Cher 1988
Best actress
Cher collected her Moonstruck award in a Bob Mackie original the Associated Press called "eye-popping."
Jessica Lange 1995
Best actress
The Blue Sky winner chose this Calvin Klein gown with a sheer leaf-pattern overlay after the designer sent over sketches.
Cloris Leachman 1972
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Before striding onstage as a winner for The Last Picture Show, Leachman practiced walking in her full-length wool Galanos dress, "because sometimes you end up tripping with these teeny, tiny, little doll steps," she says.
Estelle Parsons 1968
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The Bonnie and Clyde star purchased her gown at a discount store for S30. "I was a good-looking woman and had a good-looking figure," she says, "so what the hell."
Sissy Spacek 1981
BEST ACTRESS
On Oscar night, Spacek traded in her flashy country-western duds from A Coal Miner's Daughter for elegant evening pants.
Faye Dunaway
1977 BEST ACTRESS
For the ceremony, the Network star borrowed a satin blouse-and-trouser ensemble from designer Geoffrey Beene. "For her to wear pants in the evening was so modern," he says.
Olympia Dukakis 1988
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
To find the beaded chiffon frock she wore for her Moonstruck win, Dukakis says she "did what I always did: waited until the last minute, ran to a store and bought a dress off the rack."
Sally Field 1985
BEST ACTRESS
For her infamous "You like me!" speech, the Places in the Heart winner was draped in a matte jersey Holly Harp gown designed "so that you could get away with any figure problems," says Harp's widower, Jim. "Not that Sally had any!"
Mercedes Ruehl 1992
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
For luck, The Fisher King winner wore a green scarab under her Valentino.
Kathy Bates 1991
BEST ACTRESS
Designer Jeff Billings said he dressed the Misery star in silk velvet with a beaded bodice to "look the opposite of how she appeared in the film, where she was overweight and plain."
Vanessa Redgrave
1978 BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The Julia actress sparked protests with her acceptance speech's reference to "Zionist hoodlums," but kept her clothes conservative.
Simone Signoret 1960
BEST ACTRESS
In the days before stars relied on double-stick tape and toupee glue to keep their clothes on, A Room at the Top's leading lady (with presenter Rock Hudson) had problems with slide-away sleeves.
Holly Hunter 1994
BEST ACTRESS
Scoring for The Piano, she described the look of her crepe-chiffon Vera Wang dress as "punk Hindu."
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