Maddie and Kenzie Ziegler Dish on the Embarrassing Red Carpet Looks That Give Them a 'Headache' (Exclusive) (2024)

The Ziegler sisters have grown up in the spotlight — and so have their styles.

Over a decade after they first appeared on Dance Moms — the launchpad for their current fame — Kenzie and Maddie, now 19 and 20, are forging a name for themselves in fashion.

Earlier this month, the sister duo debuted their new American Eagle collection, AE + Maddie & Kenzie, which they described as a fusion of their personal styles and the ‘90s model-off-duty look. Ahead of the release, the sisters got nostalgic with PEOPLE about their fashion evolutions.

Although both the Fallout star and “Anatomy” singer will tell you that they dress quite similar now (and both will argue that their sister has a superior sense of style), that was not always the case.

“Honestly, it is really funny because when we were younger, I feel like Maddie was super, super girly and I was the complete opposite,” Kenzie tells PEOPLE. “So it's kind of nice that we're in a middle ground where we can be sort of tomboy but also very feminine in different ways.”

Both sisters, however, say their childhood outfits were always girly when their mom, Melissa Gisoni, was in charge.

“Our mom used to put us in very girly outfits,” Maddie reflects, citing "sparkly pink tank tops" and ruffled skirts as some of the main offenders.

For Maddie, who describes her current style not with adjectives but with her go-to garments (baggy pants, oversized jackets and sneakers), sparkles were a recurring element in her least favorite looks.

When asked to conjure her most unsavory outfit (“I mean, there's so many”), Maddie flashes back to 2014 when, at age 11, she hit the orange carpet at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards with her Dance Moms castmates.

While describing the "frilly" 'fit — a sparkly gold dress with a tiered tulle skirt — she says it was "kind of cute, but now is just embarrassing.”

The worst part of the ensemble, according to Maddie? “High-top sneakers that were fully rhinestoned.”

“That's just so funny to me because it makes me have a headache when I think about wearing that now,” she says. “Kenzie and I will always wear dresses with sneakers, but it's just in a tasteful way now with no sparkles [and] no tulle."

For Kenzie, the fashion moment she regrets most is not a red carpet look or frill-heavy ensemble — it was the “goth phase” she says she went through around 12 or 13.

“I was wearing lots of chains on my pants and just weird necklaces and crazy earrings and I dyed my hair black,” she says. “I feel like I thought I was goth, but that's definitely not me whatsoever.”

She clarifies that “a lot of people can definitely pull off that look” — it’s just not for her. “I don't know why I went there,” she says, adding that she also regrets “everything I've worn on a red carpet from when I was 10 and under.”

While looking back on each other's bad fashion moments, Kenzie recalls a very adult ensemble Maddie wore to a red carpet five years ago. The singer says that as her sister got older, she was "definitely going for the more mature outfits, and it was really cute," to which Maddie replies, “That was a terrible outfit.”

The actress then jokingly calls her sister out for an outdated outfit formula they both used to swear by.

“When you were little, you would wear a pushup bra and then you would wear a baby tank top and then you would wear leggings and then we'd wear a combat boot, which is so bad,” Maddie says, calling it “the most basic girl outfit.”

Now, both sisters have left pushup bras and bedazzled sneakers in the past and “really honed in on what is flattering for our body and what makes us the most comfortable,” according to Maddie.

Thus, their ‘90s-inspired collection with American Eagle that both girls say their younger selves would admire.

“I feel like when I was younger, I always wanted to dress super cool,” Kenzie says. “And I feel like this collection is, to be really honest, super, super cool … I feel like my younger self would definitely want to wear it.”

“I agree with that,” Maddie says. “I think our younger selves would be so proud of us and be like, ‘Wow, thank goodness that we evolved.’”

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And if they could rewind time and give young Maddie and Kenzie any fashion advice? “I would say stop wearing skinny jeans,” Maddie jokes, before offering a genuine response.

“I mean, we're young [now] too, but just don't be scared to try different things,” she says. “I don't even think we realize, but everyone follows trends and what's popular ... but I think it's okay to not follow every single trend and just do what makes you comfortable and what makes you happy.”