Reba McEntire Has Worn Some Spicy Outfits Over The Years

When it comes to Reba McEntire's style, "spicy" probably isn't the first word to come to mind (unless, of course, we're talking about the time she donned Colonel Sanders' costume for a KFC commercial). Sure enough, though, she's had her share of scandalous (ish) lewks. And, surprising absolutely no one, she's rocked them. 

McEntire's very first brush with racy attire came in 1993, for that year's Country Music Association Awards. The "Fancy" singer donned a memorable red dress with a decidedly low-cut bodice — though skin-bearing probably wouldn't be the appropriate term here, as the dress also featured translucent mesh paneling right up to her neck and flaring beyond her wrists. Speaking to Yahoo! Entertainment about the surprising outfit choice 30 years later, McEntire explained that she hadn't planned for such a daring pick. In fact, she shared that she'd addressed it being low-cut not just once, but twice with the designer, Sandi Spika Borchetta. McEntire recalled her reaction to trying it on a second time, saying, "I looked in the mirror and I said, 'Sandi, this is still really low-cut.' She said, 'I think it's the lighting in here.' I said, 'Okay.'"

What ensued was a compliment by Kris Kristofferson, as well as appreciative gasps from the audience, and McEntire confessed that she'd felt pretty smug on stage. However, she added that her family pulled her aside right after the awards show to question the choice. "Daddy comes over to me. He said, 'Reba, did you have that dress on backwards?' So I guess it was a little low," she quipped. Even so, the "Reba" star acknowledged that it had nothing on the more scandalous looks of today. "Shoot ... that's granny stuff!" she joked. Either way, the dress was a winner in her eyes, and years later, she re-wore it to host the 2018 Academy of Country Music Awards. 

Perhaps inspired by her low-cut mesh lewk the year prior, in 1994, Reba McEntire donned another surprisingly daring dress for an awards show. This time, it was for the American Music Awards, and instead of red 'n rhinestones, she went for an all-black ensemble. 

Though McEntire's black dress wasn't cut low in quite the same way her red dress for the Country Music Association Awards had been, it did feature bold mesh panels under the bust and above the halter-style detailing. Unlike the red dress, McEntire has never spoken about whether the dress caused a ruckus with her family in the same way. Having said that, there's no question that it was a major change from the pieces she'd worn earlier on in her career. After all, as she said while discussing the red dress with Yahoo! Lifestyle, she'd always gone for more conservative looks. "Back then, I was, you know, pretty straight-laced," she said, using her hands to hint at her super-high necklines of yore. Granted, as with the red dress, the mesh panels completely covered her skin from her neck to her wrists, so it was certainly a clever twist on what she'd been known for in the past. 

Sadly, McEntire is yet to re-wear this particular piece, but here's hoping she does. Spiciness aside, it was also a very classic number, and could just as easily be worn today as it was back then. 

Reba McEntire might not have expected such a deeply plunging neckline when she took the stage at the 1993 Country Music Association Awards, but a decade later, she was ready to embrace it — and sans mesh details, no less. For the 2003 Academy of Country Music Awards, she wore a glittering gold halter neck dress with a very low neckline, and let's just say she could have passed for a Bond Girl in the look. 

McEntire's ensemble certainly didn't go unnoticed by Vince Gill. In fact, the country star made a very off-color comment while the two presented an ACM together. After asking what size McEntire's dress was, he quipped, "The dress is a 2 and then the other things add up to 6." Cue a retort from Reba: "Oh my gosh! This is a family show!" Cringeworthy to say the least, and we couldn't help but notice a few uncomfortable-looking facial expressions from fans sitting behind them, but McEntire seemed to laugh it off. 

Even with the bizarre commentary, it's worth noting that McEntire clearly loved the look. Case in point: many years down the line, she chose something very similar to host the 2011 ACMs, and then again the following year when she co-hosted the event with Blake Shelton. Of course, the second and third iterations of the dress didn't have necklines quite as low as her 2003 one had. However, she rocked both looks and then some. 

Sticking with glittering ensembles, Reba McEntire opted to wear another one to host the 2018 CMA Country Christmas concert. By that time, McEntire had made it clear that she had no qualms with sparkly, low-cut pieces. However, she kept things interesting by deciding to switch up her typical longer length and went with a fringed mini. All in all, it was a look we'd expect to see in a Mariah Carey Christmas special, rather than on the country star — but we certainly weren't opposed to it! And, for that matter, neither were most of her fans. In response to an Instagram post by McEntire where she wore the dress, a number of commenters gushed over how much they loved it. "I love that dress on you! You look stunning!" wrote one, echoing the sentiments many others had shared. 

It does bear mentioning that one commenter also pointed out that they'd seen the dress at one of McEntire's past performances and that they'd loved it the previous time, too. Sure enough, a scroll through the singer's Instagram shows that she has indeed worn the dress (or similar ones) at a number of her concerts, including her appearance on "CMT Giants" in 2006, where she performed "Fancy." She's also posed alongside her longtime boyfriend Rex Linn in a similar pick for a backstage pic posted to Instagram. 

As an aside, we're giving McEntire serious snaps for her sustainable approach to showstopping numbers. What's more, even if she does out those red minis on the regular, we're certainly fans of the surprisingly spicy style.  

Back to Reba McEntire's less leggy looks, some may remember that in 2019, the star picked a sparkly red top and pants set for that year's Country Music Association Awards. However, this was far from a basic ensemble (if a glittering co-ord set could be described that way, anyway). Far from it, the top featured strappy cutouts — though the actual décolletage was once again covered with mesh fabric — as well as glittering chains below the bust. 

In a way, McEntire's 2019 CMAs look made us think of her OG CMAs shocker from 1993, though with elements of her 1994 American Music Awards dress. Just as the panels on the latter had been a little eyebrow-raising by McEntire's standards, the straps on her 2019 lewk added a dose of spiciness to what could have been a fairly tame look. In that way, it was the perfect pick: no one could accuse her of being boring, but no one could accuse her of going overboard either. 

Whether or not the similarities to two of her earlier more risque looks were intentional, there can be no debate that it was a fun look. On top of that, as is generally the case with Ms. McEntire, the singer looked incredible (or dare we say, fancy) in it. 

No commentary on Reba McEntire's spiciest looks over the years would be complete without mentioning her dress for the 2022 Country Music Association Awards. Country fans couldn't get enough of how amazing McEntire looked on the red carpet for the event, but she took things to a whole other level while presenting on stage. ICYMI, McEntire made it clear to anyone who hadn't already got it that she was a firecracker in every sense of the word, with a dress seemingly inspired by one. Choosing to rock the lewk while presenting an award alongside her current flame Rex Linn only made the moment more iconic. 

The dress featured stripes in various shades of red, which curved in at the bust and flared out slightly at the hem. Speaking of the hem, McEntire's dress also featured a thigh-high split on one side. Back to the décolletage area, McEntire relied again on her trusty mesh, but this time with diamante detailing. All in all, it was a winning look — but that's not to say it detracted from the singer's wholesome new relationship. Though Linn appeared alongside her on stage in a black suit, complete with a black shirt and black tie with white horizontal detailing, he also had a red pocket square that tied in in with his girlfriend's ensemble, in a small but noticeable way. 

Taking a look through McEntire's more daring looks over the years, one thing that certainly comes to the fore is how laidback she is, despite rocking glitter, fringe, and the odd Mariah Carey-esque number. We'd say we hope she keeps giving us memorable looks for years to come, but something tells us she's planning on doing just that, anyway.