Style Evolution: Rebecca Lim
A look back at the actress' style transformation from fashion noob to red carpet darling.
Rebecca Lim has come a long way since her Miss Singapore Universe days. Once low maintenance and risk-averse when it comes to fashion, these days, Becks has complete faith in her glam squad and is “keen to try everything at least once”, though it hasn’t always paid off. Case in point: her Maleficent-esque look at Star Awards 2016 (pictured left) that landed her on some worst dressed lists. As the actress turns 34 today (Sep 26), we take a look back at some of her most memorable looks.
Rebecca’s arched eyebrows, excessive eyeliner, and ugh — kitten heeled slippers — are a far cry from her current red carpet couture looks.
Before becoming the style icon that she is today, Becks attended the Star Awards in what looks like a prom dress from Forever 21 and a whole lot of bronzer.
This was one of Becks' most memorable Star Awards looks 'cos it was the first time she got to walk the red carpet... and she borrowed her manager’s dress for it. I actually thought I looked very nice, you know, she said.
In what is the most 2000s magazine cover we’ve ever seen, Rebecca fell victim to “the Rachel”…almost 10 years after it stopped being relevant. Oops. We’d also love to know how she resurrected her eyebrows after the egregious over-plucking.
Rebecca looked like any other schoolgirl on the set of drama My Dearest Kin, where she showed off burnished highlights and excessive under-eye concealer.
This look has prom written all over it.
Seatbelts as suspenders? Who signed off on this?
We can’t say that this mini dress, seemingly constructed by party streamers, was a significant improvement.
Despite its crunchy-looking texture, this shortcake-like dress is actually kind of cute — until you look down at Rebecca’s accompanying footwear (no nude heels in her shoe closet? Really?).
Oh, Rebecca — we too owned a collection of plasticky waist belts for our equally large collection of shapeless cotton dresses.
Rebecca looks like she is cosplaying Rui En.
Yikes, this satiny, rumpled mess looks like it came straight from the post-Halloween bargain bin.
Ah, 2011, a year when Rebecca still had her baby fat, and her stylists hadn’t figured out that the classy look suits her more than the cutesy one.
While this look hasn’t aged as badly as some of the rest, we can’t help but think her frock was a little tacky with that diamante belt disaster.
We definitely wore a version of this dress — purchased on a blogshop, naturally — to a reunion dinner many, many Chinese New Years ago.
This boho-inspired maxi dress looked okay until we zoomed in and noticed that the skinny waist belt had struck again.
And for the 2012 Star Awards, Rebecca upgraded her boho garden dress to one with 3D flowers.
Rebecca’s fuschia dress is one of our favourites. Look at how radiant she is in this cut and colour!
The dress looks like something a tai tai in her 50s would wear.
Rebecca’s feathery (or is it furry?) blue tube dress may bear an uncanny resemblance to the skin of a Sesame Street character, but she managed to pull it off with aplomb.
While Rebecca doesn’t usually show a lot of skin, she looked poised and natural in this plunging gown on New Year’s Eve in 2013.
Yellow is a tricky colour for Asians but Rebecca dazzled in this canary Stella McCartney gown.
Rebecca and her sparkly haute couture Giambattista Valli gown look like a work of art.
Rebecca’s Naeem Khan gown was one of our favourites from the show: not only was it memorable, but it was truly one of a kind — no one else wore anything that even resembled it.
Rebecca’s pristine Zac Posen gown and statement jewellery were one of the highlights of that year's red carpet.
It’s hard to go wrong in Zac Posen. Forest green, an oft-forgotten alternative to black, suited Rebecca well when she accepted her award for Best Actress.
Sorry Becks, but blush isn't really your colour — it makes your skin appear washed out and pale. And are we the only ones disturbed by the ah ma-esque hair?
Rebecca turned heads at the Mediacorp Campus Opening in that eclectic Tiger Balm dress, and not in a good way.
This is probably the closest we’ll ever see Rebecca get to the “hipster” aesthetic.
Feminine and demure, Becks looked gorgeous like a porcelain china.
Rebecca’s Ashi Studio dress and short fringe look like they came straight out of a Tim Burton film, but we have to admit that this odd getup is a welcome departure from her usual pretty, but unadventurous red carpet looks.
Despite favouring classic looks, Rebecca isn't averse to avante-garde fashion these days.
You can never go wrong with a military look.
Becks’ Old Hollywood-worthy Oscar de la Renta gown had us green with envy.
Best Actress winner Becks not only shone bright on stage, but she looked like a real-life jewel in her emerald green Elie Saab dress.
We're pretty sure Becks made an entrance in that stunning brocade gown from Carolina Herrera. Green was definitely her colour that year.
Becks looked flawless in this glamorous Louis Vuitton gown which had just the right amount of ruffles and bling.
Sorry Becks, but this tie dye pattern makes it look like you stained yourself during that time of the month then tried to conceal it by turning your skirt from back to front.
Becks brought the drama with this voluminous Valentino gown that featured an overflow of ruffles.
Rebecca was lucky enough to snag a pic with South Korean heartthrob Gong Yoo at a Louis Vuitton event and what stole our hearts (besides Gong Yoo) was her sparkly number. The frills on the shoulders provided the right amount of drama for this fabulous sci-fi-esque frock.
Rebecca’s one-shoulder leather frock is giving us a major ’70s #throwback. We especially love the lilac colour which is a difficult hue to pull off, and the actress did it like a pro by matching it with a pair of leather boots for a tough chic look.
Not only did Becks look super huat in this gorgeous frilly dress from Max Mara when she went CNY visiting, she was red carpet-ready too.
Although this bold military-meets-retro look is a huge departure from Becks' usual style, she wore it with total confidence. Nice.
