Despite the red carpet being the Oscars’ primary draw, it’s always the dresses that capture the people’s attention. Fashion Week runways roar with life during the Awards ceremony. Chic garments like works of art are coupled with millions of dollars of diamonds that stun the audience.
But that was not always the case on the red carpet. Before it became what it is today, it was the job of the movie studios to design the dresses for their top-rated actors. Other actors were tasked to create their own dresses by outsourcing for both material and seamstresses.
Here are some of the most timeless dresses that have caught audiences’ attention over the decades and are still as beautiful as when they first wore them.
1. Mary Pickford’s dress, 1930
In 1930, Mary Pickford (left) won her role in Coquette, the best actress Oscar. It was the second academy prize, and it was the first player to win a sound feature, so it was a big honor.
Pickford wore a timeless dress with a ruched bodice with a trumpet skirt and adorned beads, dressed to impress the awards ceremony. The top was sleeveless, and there was a striking arch on the side of the chest.
2. Bette Davis, 1939
For her role in the romantic drama Jezebel, Bette Davis was awarded the Best Actress Oscar at the 1939 Academy Awards. Her second Oscar win cemented her in Tinsel Town as an implacable force of nature.
Davis wore an impressive black dress with a bushy feather collar that added a lot of drama to the grand event. The dress was a massive improvement from what she had worn to her first Oscar Event in 1936, an old costume designed by Orry-Kelly.
3. Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel became the first African American Oscar winner in 1940, making history with the film Gone with the Wind. McDaniel wore a turquoise gown studded with rhinestones to the event, and her hair was adorned with white gardenias.
In 2010, 70 years later, actress Mo’Nique adorned her hair with gardenias and wore a blue dress to pay homage to Hattie as she received her award for best-supporting actress in the film Precious.
4. Carmen Miranda, 1941
Film: SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES
Brazilian-born Portuguese actress Carmen Miranda left jaws dropping with her beautiful dress and headwrap at the 1941 Oscars. Her gown had a gray-blue tint with long sleeves and beautiful beading along the bodice.
Cutouts ran down the sides of her tummy, exposing a surprising amount of skin for the 1940s. Her turban was patterned in blue, black, and silver and surrounded by an ornate top knot updo. She was one of the best-dressed stars on the red carpet that night.
5. Ginger Rogers, 1941
Because the globe was in the midst of World War II, the Academy suggested that participants dress in dark, subdued attire to reflect the mournful nature of the situation. Rogers donned a gray silk gown with a black lace bodice created in the United States, adhering to the evening’s new requirements.
A flowery diamond collar necklace was also added to the neckline, adding some glitz to the otherwise conservative outfit.
6. Loretta Young, 1948
Loretta Young (second left) received Best Actress for her performance in Farmer’s Daughter in 1948. She wore a voluminous emerald-green gown with a garland of giant bows and ruffles extending down the length of the skirt to commemorate the occasion.
The bright green dress was coupled with matching elbow-length gloves to create a fashionable look.
7. Loretta Young, 1949
Loretta Young wore a unique gown at the 1949 Academy Awards. The thick lace emphasized floral embroidery across the hips and down the pleats of the lace dress.
The back consisted of a taffeta bustle that reflected the grand Old Hollywood designs, and reflective polka dots dropped down her skirt like confetti.
8. Liz Taylor, 1953
Taylor wore a ruffled light pink gown at the Academy Awards. The pink garment was discovered by an antique lover on her yearly antique road trip in an antique shop decades later.
She recognized the typewritten name “Elizabeth Taylor” on the dress label and bought it for only $20. The dress was later appraised for $4,000 at the antique roadshow.
9. Grace Kelly, 1954
Grace Kelly took her first Oscar ceremony preparations very seriously. She arrived onto the red carpet, dressed in a timeless, gorgeous gown, looking amazing.
Kelly wore a beaded silk ballgown with a ribbon-tied waist for the occasion. She accessorized with a pearl necklace, a fur cloak, and ivory elbow-length gloves.
