The Fabulous Style Transformation Of Melissa Rauch

In 2009, Melissa Rauch shot to fame when she joined "The Big Bang Theory." Although her character Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz made, shall we say, some questionable fashion choices, Rauch soon earned a reputation of a being something of a fashion icon; standing at 4 feet, 11 inches, she certainly offers some sartorial inspiration for shorter women.

Over the years, Rauch has been on quite the style journey. She has gone through a few distinctive fashion eras, from her adorable, frilly childhood years to her current sleek, chic menswear-inspired look. Although each style era has been unique, one thing Rauch has always done is add her own spin to the latest trends. She nailed the casual '90s look as a teen. She embraced very Y2K silhouettes and outfit combinations as a young woman. She looked great in the feminine dresses that defined the style of the 2010s. And, now, she's still as fashionable as ever, going for a modern, minimalist look, that perfectly complements her current character in "Night Court." Let's take a look back at the stunning transformation of Melissa Rauch's style journey so far.

Melissa Rauch was born in 1980. A true child of the decade, the future actor rocked many '80s styles when she was young. This meant a whole lot of frills, puffed sleeves, and oversized collars. And it was very, very cute.

Rauch has posted a few examples of her childhood style on social media over the years. In one school photo, Rauch wore a red and blue plaid dress with a large lace-lined collar and an oversized plaid bow at the neck. Naturally, the bow was a little askew — she was a kid, after all. "I was so upset with myself that I came home crying, devastated that I didn't fix my bow before the picture," Rauch wrote of the picture on Facebook. "My mother told me that she loved it. 'The crooked bow made it special,' she said." In another photo, Rauch wore a blue sleeveless dress with another white lace collar and, an '80s staple, a white scrunchie. And then there was the adorable red floral top (complete with a frilly collar, of course) paired with red capri pants, as pictured above. Naturally, Rauch made sure to coordinate with the doll that was also featured in the picture.

Throughout the '90s, Melissa Rauch continued to stick to the trends of the time. As a teen, she ditched some of the lace and frills of her childhood and, instead, embraced the casual look that defined the '90s. Take this '90s look that featured a baggy white tee with the word "extra" printed across the chest in red and white polka dots with matching sleeves and matching red shorts. Then there was her boho look, where she wore a flowy white top, pinstripe pants, and a whole lot of mismatched accessories. "TBT to when my accessory game was on point," she wrote on Instagram. "And yes, those are Lee Press-on Nails — and yes, I still stand by that decision."

Of course, some of the '80s styles still stuck around in her wardrobe. For example, there was a shoulder-padded jacket and matching dress. "PuberMe loved a tight double side tendril, a sequin shoulder padded frock and sheer white pantyhose," she joked in the Instagram caption. Apparently, her prom look was equally '80s-inspired. "I had quite a lot of poof in my prom dress," she told Glamour. "It was a big ivory frock, and I put so much baby's breath in my french twist updo that I looked like a walking funeral flower arrangement." It may sound wild now, but at the time, she would have been the height of fashion.

If there's one thing Millennials know, it's that the Y2K style revival is not exactly like actual 2000s fashion. As a young woman in the aughts, Melissa Rauch, like the rest of us, had her fair share of questionable Y2K fashion moments. In 2006, for example, she wore a green floral minidress with an empire waist over a pair of skinny jeans. There was also lime green lace top under the dress, which poked out at the chest and the hem. She also went with a pair of flats and a deep side part. The dress over jeans ensemble could not have been more Y2K-coded if it tried.

At another event in 2006, Rauch wore a grey dropped scoop neck vest over a pale green long sleeved jersey top with buttons down the front, along with a pair of black cargo pants with suspenders hanging around her hips. If her layering choices prove anything, it's that she embraced 2000s fashion with open arms.

By the 2010s, many of the sartorial trends of the 2000s were beginning to fade away. Accordingly, Melissa Rauch updated her wardrobe to stay up-to-date with the latest fashions. In 2011, "The Big Bang Theory" cast member wore a series of looks that epitomized the trends of the time — think waist-cinching, a bit of lace, and plenty of boho chic vibes. Basically, she looked like she had just stepped off the set of "Gossip Girl."

