Blake Lively explains why she paid tribute to Britney Spears with iconic detail at film premiere

Blake Lively fans are on tenterhooks waiting for her latest film, It Ends With Us, to hit UK cinemas - and as a cherry on top, she wore an iconic Britney Spears look to the premiere.

36-year-old actress, Lively, is famously known for styling herself for events rather than relying on a stylist to do the job for her.

The press nights and premieres for her latest film, based on a novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover, are coming thick and fast.

In the film, Lively plays the protagonist Lily Bloom, and Justin Baldoni and Ryan Sklenar co-star.

The title will finally hit UK cinema screens on 9 August - but for the lucky few who get to attend glitzy premieres, they've had the chance to see it already, and witness Lively's stunning looks.

Last night (6 August) marked the New York premiere of the forthcoming film, with Lively in attendance, alongside her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds.

Lively's outfit had everyone talking as it was a truly nostalgic piece.

She showed up in the iconic rainbow Versace dress that Britney Spears wore in 2002.

It turns out, Lively specifically picked the piece from Versace’s SS03 collection in order to pay a special tribute to the 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' singer.

Taking to Instagram Stories, Lively shared a throwback snap of Spears wearing the gown in 2002.

She wrote: "The ultimate queen who made us all want to sparkle and write and share our stories. Britney, us millennials all have a story of a moment or of years that you made us want to shine and inspire awe, with strength, and joy and immensely hard work.

"Thank you for your example and your contribution to women telling their stories. So excited about your biopic and all you have to come."

On the red carpet, Lively told a reporter from Extra: "Britney Spears has meant so much to me forever. I'm a forever Britney stan.”

In recent days, a biopic about the life and legacy of Spears was announced, with Universal Pictures securing the rights and Jon M Chu set to direct.

Vanity Fair reported that the deal 'was reportedly in the eight-figure range [and] likely because it also included rights to Spears’s own music catalogue.'

Fans were simply stunned by Lively's look, which she paired with soft waves and a nude pink lip.

One fan wrote: "I hope Britney Spears sees that she’s getting some love from Blake Lively."

Another said: "So sweet of blake lively to do this, nice gesture."