10. Grace Kelly, 1955
Grace Kelly made headlines in 1955 not just for winning her first and only Academy Award but also for wearing a glamorous gown suited for a Hollywood superstar.
Kelly donned a blue French silk gown fashioned by none other than Edith Head, a famed costume designer with 35 Oscar nominations and eight wins over her long career in the film industry.
11. Grace Kelly, 1956
Grace Kelly, dressed in a classically feminine gown, attended the Academy Awards with MGM spokeswoman Morgan Hudgins. Helen Rose, who also designed the costumes for Kelly’s two films from 1956, created the gown.
The ballgown skirt was beautifully decorated with flower embroidery, and the neckline was a chiffon crisscross pattern over her breast. Kelly completed the outfit by walking down the red carpet with an evening wrap wrapped across her chest for a delicate look.
12. Dorothy Malone, 1957
While she had a reputation for playing hedonistic characters, her Oscars gown in 1957 was relatively modest. It had an almost off-the-shoulder neckline, a dramatic sailor collar, a subtle row of buttons, and overblown puff sleeves that went all the way down to the elbows.
She completed her look with white silk gloves, giving her the appearance of a sophisticated woman.
13. Jean Simmons, 1958
Even though Jean Simmons was not nominated for an Academy Award in 1958, she accepted the Best Actor award in Alec Guinness’s stead, who was unable to attend the ceremony.
Simmons chose a strapless ballgown with large, vivid floral embroidery down her skirt for the occasion. From the bodice to the hem, satin ribbons elegantly crisscrossed.
14. Joan Collins, 1958
Joan Collins wore a bubblegum pink strapless outfit she made herself to her first Academy Awards in 1958. It had a balloon skirt she jokingly referred to as a “vacuum cleaning bag.”
Her pink satin gown was complemented by soft pink silk gloves, pink satin heels, and a diamond necklace around her neck.
15. Ingrid Bergman, 1959
Bergman received more applause than any other Oscar winner when she took the stage in 1959 to give the Best Actor award. Bergman chose a delicate and girlish knee-length dress in pink and green for the special occasion.
The top had cap sleeves and was embroidered with pink, yellow, and green flowers on the bodice. The delicate pink A-line skirt was embellished with a chartreuse bow around the waist.
16. Janet Leigh, 1960
Janet Leigh arrived at the 1960 Academy Awards glittering like a siren, accompanied by her husband, fellow actor Tony Curtis. Leigh donned a sleeveless lamé dress with a turned-up collar, symbolizing the shift in fashion trends in the next decade.
There was a gradual but noticeable movement away from costume-made ballgowns and toward more whimsical evening dress on the awards circuit.
17. Ava Gardner, 1960
Ava Gardner, who was also feeling glitzy that night, wore a silver sequined halter dress with white silk gloves, a white fur stole, and a diamond Belle Époque tiara. Although she loved her jewelry, she also felt like there was a time and place to wear them. And this was one of these occasions.
18. Annette Funicello, 1961
Annette Funicello, a Disney legend and renowned teen star, dazzled fashion critics with her flirtatious white short dress at the 1961 Academy Awards.
The tulle tutu skirt fanned out into a voluminous A-line silhouette and was capped off with a demure lace bodice that reached just below the knees. For the 18-year-old actress, it was the ideal look.
19. Liz Taylor, 1961
Elizabeth Taylor received the Best Actress Oscar in 1961 for her performance in the film Butterfield 8 as Manhattan call girl Gloria Wandrous. Taylor chose a color-blocked Christian Dior gown with a red rosette at the waist for the occasion.
The flower print gown was called the “Soirée a Rio” garment and was part of Dior’s Spring-Summer 1961 Haute Couture collection.
20. Shirley Jones, 1961
Shirley Jones, who received the Best Supporting Actress award in 1961 for her portrayal of a fallen lady in Elmer Gantry, wore a glistening gold gown to the red carpet. The champagne tulle gown was finished off with a cropped bolero jacket that added even more pizazz to the look.
21. Rita Moreno, 1962
All eyes were on Rita Morena’s stunning attire as she won Best Supporting Actress in 1962 for her work in West Side Story. Her Japanese-inspired gown was so lovely that she decided to wear it to the Academy Awards again in 2018, 56 years later.
