Today, Lana Del Rey is synonymous with classic bows, white dresses, heart-shaped sunglasses, cowboy boots and the “coquette” aesthetic. However, before all that, Lana was somewhat of a “basic girl” who would rock up to her concerts in blue jeans and a white shirt or attend the 2020 Grammy’s in a $200 dress “from the mall”. But how did she make this drastic change from a casual singer to a timeless trend-setter who has branded her own accessories (including the daisy hair clips and white veils you see every Lana fan wearing to her concerts)?

Lana as an unbothered and self-ironic fashion icon

In a 2012 VH Interview, Lana Del Rey humorously mentions her sister Chuck, who stated that “if [Lana] becomes a fashion icon, I swear to God, I’m going to kill myself.” All jokes aside, Chuck was not wrong to call Lana out for her sometimes unbothered outfit choices, as Lana Del Rey herself claims in the same interview that “I never had any fashion sense at all. I would wear the same thing every day which was just lots of denim… and white T-shirts”. 

In one of her earlier concerts in 2012 during the iTunes Festival, Lana sports a white hoodie and plain skinny jeans, which would be labelled “out-of-date” in today’s fashion lexicon. Even in her 2019 album cover for Norman F***ing Rockwell, Lana’s outfit is comprised of simple black leggings and a light green zip-up jacket. Pretty shocking, but also so quintessentially Lana of her to drop such a beloved and important album to her fans, while sporting workout apparel. 

However, whilst Lana was not famous for her clothing, what really boosted her image was her unique aesthetic. Known for her famous Priscilla Presley updo hairstyles and sixties dresses, Lana delivered every time she felt like dressing up. Unfortunately, this was not a lot of the time.

However, this was only the start of her coquette empire. The white babydoll dresses and bold eyeliner looks walked, so her bows and country boots could run.

One of her most iconic early concert looks was at the eurockéennes festival in 2012, in which her all-white dress ensemble and imitation 60’s “bubble” bouffant hairstyle is tied together with a long gold cross chain reaching her torso. Therefore, it’s not to say that Lana lacked style, but rather that her nonchalant and unbothered attitude would cause her to show rare but eye-catching looks, hinting at her blossoming creativity.

From imitation to self-branding

However, her early albums mainly embodied the old-money, sad-girl aesthetic. Many of her OG album covers as more allusive of lost Americana vibes, specifically Born To Die and Norman F***ing Rockwell, with the American Flag waving vibrantly in the cover art.

It was only until her 2021 album, Chemtrails Over the Country Club, that we first saw hints of proper country girl tunes – “Tulsa Jesus Freak”, “Wild at Heart”, and “White Dress”. However, this doesn’t come into full bloom until her 2021 and 2023 albums Blue Banisters and Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard, in which her country home takes centre stage and vintage bows replace her Americana updos.

Lana’s conversion into mainstream music, partly due to her virality on TikTok, plays a direct role in her trend-setting fashion statements that have taken over social media. As her fan base increased over the years, with over 62 million Spotify listeners per year, she became known as the soft American country girl with a depressed, bad girl past, tracing back to her unreleased Lizzy Grant days.

The queen of coquette and country

Lana’s 2024 Coachella look went viral as she effortlessly sported a sparkly blue Dolce & Gabbana dress on night one and its twin version in red the second night. Of course, she accompanied this beautiful ensemble with matching knee-high boots to complete the look. This goes to show that Lana’s fashion sense has evolved, not only through her own choice but with the help of her stylist, Molly Dickinson, in recent years.

After being recommended to go to Dickinson by actress Margaret Qualley, Lana’s stage outfits have not failed to impress and the difference between her early 2010’s and 2020’s stage outfits is noticeable to say the least. She even thanks Dickinson for “matching her little heart energy” during her InStyle Imagemaker Award speech. Whilst I’ll forever be obsessed with her timeless imitation 60’s looks, her new outfits are definitely more put together, creating a branded image and echoing her mature transition into country music.

Her recent UK & Ireland Tour was a success, with over 300,00 tickets being sold across only 6 shows. This Tour, along with Lana’s performance at Stagecoach festival earlier in April, debuted her first full country-inspired outfits. She wore elegant ivory and satin tulle dresses, accompanied by coquette accessories, including her now staple oversized bows pinned to her retro “desert waves hairstyle”. This was a repeated hair look throughout her 2025 on-stage appearances, crafted by her hairstylist Ana Cofone.

Also, Lana’s 2024 SKIMS collaboration for Valentine’s Day further helped reinforce her status as the queen of coquette. Her various looks include cute, tight long-sleeved tops with an array of red hearts, as well as velvety pink, red and baby blue lingerie as she poses within cushioned over-sized gift boxes that add to the dolette vibe.

Lana’s fashion rebrand reflects her own self-discovery

What makes Lana’s fashion transition from sixties Priscilla to Southern Country Coquette so smooth is her continuous ode to the retro and oldies looks in which she’s replaced rock-star, sad-girl with timeless, alt-country singer. She pairs this with a touch of modern elements, choosing to keep most of her eyeliner and makeup looks fairly similar. 

Her mature and elegant stage presence shows her newfound comfort with performing and her extensive experience in the music industry. Lana’s fashion transition goes to show that she is no longer a lost, melancholic poet, but a woman who has found her path and finally overcome the demons in her life. Tracing back to her roots but also including her past aesthetic in subtle ways, Lana has finally found a style that will last forever, accompanying her singing evolution. She is no longer imitating those before her but rather paving her own way in both music and fashion.

As a long-standing die-hard fan of Lana, I will forever favour her 60s looks and Born To Die Americana aesthetic and hope to see her reincorporate some of these classic Lana themes into her newly evolved style that undeniably makes her a timeless fashion icon.

P.S. her basic blue jeans and white shirt with heavy makeup combo will remain in my true Lizzy Grant heart forever, even though its ironically iconic!