Risqué Outfits We Can't Believe Eva Mendes Wore

For years, Eva Mendes was known for putting her body on display for films and on the red carpet. The "Hitch" star was unafraid to flaunt her figure but realized it could be a tricky proposition. "I love my curves and I embrace them, but I have to walk a fine line," she told Marie Claire in July 2009. "If your body's a certain way, then things can go distasteful in a second," Mendes said, noting that sometimes even conservative dresses could accidentally bring out her sex appeal.

That interview was in the heyday of Mendes' acting career when she was a mainstay at high-profile events. As time went on, Mendes limited her public appearances and instead focused on her family and non-acting projects. One of those was her successful fashion line, New York & Company, which helped spike Mendes' net worth. In a promotional post on her Instagram in March 2020, the "Fast Five" actor posed in clothing from the brand and received compliments from fans, but she wanted to be clear that the pic had been doctored and did not truly represent how she looked. Mendes promoted another of her projects, this time a children's book titled "Desi, Mami, and the Never-Ending Worries," in September. Once again, she took to Instagram, where she wore an orange blazer with a matching double-slit skirt that showed off her legs. She also sported a tight-fitting top under the blazer, which was fairly risqué for a post promoting a children's book.

After stepping away from acting to focus on those projects, Mendes began avoiding red carpet events with her husband, Ryan Gosling. Prior to that, she had shown off some scintillating looks at high-profile events.

Looking at older red carpet appearances really highlights Eva Mendes' transformation over the years. In March 2015, Mendes took to Instagram to share a throwback from early in her acting career when she was just starting to make a name for herself. "Throwing back to my first red carpet. I did my own hair and make up and that's a $6 dress from Goodwill," the actor wrote alongside the snap, where she wore a stylish yet conservative mid-length white dress, according to E! News.

A year after making her red carpet debut, the "Training Day" star attended an event for designer Roberto Cavalli in 2002, donning a dress that definitely cost more than six bucks. She wore a loose-fitting white silk kimono-style piece that left little to the imagination. The long-sleeve dress featured designs of white tigers leaping, and Mendes wore it open down the front all the way to the middle of her torso, where she used a belt that barely held the slinky number together. In fact, the plunging — or non-existent — neckline reached her midriff. Depending on the angle an onlooker took in the outfit, it could definitely be considered NSFW. She completed the look with bracelets that kept the sleeves from slipping off her arms. To complete the devil-may-care appearance, Mendes was photographed with a cigarette in hand as she traversed the red carpet. That same year, Mendes wore another open-concept top when she attended the premiere of her film "All About the Benjamins" at the Mann Village Theatre. Mendes wore a black suit and styled the jacket as a top with nothing underneath.

Years later, Mendes would once again put her goods on display at one of her film premieres.

Eva Mendes co-starred in "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" opposite Nic Cage, who played an unhinged drug-addicted police detective. While preparing for her role as the detective's love interest, Mendes had some ideas about her character. "I was planning on going for it: a prostitute who's addicted to drugs and co-dependent on some guy who's addicted to drugs — and a rogue cop!" she told San Francisco Gate in December 2009. Mendes' idea of how her character should look differed from the director Werner Herzog's. "He wanted me to be very elegant. I disagreed with that," she added. During that same interview, Mendes mentioned that when she was young, she wanted to grow up to be a nun, though she certainly did not dress like a woman of the cloth at the film's premiere.

A month before that interview was published, Mendes attended the New York City premiere of "Bad Lieutenant." At a glance, Mendes looked more elegant, as was in line with how the director envisioned her character. However, her outfit was quite revealing. The actor sported a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a black sarong-style long skirt, with black pumps to match. She completed the outfit with a large black beaded necklace.

What made the movie premiere wardrobe so risqué wasn't the shirt itself — it was how Mendes chose to wear it. As was common for her in the 2000s, the actor chose to keep her top unbuttoned down to her midsection. Additionally, the loose-fitting top hung brazenly open, offering an eyeful to onlookers from certain vantage points. Throughout that decade, Mendes consistently found inventive ways to showcase her curves.

Flipping through Eva Mendes' red carpet looks from the 2000s, you'd think she had no problem pushing the boundaries of decorum — but let's be real, those so-called revealing outfits were practically tame by her standards. "What's interesting is that my style is a lot crazier than what I project out there. It's a lot edgier," she said during a chat with Interview in November 2008. "Yet in the celebrity-obsessed culture, where everything of you is a shot on the red carpet, I don't want that to dominate my image."

When Eva Mendes hit the 2006 Met Gala, she clearly wasn't holding back in the style department. The theme that year was Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion. She arrived in a plunging beige gown, posing with designer Zac Posen — who, fittingly, designed her dress just as he had for her Met Gala debut in 2004.Mendes' gown was simple and ravishing, as it was sleeveless with a corset-style top that accentuated her assets. The straps of the gown tied behind her neck, and the middle of the piece featured light frills. Keeping with the night's theme, she did her hair up in curls. She completed the look with a large bracelet and a white clutch featuring a golden chain strap.

That same year, Mendes stunned at an awards show.

At the 2006 MTV Movie Awards, Eva Mendes once again opted for a dress that highlighted her curves. For that fiery look, she wore a full-length red dress with a top that clung to her body, but the piece also had a flowing, loose-fitting skirt. As was the "We Own The Night" actor's M.O. at the time, the number had a low-cut neckline. The dress had a halter-style top, and Mendes chose to wear her hair up in a bun, which allowed a full view of her shoulder and neck. She accessorized with gold jewelry, which included multiple bracelets on both arms, large hoop earrings, and a gold handbag.

Seeing Mendes slay in a bright red dress may have been surprising to fans who were paying attention to her fashion sensibilities. "It was the first time that I wore red on a red carpet, because I always thought that red could be a little vulgar," she told Interview in November 2008. Apparently, Mendes was not too worried about vulgarity in her dress — or her words — while attending the 2006 MTV Movie Awards. During the ceremony, the "Ghost Rider" actor was on stage with Justin Timberlake, and the pair shared an off-color joke about the characters from "Brokeback Mountain," as noted by Entertainment Weekly's round-up of the awards show's lowlights. 

That, of course, was in the 2000s, but Mendes continued to turn heads with her fashion by the beginning of the following decade.

At the 2011 Critics' Choice Movie Awards, Eva Mendes arrived in a black mini dress that had an air of sophistication. Even though the black lace piece was low-cut to show plenty of "The Place Beyond the Pines" star's legs, it appeared to leave her mostly covered up — at least in comparison to some of her red carpet outfits that pre-dated this look. Unlike many of her other sartorial choices, the black, sleeveless dress had a high neckline. It also had an exaggerated bow on the right shoulder that extended down Mendes' chest. The reason for that extra material became apparent when the cameras flashed: the black number went from slightly transparent to seemingly see-through.

Flashbulb photography made the black lace outfit almost lewd. Were it not for the excess material and carefully placed floral patterns that acted as a shield to cover up Mendes as she confidently posed for multiple snaps on the red carpet.

She completed the look with a small black handbag and tan-colored open-toed sandals. The choice of footwear was the complete opposite of what the Hollywood actor preferred to see men wear. "I don't like seeing a guy's feet, unless we're within a mile of a beach ... they shouldn't be in sandals!" Mendes told Glamour in April 2011, only a few months after showing off her lace dress.