Exclusive: How Lili Reinhart Snagged the "Only Copy" of the Iconic '13 Going On 30' Coat'

Lili Reinhart turned 30 in the midst of her Love Hypothesis press tour, the outfits for which pay tribute to the leading ladies of '90s and early 2000s rom-coms. The former Marie Claire cover star could've celebrated her milestone birthday with a post-premiere sheet cake, but instead, she tracked down the vintage Nanette Lepore coat that Jennifer Garner wore in 13 Going on 30. Now that's method dressing.

On September 17, a few days after her special day, Reinhart was spotted in New York City wearing a little brown, lace-trimmed slip dress from Fleur du Mal, vintage Jimmy Choo kitten heels, and an ivory polka-dotted coat.

For those who can't recite Jenna Rink's 13 Going On 30 monologue by heart, Reinhart looked cool in an early-2000s kind of way. Hardcore fans of the 2004 film, on the other hand, got déjà vu: Garner wore the same single-breasted style in the movie and on the original poster. But how did such an iconic piece of movie history land in Reinhart's lap? Violet Savage, the daughter of the New York-based designer Nanette Lepore—and the protector of her archives—tells Marie Claire how it happened.

Last month, an Instagram video of Savage wearing the cropped Spring 2003 coat around NYC popped up on Reinhart's FYP. Then, Wish You Love Vintage—an archival collector that Reinhart's stylist, Ib Abdel Nasser, sourced for the vintage Jimmy Choos—connected them. With their rom-com-coded concept in mind, Nasser and Savage started texting.

After Lepore "gave her blessing," their "only copy of the jacket" was off. "I think it was just a little kismet that just a few months earlier, I had pulled it out of the archives and happened to have quite immediate access to that exact piece," Savage tells Marie Claire. "It was in a box [that was] not labeled jackets."

"I really love that [Reinhart's stylist Ib Abdel Nasser] went to the source directly, rather than try to make a new piece or recreate it," Savage says. Not only did loaning the coat from Lepore make the moment go viral, it shone the spotlight on Lepore and how influential her designs remain today. "I really didn't realize the impact that this look—or the clothes that my mom designed that were featured in popular media—really had on people," Savage adds. "And it's been really special to share that online and to see the reactions." Back in the day, Lepore's pieces were featured in Gossip Girl and Gilmore Girls.

Reinhart's Love Hypothesis look comes six years after Lepore closed her independent design studio. Now, she's back: Leopore is the lead designer at Maria Cecilia, but her clientele hasn't changed. "[Most] of who she designs for now are her customers that have been around since [the beginning] of her career," Savage says. "People who've been shopping her clothes for 20 or 30 years are back, and she's really listening to them and really trying to make clothing that makes women feel good and empowered."

It's a new era for Lepore, but she is "keeping the core femininity elements" of her first fashion brand. According to her daughter, day-to-night tailoring, statement matching sets, and looks that "women could wear to work while still feeling cute and pretty" remain in Lepore's signature style vocabulary. Given that she still "loves to play with bright colors and beautiful patterns," perhaps a grand return to rom-coms is in Lepore's future.