dolled up

Idioms  

1. Also, all dolled up. Dressed or fixed up smartly and, often, ostentatiously, usually for a special occasion. For example, There's no need to get all dolled up—it's just a picnic, or They dolled up the classroom for parents' night. This expression alludes to a person or object being as attractive as a pretty doll. It is also put verbally, to doll up, as in I wanted to doll up my apartment before the guests arrived. [Colloquial; c. 1900] Also see gussied up.

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Example Sentences

His TikTok videos show him tending to horses in the barn, dolled up with his girlfriend at major races placing $5,000 bets and celebrating big wins.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

I don’t think voters would mind boring at all, if it was dolled up with credibility and competence.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

If not this season to get dolled up, then when?

From Salon • Dec. 28, 2023

This Lynnwood shop has a cult following in the North End for its wacky flavor combo doughnuts dolled up in Technicolor.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 19, 2023

“Every day when she went out all dolled up, I said to myself, she is heading for a fall.”

From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang