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The 45 Most Memorable Dresses in Oscars History

lupita
Steve Granitz/Getty Images

Forget the awards and the speeches and even the movies themselves. In our humble opinion, the fashion is the most important part of any Oscars ceremony. In honor of this year's show, we’ve rounded up 45 of the most memorable looks of all time, from Grace Kelly to Lupita Nyong’o.

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NBC/GETTY IMAGES

1. Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy (1954)

She’s beauty and she’s grace and she’s the reason we want to belt everything.

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SILVER SCREEN COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES

2. Grace Kelly in Edith Head (1955)

A year before Kelly became an actual princess, she certainly looked the part at the Oscars.

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ABC PHOTO ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES

3. Barbra Streisand in Arnold Scaasi (1969)

Is that a see-through pantsuit with a Peter Pan collar we see? Yes. Yes, it is.

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MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES

4. Lauren Hutton in Halston (1975)

Between the V-neck, the stripes, the fur and the tan, this look is pure ’70s and we’re obsessed.

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Ron Galella / Getty Images

5. Farrah Fawcett in Stephen Burrows (1978)

Our forever golden girl. 

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6. Cher in Bob Mackie (1988)

When you’ve got the Oscars at six but gotta get to your show on the Las Vegas strip by nine.

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KMazur / Getty Images

7. Cindy Crawford in Herve Leger (1993)

The supermodel opted for a body-hugging gown for her first Academy Awards. 

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Jim Smeal / Getty Images

8. Elizabeth Hurley in Versace (1995)

The quintessential Versace girl in our opinion. 

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9. Sharon Stone in Gap and Vera Wang (1998)

Stone wore high-low before high-low was even a thing.

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JEFFREY MAYER/GETTY IMAGES

10. Gwenyth Paltrow in Ralph Lauren (1999)

Serving debutante ballerina realness.

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STEVE GRANITZ/GETTY IMAGES

11. Bjork in Marjan Pejoski (2001)

Dare we say this is the most talked-about dress the world has ever known?

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12. Reneé Zellweger in Jean Dessès (2001)

She paired the canary yellow gown with a signature red lip. 

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13. Julia Roberts in Valentino (2001)

For what it’s worth, Roberts is saving this gorgeous gown for her daughter, Hazel. (Lucky.)

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14. Halle Berry in Elie Saab (2002)

This dress would work on roughly .00001 percent of the population. Halle Berry is in that .00001.

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images

15. Halle Berry in Elie Saab (2003)

Gold FTW.

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Steve Granitz/ Getty Images

16. Kate Hudson in Atelier Versace (2003)

One of the best-dressed presenters we ever did see. 

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Jeff Kravitz/ Getty Images

17. Charlize Theron in Dior (2004)

Not only did she win big on the red carpet, but Theron also won for her role in Monster this same year.

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STEVE GRANITZ/GETTY IMAGES

18. Hilary Swank in Guy Laroche (2005)

*Googles easy back-toning exercises*

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Jeff Kravitz/ Getty Images

19. Reese Witherspoon in Christian Dior (2006)

Vintage wins again. 

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Chris Polk / Getty Images

20. Michelle Williams in Vera Wang (2006)

This saffron gown has become one of the most memorable red carpet moments of all time. 

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Jeff Kravitz/ Getty Images

21. Kate Winslet in Valentino (2007)

Also nominated for Best Actress, Winslet stood out in a color not seen often on the red carpet—a pretty mint green.

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Steve Granitz / Getty Images 

22. Marion Cotillard in Jean Paul Gaultier (2008)

Only she could pull off a dress that looks as though it’s entirely made of fish scales. 

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Steve Granitz / Getty Images

23. Anne Hathaway in Armani Privé (2009)

Although she didn’t win the Oscar for her role in Rachel Getting Married, Hathaway looked statuesque for the big event. 

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Steve Granitz/ Getty Images

24. Penelope Cruz in Pierre Balmain (2009)

We’re getting serious princess vibes. 

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25. Angelina Jolie in Atelier Versace (2012)

The leg that launched a million memes.

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Dan MacMedan/ Getty Images

26. Meryl Streep in Lanvin (2012)

The designer has been one of Streep’s red carpet go-tos for years. 

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Michael Buckner/Getty Images

27. Octavia Spencer in Tadashi Shoji (2012)

An embellished, cinched gown with a flattering silhouette.

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Jeffrey Mayer /Getty Images 

28. Jennifer Aniston in Valentino (2013)

Of course, we had to include this crimson number. 

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Jeffrey Mayer /Getty Images

29. Jessica Chastain in Armani Privé (2013)

Can anyone say Old Hollywood? 

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Dan MacMedan/ Getty Images

30. Amy Adams in Oscar de la Renta (2014)

The actress even helped design this blue-gray gown with a full tulle train. 

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31. Lupita Nyong'o in Prada (2014)

Speaking of princesses...

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32. Zendaya in Vivienne Westwood (2015) 

Hard to believe this was the Euphoria star’s Oscar debut. 

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DAN MACMEDAN/GETTY IMAGEs 

33. Cate Blanchett in Armani Privé (2016)

Between the color, the detail and the overall drama, this one’s a win for us.

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Gregg DeGuire/ Getty Images

34. Jennifer Lawrence in Dior (2016)

The perfect combo of lace and tulle.

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Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

35. Viola Davis in Bottega Veneta (2017)

Red is definitely her color.

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STEVE GRANITZ/GETTY IMAGES

36. Nicole Kidman in Armani Privé (2018)

The bigger the bow, the better.

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Dan MacMedan /Getty Images

37. Lady Gaga in Alexander McQueen (2019)

Channeling her inner Audrey Hepburn. 

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Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

38. Regina King in Oscar de la Renta (2019)

So simple, yet so flattering.

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Dan MacMedan / Getty Images

39. Jennifer Lopez in Tom Ford (2019)

We’ve never seen anything quite like this metallic embroidered mirror mosaic long-sleeved gown. (Talk about a mouthful.)

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Dan MacMedan / Getty Images

40. Kacey Musgraves in Giambattista Valli (2019)

The country star packed on the layers. 

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Amy Sussman/Getty Images

41. Janelle Monáe in Ralph Lauren (2020)

Everything from the draped hood to the hand-embroidered crystals make us want to swoon.

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Matt Sayles/A.M.P.A.S./Getty Images

42. Zendaya in Valentino (2021)

Her 2021 look was so good, she made the list twice.

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Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

43. Ariana DeBose in Valentino (2022)

Sure, it’s not a dress, but it’s still one of our favorite Oscar looks of all time.

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Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

44. Mindy Kaling in Vera Wang (2023)

She wore a black version of the dress while presenting.

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Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

45. Angela Bassett in Moschino (2023)

Purple is totally her color.


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greta

Senior Editor

Greta Heggeness is a California-based editor at PureWow and has been writing about entertainment since 2015. She covers everything from awards shows to exclusive celebrity...