33 photos in galleryIt took Shania Twain coming back on the scene to make me realize how much I missed her. Not musically, necessarily — although the woman who penned the lyrics ““My panty line shows / Got a run in my hose / My hair went flat / Man, I hate that / Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse / I realized I forgot my purse. With all this stress I must confess / this could be worse than PMS” desperately does need to write a song with her esteemed countryman Bryan “Have You Ever Really, Really Really REALLY, Like REALLY, For Realsies Really Really Loved A Woman?” Adams — but rather, fashion-wise. Did you remember how wackadoo Early Shania was? She’s totally the precursor to Carrie Underwood’s coat-capes and Rihanna’s… Rihannaness. Take a walk down memory lane with me. Bring Advil.
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Comments (52):
That man is Pat Boone! PAT BOONE!
Ah Shania… she’s from the town where I grew up… If you could see it you would forgive her! She’s come a l-o-n-g way baby! And she does seem to be coming out of some emotional trauma at the moment (just watch her on Oprah’s new network!). Maybe after she hashes through everything and her mind is fully clear she will hire Rachel Zoe or something… It’s the best we can hope for…
http://inherentstylela.blogspot.com/
Leather dude is Pat Boone
She is so beautiful, but almost everything she wears seems to distract and detract from her beauty. She’s a living example of how NOT to accessorize.
PS her show on OWN is kind of interesting (mostly for the fact that she is now with the ex of the woman who stole her husband). Brings new meaning to the term “wife swap”
This reminds me of the awesome part in Crossroads where Britney sings “Man, I Feel Like a Woman.” Good times!
Hey, she has the best figure around, so why not show it off. I would have dressed the same way! Most of the really kooky stuff was for performing, which is fine in my opinion. And that picture of her and Mutt? PRICELESS! He has douche written ALL over him! LOL
Wow. i would say “who knew?” except apparently loads of you did.
The oddball in the second photo is Pat Boone – can’t believe the wire service didn’t have him identified. He was definitely courting the crazeballs by that time.
She used to sing at the Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville Ontario as part of a cabaret show. I saw her there on my first honeymoon! She HAS come a long way…!
Damn, I was beaten to the Pat Boone punch.
“Apparently we’ve entered her My Boobs Are My Blackboard period. ” Heather. You’ve been good before, but with Shania, you … you *soar*. (tears)
Years ago, when Shania was **Really It**, I was with my girlfriends at happy hour or something when her Big Song came on (“Man’s shirt short skirt/ Oh oh oh!”). Remember way back before 9/11, when that song was the national anthem? Yeah, good times.
So my friend, the Fashion One, says, “Shania’s so pretty [true!], but no one needs a style makeover more than she does [TRUER].” Nods all around. Glasses clinking.
At least one of us mentioned the crop sweater, H. We wondered out loud if she had any girlfriends who could help vet her outfits before she wore them. “That … bra thing? That’s — not as good as you think. Not with that thing on the bottom. Which is BAD. Can we start over?”
But it seems she’s gotten that style makeover. (And the friends?)
Way to go, Shania. And welcome back.
“I had NO IDEA they had a Studio 54 outpost on the Starship Enterprise.”
Nearly lost my coffee on that one. I am on the floor! She does have the best figure around, but girl has NO sense of fashion. That was a hilarious romp.
Looking back at Shanias’s early years, I see JLo in the making.
I also knew it was Pat Boone, during the time when he was promoting his album of heavy metal cover songs. That is not a typo.
I always forgot how gorgeous Shania was because of all the crazy get-ups.
I also knew that leather dude was Pat Boone. Because brain bleach is not an actual product.
I’m surprised Heather didn’t mention the crimped hair in pic 12. Somehow in the middle of all the crazy that was the thing that struck me as Over The Line. If I had her body I’d of spent the 90s half naked too, but there’s no excuse for inflicting the horror of crimping with that hair.
