Tran's season premiered in July 2024. She wore a scalloped white gown with a halter neckline.
We don't know yet how Tran's love story will turn out, but we do know she looked stunning on the first night of her season.
According to the brand's Instagram, Randi Rahm once again designed this white and silver beaded gown.
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