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

See Examples For:

dolled up

Meng Jiaxuan, 20, dolled up in her traditional outfit at Shichahai, said she had even researched poses for her photoshoot on Xiaohongshu.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

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

But there is concern the optics of rich celebrities dolled up with smiles on a red carpet could come off as tone deaf.

From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2025

And then when she's all dolled up or she thinks that things are going good, you see these pinks and the lilac and the greens more when she's happy.

From Salon ● May 16, 2024

I had never seen Miss Love when she wasn’t dolled up like one of those M. Rich & Bros. fashion advertisements in the Atlanta newspapers.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns