Nearly 28 years separate Sandra Bullock’s first appearance as Sally Owens in Practical Magic from her return in Practical Magic 2.

But one tiny piece of 1998 never really left her.

It sat with Bullock for decades, far away from the fictional Owens house and the movie set where audiences first saw it. Then, when the time finally came for Sally Owens to appear on screen again, Bullock quietly brought it back.

And unless someone told you where to look, there is a good chance you would never realize what you were seeing.

In a new interview with Bustle published Sept. 9, Bullock revealed that a skirt she wears during one of the cemetery scenes near the beginning of Practical Magic 2 is not a newly designed recreation inspired by Sally’s old wardrobe.

It is the actual skirt from the first movie.

“It’s the same skirt I wore in the first film. I already had it,” Bullock revealed.

That means a genuine piece of Sally Owens’ 1998 wardrobe survived for almost three decades in Bullock’s possession — and has now quietly returned to the screen with her.

For longtime Practical Magic fans, it is the kind of detail that turns an ordinary costume into a small cinematic time capsule.

Bullock Had Already Taken Home What She Wanted

The revelation came when Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Joey King and Maisie Williams were discussing which costumes or props they would want to take from the world of Practical Magic.

Kidman quickly pointed the finger at her longtime co-star, joking that Bullock had essentially beaten everyone to it.

Bullock admitted she had kept things from the original production — which is how the old skirt was available when the sequel came together decades later.

The wardrobe connection is especially unusual because the sequel could easily have recreated Sally Owens’ late-’90s style.

Instead, one item required no recreation at all.

Bullock still had the original.

And now audiences watching Practical Magic 2 can see an object that was literally part of the first film rather than simply a visual reference to it.

That gives fans another reason to look carefully at the cemetery sequence.

The skirt may not announce itself as an Easter egg. There is no flashing sign telling viewers that the garment predates some of the sequel’s younger stars.

It simply exists within the scene — connecting the two movies in a way most viewers would never detect without knowing the story behind it.

The Skirt Wasn’t the Only Piece of Practical Magic Bullock Kept

Bullock also revealed that another object from the original production ended up in her home.

This time, however, she wanted to make one distinction very clear.

She paid for it.

The actress recalled taking home a vintage rolling chalkboard that had been used in the Owens house. She described the piece as an oak-framed board on wheels dating from roughly the 1920s and said she considered it both useful and beautiful enough to function as art.

Bullock jokingly started to describe herself as having “stolen” it before correcting the record and explaining that she bought it.

The chalkboard remained with her, just like the skirt.

Together, the two objects offer an unexpectedly tangible link to a movie whose reputation grew dramatically after its original release.

When Practical Magic arrived in theaters in 1998, Bullock played Sally Owens opposite Kidman’s Gillian Owens, two sisters born into a family of witches and raised by their eccentric aunts, played by Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest.

The movie mixed romance, grief, comedy, sisterhood and supernatural fantasy in a combination that was not immediately embraced by everyone.

Bullock recently recalled being disappointed by the original film’s reception, describing its first publicity run as difficult. Over time, however, Practical Magic developed the devoted following that ultimately made a sequel possible.

Almost Three Decades Later, the Owens Women Are Back

That long afterlife is what makes Bullock’s preserved skirt more than a random piece of movie memorabilia.

Practical Magic 2 is bringing much of the original Owens family back together.

Bullock returns as Sally. Kidman is once again Gillian. Channing and Wiest also reprise their roles as aunts Frances and Jet Owens.

The sequel adds Joey King and Maisie Williams as the next generation of the family, alongside Lee Pace, Xolo Maridueña and others. Directed by Susanne Bier, the film opened in North American theaters on Sept. 10, 2026, with international releases beginning Sept. 9. Bullock and Kidman also serve as producers.

The new story pushes the Owens family into another confrontation with its magical ancestry and the curse that has followed generations of the women.

But behind all the new characters, sets and supernatural trouble are small connections to the movie that started everything.

One of them can literally be worn.

Bullock and Kidman have also made clear that returning to Practical Magic was not simply a matter of reviving a recognizable title.

Both actresses have described the sequel as a chance to revisit the Owens sisters from a different stage of life, with themes involving family, motherhood, aging and what one generation passes to the next.

In that context, an old piece of Sally’s wardrobe returning with her feels unexpectedly appropriate.

The character has changed.

Bullock has changed.

The audience that first watched Practical Magic in 1998 has changed.

The skirt hasn’t.

Joey King and Maisie Williams Already Know What They Would Take

Bullock’s confession also prompted the younger members of the cast to consider what they would have rescued from the original movie.

Williams had a particularly specific answer: Sally Owens’ jeans.

King went considerably bigger.

She wanted the stove from the famous Owens kitchen — despite the obvious logistical problem involved in carrying an entire stove away from a film set. Williams jokingly proposed putting it on a skateboard.

Their answers underline how important the visual world of Practical Magic became to fans.

The clothes, kitchen, house, garden and slightly eccentric details of the Owens family home are almost as recognizable as some of the characters themselves.

But Bullock does not have to imagine which artifact she would save.

She already saved one.

And 28 years later, she found a reason to wear it again.

A Tiny Detail Most Viewers Could Easily Miss

Hollywood sequels often work hard to remind audiences of the movies that came before them.

Old lines return. Familiar music plays. Iconic shots are recreated. Props are placed in the background specifically so dedicated fans can spot them.

Bullock’s skirt is different.

It does not merely look like something from Practical Magic.

It is something from Practical Magic.

The same piece of clothing traveled from the 1998 production into Bullock’s possession and eventually back onto Sally Owens in 2026.

For longtime fans heading into Practical Magic 2, that creates one very specific thing to watch for.

When Sally appears in the cemetery, look at her skirt.

Almost everyone else in the theater may simply see a costume.

But they are actually looking at a piece of Practical Magic history that Sandra Bullock quietly kept safe for nearly three decades.