Marilyn Monroe laid the groundwork for what we now know as revenge dressing during her divorce from Joe DiMaggio. Throughout the hearings, Monroe – who was married to baseball player DiMaggio for nine months – wore a series of all-black looks that subtly symbolised the death of the relationship. The actress filed for divorce from DiMaggio in 1954, citing “mental cruelty”, according to PBS.

One of her most iconic ensembles at the time was this elegant black midi suit dress, which featured oversized lapels. Monroe styled the outfit with a pair of matching black heels, white silky gloves, pearls, a statement hairpiece and her signature blonde locks.

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2. Princess Diana

This velvet, off-the-shoulder minidress made – and continues to make – headlines around the world, and it’s widely dubbed “the revenge dress”.

3. Mariah Carey

Fresh out of her divorce from Tommy Mottola, Mariah Carey proved she wasn’t afraid to reinvent her image with her 1997 MTV Music Awards ensemble. Carey was 23 when she tied the knot with Mottola, who was the CEO of Sony, the label she was signed to at the time.

Before the pair split, Carey was known for her ball gowns and maxi dresses, according to CNN. That all changed in 1997 when the newly divorced singer arrived at the MTV Music Awards in a daring all-black ensemble consisting of a thin-strapped crop top and pencil skirt with a thigh-high split.

“My first marriage, I was very much … what’s the word, locked away. I was given the rules and had to stick with them,” she told the Duchess of Sussex.

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4. Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston kept her sparkle amid her split with Brad Pitt in 2005 by wowing onlookers at a red-carpet film premiere. Weeks after her and Pitt’s divorce was finalised, Aniston dazzled at the opening of her film Derailed in a sparkly champagne Chanel minidress.

5. Bella Hadid

And whether it was intentional or not, Hadid’s daring red-carpet outfit can definitely be considered a revenge dress as her ex The Weeknd and his then-girlfriend Selena Gomez were simultaneously making their Met Gala debut together as a couple. The pair would go on to break up months later – The Weeknd and Hadid briefly reunited in 2018 before calling it quits for good a year later, according to Elle.

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6. Meghan Markle

Not all revenge dresses are relationship associated, as Meghan Markle proved with the colourful gown she wore to her last royal engagement before leaving the UK in 2020.

“To my understanding, you can’t ever wear the same colour as her majesty if there’s a group event,” the Duchess of Sussex said in a confessional in episode three of the docuseries. “But then you also should never be wearing the same colour as one of the other more senior members of the family.”

7. Taylor Swift

The metallic dress Taylor Swift wore to the 2022 VMAs drew comparisons to the silver gown she wore 13 years prior when her acceptance speech was infamously interrupted by Ye.

In 2009, a 19-year-old Swift was publicly interrupted by the “Gold Digger” rapper, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, while onstage at the VMAs giving her acceptance speech for the best female video award. For the ceremony, she wore a one-shouldered sequinned silver gown.

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8. Shakira

During the appearance, the singer said that writing the Guinness World Record-breaking diss track – aimed at her ex and the father of her two sons – was a “healthy way to channel” her emotions surrounding their split.

“The thing with this song is, it has become an anthem for so many women out there. I’ve had a very rough year after my separation, and writing this song has been so important to me,” she said.

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9. Ariana Madix

Ariana Madix was hailed the new queen of revenge dressing when she rocked up to the Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion in a cherry-red cropped jacket and skirt.

After news of Tom Sandoval, Madix’s long-time boyfriend, and Raquel Stevens’ months-long affair rocked Bravo viewers, there was a lot of anticipation as to what Madix would choose to wear to the Vanderpump Rules reunion.

Photographs of her released before the reunion premiere swiftly went viral on social media, with many hailing Madix as the new queen of revenge dressing.