As a teenager, Billie Eilish came onto the music scene in a manner similar to Avril Lavigne, as she, too, chose to sport baggier clothing. It's become a part of the former's signature style at this point and has been referenced on many occasions. When Eilish got involved with the Barbie movie by writing and performing her song “What Was I Made For?,” the music video shows the Grammy winner unpacking a doll-sized box of her iconic looks of oversized tees and sweatpants. She's also experienced backlash over this for some time. Now, years later, trolls are still commenting on the 21-year-old’s outfit choices, and she just clapped back with some honest thoughts saying, “You can suck my ass" and more.
Billie Eilish's baggy clothes and now-switched up green-and-black hair quickly became synonymous with her when she reached stardom with her first studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, as a teen. In a wide-ranging interview with Variety, the Academy Award winner talked about how she aimed to protect her body at a young age:
I wasn’t trying to have people not sexualize me. But I didn’t want people to have access to my body, even visually. I wasn’t strong enough and secure enough to show it. If I had shown it at that time, I would have been completely devastated if people had said anything.
It's sad that we live in a world where people share critical opinions on a celebrity’s looks and that they can be broadcast to the world. As she's faced a lot of backlash, the songstress has been candid about her experiences with this as well as her own internal struggles. The “No Time to Die” artist previously spoke about the “terrible” relationship she had with body image and cited it as the reason why she wore baggy clothes early on. She said that when the paparazzi took a photo of her in a tank top and shorts, people were calling her “fat.” So it’s understandable why she felt the need to hide herself in her clothes and, truth be told, she shouldn't have felt pressure to do that.
A couple of years ago, Billie Eilish went blonde on the album cover for Happier Than Ever. That new look gave her the chance to show off a more feminine side to her style that fans had never seen before. But despite dressing more feminine, Eilish said she genuinely did not feel like a woman:
I’ve never felt like a woman, to be honest with you. I’ve never felt desirable. I’ve never felt feminine. I have to convince myself that I’m, like, a pretty girl. I identify as ‘she/her’ and things like that, but I’ve never really felt like a girl.
In other words, she still identifies as a woman but just doesn’t see herself as girly, per say. There are many people in her position who identify as such, even if they don’t conform to the societal expectations of feminine fashion. While she's seen highs and lows in this regard, she's remained upbeat in some respects. Amid promotion for Happier Than Ever, Billie Eilish gave a body positivity message about being empowered to show skin as opposed to holding back over fear of slut-shaming criticisms.
Yet it seems like there’s no winning for the “Therefore I Am” singer in that she was still shamed for dressing more feminine and being called “a sellout.” Ultimately, the Swarm actress fought back against the haters, pointing out that women are “multifaceted” and can have multiple styles if they want. She’s right about that, as ladies should have the freedom to wear different types of clothing if they so choose.
All in all, she's more than aware of the continued discussions surrounding her body. On that note, the “Everything I Wanted” singer explained to the trade she can’t help how her body develops and has no shame in revealing her sexuality through the outfits she wears:
I have big boobs. I’ve had big boobs since I was nine years old, and that’s just the way I am. That’s how I look. You wear something that’s at all revealing, and everyone’s like, ‘Oh, but you didn’t want people to sexualize you?’ You can suck my ass! I’m literally a being that is sexual sometimes. Fuck you!
It appears that now that Billie Eilish is in her early twenties, she’s even more comfortable in her skin compared to when she was first starting out. While it's unfortunate that she still receives criticism, you have to love that she now feels a level of empowerment. The “Ocean Eyes” singer has previously said the way she processes her body shaming is by talking to different parts of her body as she looks for support from them. That way, Eilish never feels alone. As the best-selling artist still felt hurt by body-shaming trolls, one hopes that she'll maintain her strength.
To tie this all up in a bow, Billie Eilish still wears baggy clothes and did so for her interview, as she wore a big blue baseball jacket with her jet-black hair under her beanie. This singer/songwriter clearly wants to wear whatever style she wants whether it's tomboyish or girly. Regardless of what she has on, it’s no one’s business how she chooses to dress.
You can watch her acting debut in the comedy horror thriller series Swarm -- one of the most-talked about shows on the 2023 TV schedule -- using a Prime Video subscription.
