Katie Holmes' Drastic Style Transformation Through The Years

Katie Holmes seems to have faded out of the mainstream as an actor, but she's become something of a street-style icon — everyone seems to think so. Her casual, relatable looks are unpicked and analyzed by every fashion magazine out there, while women everywhere lap it all up and copy her outfits. It's easy to see why. These days, her signature style manages to perfectly straddle the line between boring, everyday clothing and intentional, elevated pieces. She's the kind of woman who can pull together seemingly random garments from her wardrobe and look simultaneously relatable and fashionable. The dream, right?

Perhaps her success as a fashion It-girl comes down to the fact that she doesn't actually see herself as a sartorial icon. "I just like to look nice, I'm not really a fashion person," Holmes told Harper's Bazaar in 2022. "We all just want to look good." In other words, hers is an approach we can all adopt. But the actor hasn't always been such a master of relatable, low-key looks. Let's take a trip down memory lane and have a peek at Katie Holmes' dramatic sartorial transformation.

Long before Katie Holmes was fashion's "not a fashion girl" fashion girl, she was a child actor best known not for chic street-wear looks, but rather, adorable tomboy 'fits. Her first big role came in 1998 when she played Joey Potter, Capeside High's straight-A student and Dawson's bestie in "Dawson's Creek." Joey's wardrobe in the early days featured a lot of boyish lumberjack shirts and grungy jeans. As it turns out, all of the cute, casual, preppy tomboy looks were courtesy of J. Crew.

Even though Holmes' style as Joey may have looked very different to her style now, even then, she was something of a fashion icon. As one fan of the show put it on Reddit, "The chokehold Joey Potter had on all of us in high school. We allll wanted to be Katie Holmes." Her fashion may have changed, but its impact certainly hasn't.

While she wasn't starring as "Dawson's Creek's" preppy, casual Joey Potter, Katie Holmes was establishing herself as one of the chicest red carpet stars of the early aughts. Holmes embraced the controversial Y2K era by leaning into some of the period's trends — but she never fell into the trap of going too far. While other stars were making (arguably) regrettable fashion choices — dresses over pants and out-of-place tulle, for example — Holmes was taking a more subtle, minimalist approach.

Some of her best red carpet looks from the period included a sweet white lace maxi gown, a backless black slip dress, an edgy black trench, and a low-waist midi skirt paired with a cropped white t-shirt. Occasionally, she strayed from her minimalist uniform and oped for a bolder, Y2K look, such as a multi-color tie dye dress with a choker detail.

By the 2010s, it seemed that Katie Holmes was getting adventurous with her looks. Instead of sticking to a predictable uniform of minimalist 'fits, instead, she played with a wider range of styles, becoming more and more versatile. In 2011, for instance, she sported two vastly different looks in the space of 24 hours. During the day, she wore leather pants with a black jacket and a messy bun. In the evening, she ditched the grungy, casual look in favor of what a modern eye would probably spot as a "quiet luxury" look — a long gray Lanvin skirt and a gray Nina Ricci top topped with a white, fur bolero.

In 2009, Holmes had launched her own fashion line alongside her stylist Jeanne Yang. By 2011, the pair had dropped a line that was all about the kind of versatility that Holmes was showcasing in her real life. As Holmes explained to The Cut, she needed pieces that could be versatile to suit her busy lifestyle. "Sometimes when life gets really busy you don't want to have to think about what it is you're going to wear and you just want to have certain pieces that you know you can just depend on — what are those pieces? — and so that was kind of our challenge," she said, before Yang added, "Both of us are working moms, so we're pretty busy, and, having a line, being moms and then having our careers is quite a lot."

In 2011, Katie Holmes appeared in ad campaigns for both Ann Taylor and Ralph Lauren, establishing herself as the face of relatable, dependable fashion. At the time, Ann Taylor was known as the go-to brand for chic, office-ready looks, and Holmes embraced the company's ethos, wearing slick shirts, sleek skirts, and tailored trousers. Around this time, the actor was also seen wearing a classy belted white shirt dress, a tailored belted brown trench coat with flared jeans, and a sharp plunging black and white blazer. As Holmes later told Hola!, she was drawn to Ann Taylor because it never failed to serve her fashion needs. "It's for the office, the Christmas office party, and everything in between," she said. "It's empowering to know you'll find what you need there." Once again, Holmes' fashion may have shifted, but her mantra remained the same — wear clothes that work.

