Julia Roberts Owes Her Style to Her 22-Year-Old Self and a Certain Pair of Leggings

Tonight, InStyle honored Julia Roberts with the 2018 Style Icon Award. But the actor didn't take all the credit when she went up on stage. Of course, she thanked her stylist, her makeup artist, and her team for putting together her unforgettable looks, but one person, in particular, got a sweet shoutout: Roberts thanked her 22-year-old self for having the guts to wear whatever she wanted.

Roberts gave the customary speech when she accepted, noting that she never ever goes shopping, but manages to look great at every event thanks to her team — including stylist Elizabeth Stewart, who was also being honored tonight.

"When you're popular and tall, you just have these incredibly smart people to your house with racks of stunning things. And so, this award is for being good at saying, 'Oh, I think that, that one,'" Roberts explained. "I went from pointing at the right stuff. That's honestly the whole thing. I never go shopping. I just said I wanted to wear these shoes and that makes me somehow great in a very pretend way. "

But Roberts didn't stop at her team. She explained that when she had just started out in the industry, without the luxury of having a team, she was left her own devices. It was that freedom that grounded her, reminding her that the whole A-list experience of red carpets, movie premieres, and awards shows are anything but ordinary. It was because of that naivety that Roberts wore whatever she wanted, even if it didn't make any sense.

"The great thing about being a nearly 51-year-old person is that 30 years in this business means that I can have incredibly smart people like Richard Curtis talk on my behalf and make me feel good about myself. It truly is about saying thank you, not for me, but for all the people that make me feel like myself in these very bizarre public instances," Roberts said. "If I were to take any credit, I would thank 22-year-old version of me, who wore, ad nauseam, a sort-of-like high-ranking naval jacket that I found at a vintage store with inexplicable black-and-white horizontal striped leggings and thought I was fantastic. For that girl, I thank you."

The speech had one more tidbit: Roberts is a Jeff Goldblum stan just like everyone else — she wished him a happy birthday from the podium. If that's not enough to cement her position as America's sweetheart forever, nothing else will do it.