Vanessa Williams Rewears ‘Dance With Me’ Premiere Dress 26 Years Later: ‘This Old Thing?’

It can be hard to picture how long ago 1998 was.

Us Weekly wouldn’t launch its website for another eight years. The first iPhone wouldn’t be released for nearly a decade. And yet, Vanessa Williams looks just as good today in a dress from back then.

“Oh…this old thing?” Williams, 61, wrote via Instagram on Friday, June 21, sharing a pic of herself trying on an ivory Carmen Marc Valvo frock.

The Ugly Betty alum first wore the look in August 1998 to the red carpet premiere of her movie Dance With Me. At the time, she accessorized the look with strappy heels and a delicate gold necklace. She also pinned her long hair back. On Friday, Williams opted to wear her hair in a long bob. Williams matched the dress, which features delicate floral appliqués, with golden heels and coordinating jewelry.

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Williams, who played Chayanne in the flick, was met with awe by her social media followers.

“Always the chicest and the most beautiful inside and out 😍 ,” fashion designer and stylist Phillip Bloch gushed in a comment.

Laverne Cox replied, “Werk!” as Julianne Hough said “icon” Williams was “perfect.”

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William also shared the comparison images via her Instagram Story, writing, “Wearing a @carmenmarcvalvo classic.”

Williams, who was crowned the first African-American Miss America in 1984, is not afraid of aging.

“It's a privilege. There's a sense of ease. The older you get the less you care about what everybody else has to say,” she said during a May 2023 appearance on the Jennifer Hudson Show. “You're living in your own glory. You accept yourself, you give yourself grace. And you don't beat yourself up the way when we're 20s and 30s, ‘I've gotta do this, I've gotta be this, I gotta please people.’”

She continued, “So there is a sense of satisfaction and ease the older you get — and I am embracing that and love it.”