How would you feel if you got all dressed up for a night out, and your plus-one showed up in sweats? Would you want them to look more put-together, or do you think what someone else wears is their business, even if it’s your SO? That’s the question the internet is debating right now, because the reactions to Justin Bieber’s outfit at his wife Hailey Bieber’s Rhode event in New York City are… mixed, to say the least.
The Aug. 28 event was celebrating the launch of the new strawberry glaze flavor of Rhode’s Peptide Lip Treatment. Hailey dressed on-theme, since it is her skincare line: As seen in paparazzi photos as well as a few shots Justin posted to his Instagram, Hailey rolled up to the event in a strawberry-red dress with a matching bag and shoes, plus jewelry and a slicked-back hairdo. Her husband, meanwhile, showed up to support her wearing gray sweats with a pink snapback and a pair of yellow Crocs.
Regardless of his outfit, Justin seemed happy to show off his wife and her accomplishments — he’s broken his months-long Instagram hiatus in recent days, with all of his post-hiatus posts featuring Hailey. Next to Hailey, though, some people felt it was disrespectful of him not to show up in a more tailored outfit, especially for his wife’s product launch. Under Hailey’s Instagram post celebrating “Strawberry Glaze Day,” commenters wrote things like, “You look beautiful! But girl, why was your husband dressed for a Sunday morning hangover coffee run?” On Justin’s, one commenter wrote, “Hoodie and hat is crazy” and “When is he going to stop dressing like a little boy and start evolving?” Ouch.
All corners of the internet started weighing in on the drama. As TikTok discourse from both sides — Team “let Justin wear what he wants” vs. Team “Justin should’ve dressed up more” — started up, others on X (formerly known as Twitter) also spoke their mind.
Some people were not impressed with Justin’s outfit.
Others, however, were quick to rush to his defense.
Some even kept it real and said they would do exactly the same in Justin’s shoes (FWIW, Hailey and Justin were going to a Krispy Kreme).
Many pointed out that just because you feel like Justin should put more “effort” in, that doesn’t mean Hailey necessarily does.
If nothing else, I’m now expecting couples to be showing up to Halloween parties in a red dress and sweats this year.
My two cents? We don’t know the full context of any discussion Justin and Hailey might have had about his outfit for the event, so it’s not really our place to make a judgment either way. Hailey seemed over the moon about her Rhode launch and was clearly the star of the show on this day, as she should be! Let’s focus on that instead, maybe.