There was the little black dress, which she wore to the Entertainment Weekly and Women in Film Pre-Emmy Party. With its tiered A-line design and fluttery tube top, it was so of its time. Then there was the purple knee-length dress with capped sleeves, a full skirt, and a fitted wrap waist. She also wore a dark green dress with a fitted, sculptural style along with peep toe shoes to the TVLine Emmy Party. And there was her classic black lace fitted dress, which she wore to the BAFTAs. And as pictured above, we have the fluttery brown boho dress paired with knee-high brown boots that she sported at a TV Guide event. We have to assume the forever stylish boho chic queen Sienna Miller would approve.

Melissa Rauch got a little more experimental with her fashion as her star continued to rise. In 2015, she made one sartorial choice that proved to be her most controversial yet. Attending the SAG Awards, the actor opted for an unusual dress by Pamella Rolland. The bandeau-style dress featured a corseted pink bodice that swooped across her hips in an upside down "U" shape along with a deep red maxi skirt that went past her feet and appeared to be made of a leather or latex material. She kept her jewelry minimal and wore her hair down and straight, with blunt bangs covering her forehead. Although Rauch wrote that the dress was "beautiful" on Instagram, it wasn't exactly a fan-favorite look. She even made E! News' worst-dressed list following the award show.

That year, Rauch also wore another unusual pink number. While attending the People's Choice Awards, she donned a bubblegum pink bandeau dress with a wrapped waist, almost giving the impression that the fabric had been tied around her body.

Ever one to follow the latest trends, Melissa Rauch was spotted wearing one of the more iconic fashions of 2016 — the super long, super thick, super cozy blanket scarf. Cast your mind back to the days of owl necklaces, bomber jackets, and Tumblr, and you'll remember that come fall and winter, absolutely everyone threw on an oversized wool scarf. Case and point: countless fashion blogs wrote about the blanket scarf in 2016. When it came to scarves, the motto was "the bigger the better."

Rauch hopped aboard the trend, too. In a December Instagram post, she wrote, "The beautiful pieces like this scarf that make up the @hensely_ collection are truly works of art!!! Thank you @nekapur and @kunalkarmanayyar I LOVE it!!" In the photo, Rauch could be seen cozying up in a super long nude knit scarf that was oh so 2016.

The mid-2010s had their fair share of questionable fashion trends — and one of the trends that hasn't exactly been remembered with fondness is the peplum silhouette, which was very "in" at that time. Peplum waists involve a shirt or dress that has an extra layer of fabric sitting around the hips, almost like an add-on miniskirt. 

Melissa Rauch had her own peplum moment in 2016 while attending the Los Angeles premiere of "The Bronze." She wore a tube dress by Romona Kaveza in royal blue. The dress was a perfectly simple knee-length number with a fitted waist — that is, apart from the asymmetrical peplum that sat around her hips. She paired the bold, trendy dress with nude open toed heeled sandals and she wore her hair in a side part and swept her bangs to the side.

As polarizing as the look might be, it came back with a vengeance just under a decade later. Emma Stone donned a pale green Louis Vuitton gown with a peplum silhouette to the 2024 Oscars; Lily Collins donned an Armani Privé dress with a flared waist to the "Emily in Paris" Season 4 premiere later that year. If Rauch wanted to give peplum another go, the time is now.

One of Melissa Rauch's most memorable looks from 2016 came at the SAG Awards. The actor opted for a bright red dress, again by Romona Keveza. The sleeveless dress featured an unusual off-center triangle cut-out on the chest and another, larger geometric cut-out on the back. Otherwise, it was classic and elegant, falling in a graceful pooling skirt around her ankles. "I loved how simple yet edgy this dress was," her stylist Caley Rinker said of the look to The Hollywood Reporter. "It just fit her perfectly and showed off her tiny waist." According to Keveza, the dress was a hit with fashion reporters, getting honorable mentions from People and E! News.

Rauch kept the rest of the look simple, carrying a glittery clutch and wearing her hair in a soft, romantic updo. Although her shoes weren't visible under her dress, they were apparently very, very high platforms. "For shoes and bags we wanted to keep them neutral in golds and nudes," said Rinker. "So many fun options to choose from, but we decided on the highest platform option. Platforms are sometimes the most comfortable and easiest to walk in, and we also wanted to make Melissa look as tall as possible!"

