The First Impression Dress

Feb 23

Feb 23 The First Impression Dress

(May contain spoilers up to Week 6 The Bachelor’s 25th Season)

Picking out a first date outfit is stressful enough, but imagine knowing that it will be broadcasted to millions. Such a scenario is one of the many reasons why I will never be a contestant on the Bachelor, but for the dozens of brave souls that have made it past various rounds of auditions, their first-night outfits are the first step towards finding the love of their life (or the chance to become an Instagram influencer).

I have compiled a few of the standout dresses from night one of Matt James’ season. This list does not reflect who I think Matt James will pick for his final six (given that Victoria has already been given the boot), nor do I think that a single outfit either reflects someone’s entire personality or chances of getting far on the show. However, now that we have gotten to know these women, their night one choices do make more sense.

Rachael Kirkconnell

First up is Rebbeca Black—I mean Rachael. Although it has taken a second for her personality to shine through on the season so far, this classic jade green dress with a slit is in hindsight a great choice for the classic beauty of Rachel. Certainly being edited as the slightly shy yet here-for-love girl, from night one Rachael placed herself in the good graces of production. It is one of the more standard dresses from night one, but not standing out completely has worked out in her favor as Matt warms up to her. I see more roses in her future.

Bri Springs

The first out of the limo, Bri set the bar high. The glossy and jasmine green is a perfect compliment to her skin. Although I am not exactly sure what they were going for with the hanging fabric on her chest, the extra layer at least gives some complexity that sets it apart from a dress like Rachel’s. The allure of her dress, personality, and the fact that Bri first up does make you wonder why she has gotten minimal screentime compared to others. Given that produces alter the order of who is shown first to come out of the limo (so she might not have literally been first) makes me sure that she will get near or to the Final Rose. Bri might not have gotten the First Impression Rose, but she immediately set herself up as a winner.

Chelsea Vaughn

Although Kaili would later come out in just her underwear, Chelsea has to have one of the most daring first-night dresses of all time (for Bachelor standards, at least). The dress’s plunging v-line is a great contrast to the draping in the back. The black likewise makes it a classic silhouette. It is a shame that we have not seen a ton of Chelsea throughout the season, and it should not be lost on us that black contestants like Chelsea are noticeably getting much less screentime than non-BIPOC contestants. At least Chelsea was able to stop the show with her first appearance.

Kit Keenan

This dress is as complicated as my relationship with Kit. On the one hand, I cannot stand her or the fluff. The shape and way the feathers fall do no favors to her body, and it is hard to not see it as more of a costume than an evening gown. However, I do appreciate a statement piece, and it is clear that she wanted to stand out. Did she overcompensate? Yes, but it is also clearly a part of her personality to embrace the fact that she is the daughter of a designer. Unfortunately, her time on the show has been less exciting than this dress, but it has also not been as obnoxious as I feared she would be. All the money and NYC-wealth cannot buy Kit a TV-ready personality, but she is doing a good job of keeping herself in enough drama to stay relevant. Still, I think Kit will have to keep buying herself roses rather than getting the final one from Matt.

Victoria Larson

If Kit’s dress was a little too much for her personality, Victoria’s dress was funnily not enough to wow me. For a self-proclaimed “Queen” (I did not know you could just give yourself titles like that—I am taking notes), this dress is not all that royal. I have to assume Victoria thinks that sparkles equal wealth, which by that standard other women’s dresses would put Victoria’s kingdom to shame. On its own, the dress is quite lovely, and she does look stunning. In the context of her loud and objectively mean personality, however, it screams more Party City prom than Long Live the Queen.

Serena Chew

Finally is the most fashionable woman on this season so far—Serena C. Social media has complained that her outfits have not gotten enough screen time, so I wanted to look back on the dress that she started with. Similar to Rachel, Serena C. appears to have opted to go slightly classic. The mermaid silhouette is stunning, and the light mint color accents Serena's long black hair perfectly. I also adore the asymmetrical shoulders, although like her later season’s outfits, are not as noticeable on screen. Tripping may not have been a planned way to stand out, but her dress probably helped Matt remember to give her a rose at the end of the night.

Given that contestants have to style themselves (unless they make it to the top two, in which case they are treated to a stylist), their first-night wardrobe says a lot about the image that they want to put forward to their future partner and America. Interestingly, it is has been said by previous contestants that producers ask them to pick out three dresses from which they can then narrow down an option for them, which is why producers are able to make sure some girls end up with similar dresses to stir up some drama. Still, the women have a lot of say in how they want to present themselves on night one. It is a shame that a lot of them do not get a lot of screen time due to the number of women early on, in which case their wardrobe sometimes says more than they are able to.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am going to go and overthink what my sweater says about my personality.