As for the current pic, I wish the woman well. Living well with the ex husband of your ex husband’s piece on the side really is the best revenge. However, she desperately needs to get herself a new pair of shoes because the ones she’s wearing in the last pic do not go with that dress at all.
I can’t believe you didn’t remember when Pat Boone strutted around in leather! It was hilarious, like hearing my dad try to rap.
My confession: I still love the “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” outfit. Something about the little tassles hanging off the long gloves and the matching choker just seems so fun.
My lord—I got to the tulle explosion, with the COMPLEMENTARY HAIR, and screamed out loud.
The January 03′ outfit is what she wore to perform for the Super Bowl halftime show.
True story: Three dads and I were watching said show and various of our children were in and out of the room. One nine year old girl paused long enough to make the comment, “Wow she has big boots!”
We all looked at one another a little uneasily until she went on: “They go up past her knees!” Nine year old exited the room and three dads and I all were very relieved to comprehend she had said booTs not booBs like we all heard.
I seem to remember reading that the belly baring tops came about because she really didn’t like her legs and if she wanted to show some skin, she went for the abs.
You can see it appears to be true – even when she’s in shorts for performances, she’s got giant boots or a cape to distract from/cover her legs. It’s only very recently, and in 2 of the 33 pictures, that she’s wearing a short dress – everything else is pants or gowns.
Maybe she’s coming to terms with her legs? I don’t see anything wrong with them — except the shoes she picked in the last photo.
She looks weirdly like Fran Drescher in some of those early formalwear shots. Just sayin’.
I can’t think of any other performer who recycles so many of their video outfits!! Seriously, the first in the choker series (From this Moment On), the leopard floor-length coat (That Don’t Impress Me Much), and the black choker/gloves combo (Man! I Feel Like a Woman). I’m probably even missing a few. That would NEVER happen now, right?
Everyone is forgetting how awesome some of these pieces were at the time. My cropped, mock turtle neck sweater was my favorite item in my closet. And the choker dresses….. I wore a black and white strapless dress with an attached choker to my prom. It was the best dress ever!
Of course, I wouldn’t wear it now. But, then…. it was great.
Excuse me while I geek out for a moment, but isn’t that long, sparkly, gold number Lilly Kane’s prom dress? Any other Veronica Mars fans in the house?
(http://www.vm-caps.com/caps/displayimage.php?album=33&pos=150)
(http://www.vm-caps.com/caps/displayimage.php?album=33&pos=125)
The big secret of Shania’s image is how super tiny she is. In her videos, they shot her perfectly, and made her look Amazonian. She is actually about 5’2″, and literally a size 0. Can you imagine? A zero!
I think that cropped sweater was from the “If You’re Not In If For Love” video. She was gorgeous!
Amen to all who said that if they’d had that body, they would show it off, too. However, I don’t mean showing off one’s crotch. I wish Carrie U. had not followed Shania’s lead on the micro-micro-minis and “wide stance” on-stage.
@Alexis: Yes, I do believe that’s Lilly Kane’s prom dress because that was the first thing I thought and I got super excited! I had no idea that Shania wore it.
#22. That’s all I can say, as it rendered me otherwise speechless…
Wow… I love how, thanks to 90s styles, Shania has actually reversed aged. My aunts are the same way… they were in their young 20s in the early 90s and looked about 40 – and now they’re in their 40s and look stunning.
Shania certainly got hit upside the head by her nasty ex-husband’s affair with her best friend… I’m glad she’s found happiness with her former ex-best friend’s hottie ex-husband!!
Am I the only one who thinks she’s a dead ringer for Eva Longoria in the first picture?
Yeah I kinda miss her…and her rival Faith Hill…remember when they and the Dixie Chicks were making really good pop/country music? Instead of you know Taylor Swift writing 200 songs about being an ugly 15-year-old
I’m glad Shania is doing better emotionally and personally. It seems that the time off has done her a world of good…especially in the fashion department. Wow, she made some *unique* choices, didn’t she? But being a natural size 0 and barely 5 feet tall made it easy for her to get creative.
