Sydney Sweeney Says Fashion Empowers Her as a Woman

“I’m always really proud to be unapologetically myself.”

Sydney Sweeney
(Image credit: Getty Images)

From being on hit television shows Euphoria and The White Lotus, to movies like Anyone but You and Immaculate, it would be forgivable to assume that Sydney Sweeney is naturally confident.

But as the actress tells People in an exclusive interview, fashion actually helps her feel more self-assured.

“Fashion is a really fun way of embracing different sides of yourself. Some days, I might feel very girly, some days, I might feel edgy. Others, I might feel like I want to be more laid-back," she told the publication. "It's a way of being able to express those different sides of how I feel or who I am."

“It's always going to change,” Sweeney added, referring to her own personal fashion style. “That's what's so amazing, especially about being a woman, is being able to embrace all the different sides of ourselves, because we are so multifaceted and there's so much going on. I can never imagine being one thing for the rest of my life.”

The actress went on to say that she doesn't allow other people to "dictate" how she should feel or "what I should be doing or wearing," which just speaks to how fashion itself has empowered her to be unapologetically herself.

sydney sweeney wears a miu miu bandana top and skirt to the 2024 met gala after-party

Sydney Sweeney wears a Miu Miu bandana top and skirt at the 2024 Met Gala after-party.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

“If I put [clothes] on and I smile and I feel good [in them], then I know that's what I want to wear," she explained. "I don't really let other people dictate how I should feel or what I should be doing or wearing, because if I'm happy and it's making me feel good, that's what matters."

The actress spoke to the publication as a way of introducing herself, in a new way, to her fans via her latest partnership with HEYDUDE, a footwear brand she told the publication she has been "obsessed with" since forever.

"I'm always really proud to be very unapologetically myself and the director of my own life, which is what I think it means to be a dude," she said, adding that the partnership is her way of redefining what it means to be "a dude."

"I think that this campaign really just pulls back the curtains and shows who I am behind the camera and inspires people to be confidently themselves," she added.

Sydney Sweeney at the 2024 Met Gala

Sydney Sweeney at the 2024 Met Gala

(Image credit: Getty Images)

While Sweeney admitted that the brand is "really popular among young men," she explained that to her the partnership makes sense because she has a history of gravitating "towards brands that I want to bring to a younger female audience."

"Everybody should be comfortable and confident," she added.

Danielle Campoamor
Weekend Editor

Danielle Campoamor is Marie Claire's weekend editor covering all things news, celebrity, politics, culture, live events, and more. In addition, she is an award-winning freelance writer and former NBC journalist with over a decade of digital media experience covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mortality, gun violence, climate change, politics, celebrity news, culture, online trends, wellness, gender-based violence and other feminist issues. You can find her work in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, TODAY, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Prism, Newsweek, Slate, HuffPost and more. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two feral sons. When she is not writing, editing or doom scrolling she enjoys reading, cooking, debating current events and politics, traveling to Seattle to see her dear friends and losing Pokémon battles against her ruthless offspring. You can find her on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and all the places.