Why Tiffany Haddish wore her $4,122 gown 3 times in 8 months

By Lesley Messer

Tiffany Haddish knows how to make the best of a sticky sartorial situation.

The comedian told W magazine that last summer, she agreed to spend money on designer clothing in the interest of helping her career, though she didn't realize exactly how expensive her new closet would cost.

Ultimately, a stylist brought her several options for the "Girls Trip" premiere in July, and the only dress that fit well was a white number by Alexander McQueen. After she hit the red carpet, she realized it cost $4,122.

“I should’ve known -- wasn’t no price tag on that dress. So I wear it for 'Girls Trip,' and then they give me the receipt. When I saw the receipt, I cried," she said. "So I’m wearing it multiple f------ times. I don’t care what nobody say -- that’s a down payment on a car, that’s a medical bill. So, even though everyone says I shouldn’t wear the dress in public again, I’m wearing it.”

And has she ever. Since the "Girls Trip" premiere, Haddish, 39, has worn the dress to host "Saturday Night Live" in November and to the Oscars in March.

It's a big departure for the actress, who became a sensation following the success of her raunchy 2017 comedy. Haddish told W that when she was shooting the film, she was using a knockoff Michael Kors bag that her co-star, Jada Pinkett-Smith, chastised her for buying.

“I told her that my philosophy is, 'Whatever the bag costs, I should be able to keep that amount of cash in the bag. If it’s a $300 purse, I have to put $300 in cash in that purse.' I do not want a bag that is more expensive than the cash I have to put in it," she said. "Things are going good for me now, so I am graduating to your Fendis and your Guccis. But I better have the cash equivalent, or I’m not buying the purse."

"And if things start to go wrong, I’m going right back to my knockoffs," she continued. "When you’re somebody like me, who’s been homeless, clothes are not that important. Clothes are not a roof over my head, food in my stomach, my family’s health -- that’s what money is for. But fashion helps get more money. So, we ride.”