2 min readSome celebrities drop the f-bomb. Lili Reinhart prefers to wear it. On a recent evening in Los Angeles, the star of the campy new thriller Forbidden Fruits stepped out in a custom-made tank top that read, “I support a mans right to shut the fuck up.” (Sure, it could have used a possessive apostrophe in “man’s,” but otherwise: perfection.)
The tank was not a one-off. Reinhart wore a pink baby tee blaring “This b*tch needs a personal day” on her Instagram Stories, along with a $65 I Am Gia tank to a Forbidden Fruits screening that teased, “Imagine dating me. It won’t happen, but just imagine.” In a selfie she took at the supermarket, Reinhart wore a vintage Cher hoodie asking, “Do you believe in life after love?” Another f-bomb came courtesy of this dainty $62 pointelle tee. And last night, Reinhart got her co-stars—Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, and Alexandra Shipp—in on the act with tees that said “Apple,” “Pumpkin,” “Cherry,” and “Fig,” referencing the juicy names of their on-screen characters.
What’s up with the graphic content? Well, ever since Reinhart shot to fame on Riverdale in 2017, she’s been hounded by paparazzi and tabloid sites about everything from her weight to her relationship status. She has over 24 million Instagram followers, which is roughly the population of Australia. And if a slogan tee is worth a thousand TikTok posts, this form of “method dressing” lets the clothes talk for her, ensuring nothing Reinhart says is misunderstood, misquoted, or missing from various red carpet roundups.
Reinhart’s cool, canny strategy is playing out with help from stylist Ib Abdel Nasser. But Forbidden Fruits costume designer Sarah Millman tells ELLE that the 29-year-old actress and Personal Day founder has been plotting this for some time. “She’d had a Pinterest board for her character for three years, and there were graphic tees all over it,” Millman says.
One of those tees even plays a pivotal role in the movie, which hit theaters on March 27. Of course, we can’t say how without risking the wrath of Reinhart herself—and as she’s proven with this press tour’s epic looks, she’s not afraid to talk back.