Meanwhile, she also embraced Ralph Lauren's penchant for the preppy, old-money look, wearing a couple of cropped round neck cardigans, a cropped textured jacket, and a pale blue Ralph Lauren dress.

Although Katie Holmes may have altered her style slightly as trends shifted, one thing remained constant: her unshakeable love of denim. "I'm always comfortable in jeans," she said while chatting to Zac Posen for a Glamour interview in 2014. "I feel like I can really do anything when I'm in them."

Over the years, Holmes has proven that she meant what she said about denim. In her early career, she wore low-rise jeans both on the red carpet and out and about. Over the years, she has continued to wear jeans to fashion shows, photoshoots, and to industry events alike. The style of her jeans has changed depending on the trends of the time, going from skinny low-rise jeans to high-waisted, wide leg jeans. In 2022, she even brought back the Y2K dress-over-jeans trend on the red carpet. Evidently, Holmes has always felt comfortable in jeans — and really is happy to do anything in them.

By 2015, Katie Holmes was the style icon of a generation of women — but who was Holmes' inspiration? During an appearance on "Live! With Kelly and Michael," the actor revealed her style icon wasn't exactly who people might have predicted. "I think Rihanna always does amazing," she said (per Her). "She's so cool. I love her." In another interview with Yahoo! Style, Holmes praised Rihanna's Met Gala look. "She owns it and it goes with her music. She's just herself, that's what you get from her. And it's cool, she's always so cool," she said.

While Katie Holmes and Rihanna may not sound like they would have much in common fashion-wise, it turns out, Holmes has apparently borrowed some style inspiration from the singer over the years — and vice versa. One fashion blogger, Lainey Gossip, even noted that Holmes once wore a chambray button-up shirt paired with leggings, heels, and a backpack in a very Rihanna-esque moment. In 2015, the pair also made a joint appearance at the Zac Posen fashion show in New York. While Holmes wore a form-fitting black dress, Rihanna wore a similar purple dress. In 2013, Rihanna — known for her bold red carpet looks — even wore a co-ord designed by Holmes herself.

In 2017, Katie Holmes wore a dark blue Zac Posen design at the Met Gala, a designer she had been friends with for years. "I feel great, I've never worn a fishtail before," she told Vogue at the event with Posen. As the designer went onto explain, Holmes had fallen in love with the dress after seeing it on the runway. 

In 2018, the actor officially joined forces with Posen for the portfolio of his Fall/Winter collection. In the photoshoot, Holmes once again ditched her usual, casual style and upped the elegance and glamour in a series of jaw-dropping ballgowns. 

Holmes and Posen's fashion partnership continued in 2019, when she donned yet another Posen design to the Met Gala — this time, a purple gown with a 3D-printed sculptural detail around the neck. It was "a real glamour piece in a Prince purple metallic," Posen told The Hollywood Reporter. "I'm so close with Katie, so it's truly been a labor of love, combining the accent of this technology and thinking about her personality and her skin tone."

By 2019, Katie Holmes was already an undisputed street-style queen. But that year, she became a true It-girl thanks to a viral fashion moment. It was the year before the pandemic and, as usual, Holmes was just a few steps ahead of the rest of us. Before we all embraced a quiet luxury loungewear lifestyle, Holmes did it first with a cashmere bra-and-cardigan combo. The two pieces, designed by Khaite, quickly sold out online after the actor was spotted wearing them. One fashion editor even tweeted, "I will be thinking about that Katie Holmes photo for weeks, if not MONTHS."

When asked about her inspiration for the look, Holmes explained that she had simply stuck to her fashion rules. "It was very comfortable and easy and I think they [Khaite] do such a good job with creating beautiful luxury items," she told Vogue. "They are very accessible and classic so you can have it for a long time, and I like to shop that way. I'm not always buying new stuff and I can wear it again."

As for Khaite, the brand felt that Holmes had finally ushered in the long-awaited age of cashmere. "I want everything in cashmere. I want a cashmere house. Why not a bra?" Catherine Holstein, the founder of Khaite and designer of the bra, told The Cut. "I have been making cashmere bras for two years now and really believed that people would catch on eventually."

