True Stories from the Set of Your Favorite Hollywood Musical: Grease

Olivia Newton-John’s Pants Were Sewn onto Her

Now those are tight pants! Olivia Newton-John’s skin-tight black leather pants were arguably a big part of the film and one of the most iconic outfits in cinema. Those super tight leather pants and her off-the-shoulder top still get nods in pop culture and fashion trends today. Not to mention that women love to dress up as her for Halloween, even today.

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John are dancing at the carnival, Olivia wearing tight black pants, in Grease, 1978.

Photo by Paramount / Rso / Kobal / Shutterstock

The actress admitted that those “pants changed my life.” But she didn’t necessarily mean in a good way. The process wasn’t easy. Newton-John’s leather pants were so tight that they had to be sewn onto her every day before filming. Zipper malfunction? Back to the chair. At the end of the day, the actress had to rip them off, only to start the process all over again the following morning. But hey – no pain, no gain, right?