No pants \u2014 just a sky-high ponytail, a baggy sweater and a lollipop as an accessory<\/a> on at least one occasion.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a very strange time in my life,\u201d Grande said when discussing a picture of her in a big sweatshirt, black boots and a green belt bag. \u201cI was processing a lot, and I always wanted to hide away in something really cosy.\u201d<\/p>\n Grande explained that, at the time, she \u201cgenuinely did not have the mental energy to consider clothing, so the easiest thing was to throw on a sweatshirt\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n The rest, as they say, was herstory.<\/p>\n The look became synonymous with that era of Grande\u2019s life and career, which if you recall, explains why she mentioned \u201cprocessing\u201d and \u201cmental energy\u201d.<\/p>\n 2018 was soon after the horrific Manchester bombings<\/a> that took place at one of Grande\u2019s concerts, and it was the same year that her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller died<\/a> by an accidental drug overdose just four months after they\u2019d broken up.\u00a0<\/p>\n This was also around the time that Grande had a whirlwind romance with Pete Davidson, culminating in a headline-making engagement<\/a> and crashing with a break-up in late-2018<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n All that while pumping out two albums in quick succession with Sweetener and Thank U, Next? Yep, I think I\u2019d have absolutely zero bandwidth for wardrobe choices, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, even amidst all that heartache, there\u2019s one element of Grande\u2019s 2018 look that she still holds dear. \u201cI remember that the boots still made me feel cunt,\u201d she told Vogue.\u00a0<\/p>\n Did she lie?<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time the Wicked star has discussed that period of her life and the mental health struggles it inflicted. <\/p>\n In 2018, she revealed she\u2019d had bouts of anxiety<\/a> that stretched on for days, and she later broke down in tears<\/a> when discussing the Manchester bombings during an interview.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2019, she shared a scan<\/a> that highlighted the impact of PTSD on her brain, and last year, she opened up about protecting herself \u201cfrom the noise\u201d<\/a> as fans commented on her physical health.\u00a0<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t seem like Grande will be returning to her (ponytailed) roots anytime soon, but at least we all got a cheap and easy Halloween costume out of her 2018 look.\u00a0<\/p>\n Well, cheap if you opt for Kmart thigh-highs and not the luxury ones she trotted around in. <\/p>\n Lead images: Getty Images, YouTube and X\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ariana Grande has opened up about the intentions behind her signature oversized hoodie and boots look from 2018,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[24871,64,63,447,134,20638,5752],"class_list":{"0":"post-445365","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-ariana-grande","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-celebrities","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-fashion","14":"tag-manchester"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ariana-grande-look-2018-pics.jpg\")
An oversized sweater, a pony that defies the laws of physics and a dream! (Images: Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ariana-grande-pete-davidson.jpg\")
Truly a moment in time. (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n