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, Katie Holmes was ready — at least when it came to her clothes. The actor kept things as casual as possible throughout the lockdowns. Her wardrobe consisted of plenty of slouchy sweatshirts, jeans, denim shirts, sneakers, plain white tees, loose button-ups, cozy wool coats, casual over-shirts, warm puffer coats, and of course, a wide array of face masks.

As Vogue noted, her ultra casual, slapdash fashion during the pandemic may have looked unexceptional at first glance, but was, in fact, classic and timeless. One simple white t-shirt and jeans look was even dubbed the "look of summer."

The actor's simplistic fashion during the pandemic mirrored her approach to life at the time. As she told The Daily Telegraph, Katie Holmes spent lockdown enjoying the simple things with her daughter, Suri Cruise. "Just really looking at everything you have and celebrating the simplicity of making dinner and [spending] that time together," she said.

Over the years, Katie Holmes has never really stopped her love affair with menswear. Although she does often lean into her feminine side with glamorous gowns, she's always been a fan of masculine silhouettes, especially for her more casual outfits — think button-up shirts, chunky loafers, blazers, tailored trousers, bold sneakers, thick beanies, and chic wool coats. In fact, her penchant for menswear is a big part of her street style appeal.

In January 2024, GQ even called Holmes "New York's greatest menswear don" when she paired her Gucci Horsebit loafers with a strong double breasted black coat and a messy bun, prompting comparisons to "The Sopranos" funeral attire. Meanwhile, in 2025, she was praised by the same publication on Instagram for a more casual menswear look — namely, her "XL stoner boyfriend shirt." Casual or formal, evidently, Holmes does menswear better than a lot of men.

Like any true fashion girl (even if she doesn't think of herself as one), Katie Holmes knows that a strong vintage item can sometimes hold far more power than a brand new, trendy piece. In 2024, Vogue noted that Holmes had begun to experiment a little more with archival pieces. At the "Blink Twice" after party in New York, for instance, she was spotted in a 1995 vintage jumpsuit by Jean Paul Gaultier. Similarly, in 2023, Holmes experimented with a vintage Chanel blue top during an event for her off-Broadway play "The Wanderers."

"I love my T-shirts, and I love my vintage T-shirts. They're so yummy. They're a little dirty, a little stained or whatever, and that's me," she gushed to Harper's Bazaar. And her love of vintage isn't just about looking great — it's also about sustainability. "We don't have a choice anymore," she said. "We have to be smart and conscious, and do the right thing."

By 2024, Katie Holmes' style was pretty much set in stone — she was simple, relatable, and classic. As InStyle noted, "She always looks comfortable. Her style is so refreshingly normal — practical, even — that at first glance, you might think it's nothing special." The outlet also noted, she had perfected the "effortless everyday uniform." The formula is simple: jeans, white top, comfy but interesting shoes, and a simple bag. It looks simple, but few have perfected the uniform quite like Holmes.

What makes Katie Holmes such an icon is that anyone can successfully copy her style. As one writer noted for The Kit, she wears "real clothes" — and while she does use a stylist, she wears clothes in that lived-in, normal way that makes it seem like — well — she doesn't. As fashion critic Rachel Tashjian told Town & County, "It's clear that even though Katie Holmes works with a stylist, she doesn't call every day asking how to tuck her shirt into her jeans." And what could be more relatable than that?

Although Katie Holmes has perfected the ultimate casual outfit formula in recent years, it seems she'll always be experimenting with fashion. In late 2024 and early 2025, she added some fun, unexpected touches to her relatable styling methods that were a nod to previous decades. 

The actor was spotted wearing Y2K beanies that instantly brought to mind Mary-Kate and Ashley. Then there was the time she donned a red knitted paperboy hat that was very Hilary Duff circa 2003. Furthermore, there was her brightly colored Hello Kitty tote bag that she strutted around New York City, and her denim peplum top and stirrup leggings with an oversized bag.

Evidently, Holmes will never be one to settle into a style rut, as her fashion keeps shifting and morphing as the years go on — and we're here for it.