Say Yes to the Dress!

The Oscars.

These days we more often than not remember an actress for her dress rather than for the award she won. As Andrea said, the Academy Awards weren’t always the ceremony of pomp and circumstance that we know today. In turn, neither were the fashions.

In fact, if it wasn’t for the turn the red carpet took in the 1950s why, Joan Rivers would be out of a job today. That was when the Red Carpet became the fiasco it is today and while the likes of Audrey Hepburn helped mold its image, we can almost pinpoint the beginning of the end to 1955 and Grace Kelly.

When Kelly arrived to accept her Best Actress award for her performance in The Country Girl, she walked the carpet in this Edith Head dress that had a price tag of $4,000. It was the most expensive Oscar gown to date and turned the Red Carpet into an all-out fashion frenzy.

Barbara Streisand was another Best Actress winner (Funny Girl) to turn heads when she wore a Scaasi creation in 1969.

Believe it or not, the big white collar was considered “young and exciting” at a time when spaghetti straps were unheard of.

Edith Head struck gold again in 1970 when she fitted Elizabeth Taylor with a blue dress designed to match the actress’ eyes.

We still have to check to see which husband she was accessorizing with at the time, though.

It isn’t all beauty, however, mostly thanks to the likes of Cher. She repeatedly made a fool out of herself when it came to her Oscar costumes, but none moreso than the Bob Mackie dress from 1998 when she won Best Actress for Moonstruck.


That’s hardly the worst, though. Our pick for The Worst Oscar Dress in History. Ever. comes from the walking fashion faux pas that is Bjork. In case you blocked this memory out, the Icelandic singer wore a swan to the 2001 Oscar ceremony. We don’t think she’s been invited back since.