Academy Award winner Dame Helen Mirren has played stoic roles such as Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II—but in real life, she's a lot saucier than her on-screen personas let on. Check out what the much-decorated British actress wore on her feet at the premiere of Red 2 in Los Angeles late last week.
Drumroll, please...stripper shoes!
Yes, the legendary silver-screen star who got her start at the Royal Shakespeare Company and is beloved by legions of fans for her iconic portrayals of aristocracy paired her elegantly gathered, keyhole-neckline, long-sleeve teal gown with a pair of six-inch-high platform perspex pumps—the kind of shoes more commonly found twirling around a pole at your friendly neighborhood strip club.
Are you as surprised as we are? Maybe Mirren had a naughty side all along!
"I love being a badass," she told Canada's National Post earlier this year. "It's just the best. To lurch from being a queen to a badass is really cool."
Turns out, this weekend wasn't the first time Mirren took her stripper shoes out for a spin! The actress picked up the $35 footwear at a random Hollywood shop in 2006 when Mirren arrived in Los Angeles for the Emmys and realized she'd forgotten her high heels at home. She wore the heels to both the 2006 and 2007 Emmy Awards—and won!—so, in a way, they're sort of a good-luck charm.
Beneath these gorgeous gowns at the 2006 and 2007 Emmys reside...you guessed it: stripper shoes!
We think the 67-year-old Mirren totally pulls off the look. A little stealth sexiness to accent an understated, glamorous head-to-toe ensemble is A-OK in our book, right?
What do you think? How do you feel about stripper shoes on the red carpet? Is there a right way and a wrong way to wear them in public? Would you ever wear six-inch clear platforms with a formal dress? Sound off in the comments below!
Photo: Getty Images