In the latter half of the 2010s, Melissa Rauch's red carpet style evolved into something ethereal and feminine. She repeatedly went for soft, floaty looks that gave off a fairytale vibe. 

Take the Luisa Beccaria dress that she wore to the 2017 SAG Awards, as pictured above. The nude dress was covered in sheer lace and featured a classic silhouette and an ethereal flowing skirt. For the People's Choice Awards that year, Rauch went for a gothic black jumpsuit with an ultra feminine sheer lace cape complete with a large bow around the neck. Attending a party for the Golden Globes, she opted for a bright blue short sleeved dress that was completely covered in lace. Not only was Rauch looking like an elegant dream in all of this lace, she was also entering a more sophisticated fashion era. Coincidentally, Rauch was also growing up in real life, too: At the end of that year, she welcomed her first child, a daughter named Sadie.

After leaning into her soft, feminine side in 2017, the end of the 2010s saw Melissa Rauch embracing a new look. At the end of the decade, Rauch increasingly began to opt for more masculine silhouettes as she entered a menswear-inspired fashion era. After previously being styled by Caley Rinker, her new stylist, Kevin Michael Ericson, seemed to be encouraging her to try something new.

While doing press interviews in May, Rauch wore a pair of black and white gingham tailored trousers along with a collared white shirt with a thin black bowtie and a black vest. She added a little feminine touch to the look with a pair of dark red heels. One month later, Rauch once again opted for a menswear-inspired look while doing press in New York City, wearing a salmon-colored suit along with a frilled white shirt and a pair of gold heels.

it is a truth universally acknowledged that every woman loves a dress with pockets. It's a meme, after all. But women's love of pocketed dresses goes beyond memedom — according to The Irish Times, it's actually a matter of empowerment. "Pockets are a feminist issue: the less a woman can carry, the less freedom she has," wrote writer Marian Keyes. No wonder women everywhere are so obsessed.

In 2023, Melissa Rauch hopped aboard the "it's got pockets" trend and showed off her own pocketed dress on Instagram. The pretty maxi number by Ted Baker had a black and white floral pattern and featured puffed sleeves, a cinched waist, and a flowy tiered skirt. Oh yeah, and pockets. "I put on a dress with pockets and had such a lovely time talking #NightCourt with some really wonderful people the other day," wrote Rauch, tagging NBC. And yes, the pockets were the most important part of the day! In fact, she even gave the pockets another shout-out later in the caption: "Non-manicured hand hideout: Dose Pockets!"

In 2024, Melissa Rauch continued to lean into more masculine-inspired looks as her fashion got more sophisticated and chic than ever. In February, she attended the NBCUniversal Winter Press Tour Reception in California, wearing an oversized bright blue satin suit along with a white satin top. Although her shoes weren't visible below her wide-legged trousers, she appeared to be wearing her staple platform heels. In the summer, she put a twist on her colorful suit look by wearing a pastel green suit with a pair of wide tailored shorts rather than long trousers. Again, she paired this bright suit with a simple white top. This look, Rauch noted on Instagram, was styled by Molly Gerbosi. "Thanks to this kickass crew for cleaning me up from looking like I just crawled out from the inside of a Dorito bag," she joked in the caption.

In October, Rauch went for a slightly different spin on the menswear look, wearing a satin pink wrap blazer dress, which she paired with nude heels. Though this was certainly a more feminine look, the blazer-style of the bodice gave the look a sophisticated, sharp edge.

Although Melissa Rauch's style has certainly been on quite the journey, there does seem to be one constant over the past few years: Rauch loves a good blouse. In 2021, the actor took to Instagram to share an ad for Hood milk. She picked a forest green blouse for the occasion that featured a frilled high neck with a feminine bow, a small puffed shoulder, and long sleeves. In 2022, Rauch once again showed off her blouse game with a post about her collaboration with the charity Oscar's Kids. The black top featured a high neck and a pink floral print. 

Then, in 2024, Rauch  sported a blouse while appearing on "The View" on ABC. Her blue top featured an off-center bow on the neck and long gathered sleeves. That same month, Rauch wore yet another blouse. This sleeveless top featured a ruffled neck and a pleated, loose bodice. Rauch's latest fashion motto seems to be "when in doubt, go for a blouse."