The skirt was created from a single piece of obi cloth, commonly used to make kimonos, and the gown was handmade in Manila, Philippines.
22. Sophia Loren, 1963
Sophia Loren presented Gregory Peck with the Best Actor Oscar in 1963 for his depiction of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, but her outfit, with its distinctive design, stole the show. Except for the feathery collar, the white knee-length dress had a rather plain silhouette.
The cocktail dress was adorned with a boa of shaggy feathers that added drama and movement to the neckline. A wreath of white chiffon flowers was placed on top of the feathers, transforming the dress into a work of art.
23. Elke Sommer, 1966
Elke Sommer, a German actress, was the face of the Swinging Sixties at the 1966 Academy Awards. She donned a mint green chiffon dress with a beaded bodice and an irregular neckline.
Throughout its length, her beehive hairstyle was adorned with tiny flowers. Sommer “wore the most splendiferously landscaped hair,” according to The Indianapolis News at the time, referring to her tall up-do with its ringlet curls.
24. Elke Sommer, 1968
Film: THE WICKED DREAMS OF PAULA SCHULTZ
Elke Sommer’s red carpet style drastically transformed in just two years. She first dropped the beehive in favor of a low ponytail.
Her gown was a gorgeous floor-length column dress with gold starbursts that ran down its height. The bodice was a low cut and had broad straps over the shoulders. Sommer completed her outfit with a brown fur coat and white elbow-length gloves.
25. Julie Andrews, 1968
Julie Andrews walked the red carpet in a black cocktail dress right on fashion for the 1960s in 1968. It featured a long taffeta skirt, a high turtleneck collar, and billowing sheer sleeves.
She adorned her neck with a diamond pendant in the center, and the bodice was composed of black velvet.
26. Audrey Hepburn, 1968
Audrey Hepburn was nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture for her role in Wait Until Dark in 1968, and despite not winning, she walked the red carpet in a stunning empire waist Givenchy gown.
The Mod movement was brilliantly portrayed by the garment, which was well ahead of its time. This pearl-and-flower-encrusted dress had a beautiful bow on the chest that balanced off a bold cutout at the chest, giving the impression that she was wearing a vest sans shirt.
27. Carol Channing, 1968
Carol Channing was not only a legendary Broadway great, but she also made magnificent red carpet appearances at the Academy Awards.
She had a bright sense of style and was famous for bringing Broadway characters like Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen, Prefer Blondes, and Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly! to life. Nothing exemplified this more than her Oscar-winning gown from 1968.
28. Barbra Streisand, 1969
Ties are not so uncommon at the Academy Awards, but one of the most noteworthy was the 1969 split between newbie Barbara Streisand and two-time Oscar winner Katharine Hepburn.
Streisand was nominated for Funny Girl, while Hepburn was nominated for The Lion in the Winter, but Streisand stole the stage due to Hepburn’s absence.
Because Hepburn was absent, all eyes were on Streisand, who wore an Arnold Scaasi sequin bell-bottom jumpsuit that turned sheer in the light.
Her clothes for the 1970 film On A Clear Day You Can See Forever were also designed by Scaasi, and the jumpsuit was a costume from the film that was never shot!
29. Cher, 1973
Cher’s first Academy Award appearance was in 1968, and she wouldn’t return to the red carpet until 1973, five years later. She returned to the awards presentation in a gold Bob Mackie outfit inspired by a sari.
The Oscars have always been — and continue to be — a relatively conservative affair in terms of dress. Cher had always been one to defy convention, and she arrived in a sheer gown that flaunted toned abs.
30. Farrah Fawcett, 1978
Farrah Fawcett wore a slinky gold gown to the 1978 Academy Awards, where she presented the Best Film Editing award. The liquid-like silhouette of the gold chainmail tank dress dipped low at the neckline and symbolized Studio 54.
The gown was floor-length, with an open back and dangerously exposed sides. Stephen Burrows, a well-known designer, created the dress.