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Arts & Entertainment

Oscars Fashion: Every Dress Worn By Best Actress Winners Since 1929

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The Oscars Awards ceremony can be boiled down to two important points: the best films and the best fashion. "Who are you wearing?" seems to be the "it" question stars get asked on the red carpet. A U.K. company, MediaRun Digital, is keeping fashion history alive with their delightful infographic of all the dresses worn by Oscars' Best Actress statuette winners from 1929 to 2013.

It's amazing to see how fashion has changed over 84 years, seeing gowns from the likes of classic Hollywood starlets like Bette Davis (in 1936!) and Audrey Hepburn and fast-forward to Hilary Swank and Kate Winslet.

Paul North, who created the infographic, wrote about the different styles over the years on the MediaRun Digital website:

The 50s are classically elegant, as one might expect, while the love/hate relationship people have with 80s fashion is on full display with wildly different and highly original designs each year. The early ceremonies were a far less extravagant occasion and fashion choices reflected that, while today’s events see luxurious flowing gowns from the world’s leading designers.

What's interesting about this project is the hard research North and his team put into these drawings. With the black-and-white photos of older dresses they obtained, they had to rely on written descriptions to add the right color.

See the entire image below and a larger version can be seen here:

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