I thought the crazy would have tapered off a little in the 2000′s. I mean who didn’t wear those stubby wide legs in the 90′s the NINETIES?! Not in 2000something. Also, that shirt with the mouth and the diamond tooth. That is a Timeless No.
I so do not want to think about that dude being Pat Boone. The levels of wrongness are painful.
Shania, on the other hand, is a lot of fun, even when she’s sorta scary or worrying. And country music is its own special world. I mean, roll back time and look at what the ladies wore at the Grand Ol’ Oprey. Somehow it all makes sense.
Thank you, but I think I’ll skip the photo gallery and the Advil!
“If Chico’s Made Windbreakers”. Priceless.
Thank you Heather!
Tasha Yar drowned in those first pants. Ya know what? Shay-na can stay gone.
I really wish I hadn’t known immediately that that was Pat Boone.
I don’t think she’s aged at all – if you look at her face she could be anywhere from 25 to 45. That actually disturbs me more than the questionable clothing decisions.
I had to e-mail that picture of Pat Boone in leather to my boyfriend, who’s a music journalist and he was justifiably horrified!
The expressions on the people in the backround, in picture 12, say it all!
I understand the fascination with the cropped up sweater…but really…no mention for the lace up pants she appears to be wearing with it?
I, too remember reading something years ago about how she disliked her legs. Apparently, she has since come to terms with them. They look just fine now, which leads me to believe that her legs were just fine years ago and the girl had some odd hang ups leading to some odd clothing choices in an effort to keep them mostly under wraps.
I thought that was Eva Longoria taking a quick glance but then…..I stopped dead in my tracks. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!?!?! A vinyl 2 piece, catwomanesque suit and then a short green tween bolero jacket??? It’s classic meets dominatrix for Shania! YIKES!
http://www.bravoerunway.com
she can still pull it off magnificently
I’m pretty sure that someone else already mentioned it, but a lot of these outfits from award shoes are the exact same outfits she wore in the videos for the songs that she was singing at the award shoes. That used to irritate me so much. It seemed really gimmicky, to recycle the video clothes for the live performances. But, admittedly, it irritated me mostly because I hated Shania and everything she did irritated me. Her songs were criminally stupid and yet everyone loved them. Every time a new song came out, I’d think to myself, this is it, this is the one where everyone is going to realize that they have lost their minds and Shania Twain is actually not that awesome, but no matter how stupid the song, it never happened. I feel bad for what happened to her. I’m sure it sucked. But, please, Jeebus, no Shania Twain comeback!
And now I’m left wondering how I spelled shows as shoes, twice. This is what Shania Twain does to me. Obviously.
@yeahandalso – YES! At least Shania’s songs were fun – Who’s Bed Have Your Boots Been Under, anyone??? Guess that one came back to bite her… but Taylor Swift, MY GOD, Taylor Swift… If I hear that Romeo and Juliet song ONE MORE TIME…. ARGH!
Well, holy cow – I’ve never been a fan, and therefore never had a reason to Google Robert Lange, but she sure ended up with someone a million times infinity hotter than him!!!
I think Shania qualifies for a special Lifetime Acheivement award from Fug Madness. She really was a style (costume) frontrunner. Despite the crazy outfits, she sure is gorgeous. In her (and our) defense, most trendy styles do look ridiculous years later. I have a picture of myself with huge 80′s glasses and a dorkey secretarial bow and gathered shoulders on my business jacket. YUK! Not to mention a nice big perm.
Please tell me those are fake tattoos on Pat Boone.
Did anyone else think Counselor Troi for the 5th photo?
Also: Dear god…that was really Pat Boone? This is a bizarre new version of discomfort I’m feeling right now.
Totally Bianca’s prom dress in 10 things I hate About You! That was very ‘Of An Era” as well…