During a recent appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show," Holmes told the host that she initially "felt great" about her Y2K-inspired outfit.
Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images; Arturo Holmes/WireImage
Katie Holmes defended her decision to wear a dress over pants for a 2022 event, a look that divided some fans at the time.
During her appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show" Wednesday, host Barrymore asked Holmes what inspired the hotly-debated look she wore to Z100's iHeartRadio Jingle Ball concert in New York City in December.
"It's like a corset, and so I threw it on with jeans, and I knew I wanted to dance there because I was going with my nephews, so I threw my sneakers on," Holmes said of the outfit.
"I thought I looked cool. I felt cool, I felt great," she added.
According to Holmes, she was caught off guard by the online response the next day.
"I woke up the next morning and I was like, 'Oh my god,' I guess I didn't know that it was such a thing," the "Dawson's Creek" star told Barrymore.
Ultimately, Holmes said she doesn't let online debate over her outfit choices get her down, since she just likes to "go and have fun" at events.
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As Insider's Amanda Krause previously reported, Holmes' stylist Brie Welch defended the star's outfit in an email to the New York Times shortly after the event.
"We decided the rich color and subtle bustier-effect detailing of the top was elegant and would be fun if paired with jeans, creating a more youthful feel for Jingle Ball and the atmosphere there," Welch told The Times in her email.
The stylist also later noted on Instagram that Holmes was actually wearing a top with jeans, not a dress as some reported.
Holmes also caused a stir online in 2019 after she was spotted wearing a cashmere bra and matching sweater out and about.
