17 Gorgeous Movie Costumes That Are Just as Beautiful as the Actresses Wearing Them

When it comes to movies, sometimes it’s the bright and sophisticated costumes that delight viewers and reveal the characters. While the delicate work of a costume designer sometimes makes no less impression on us than the acting.

At Bright Side, we decided to recall the most gorgeous dresses that actresses wore on screen. And each of them has a small story behind it.

Léa Seydoux, Beauty and the Beast

In the French screen adaptation of the famous fairytale, every one of Belle’s costumes seems to be more beautiful than the previous one. The costume designer Pierre-Yves Gayraud shared that all the dresses reflected the relationship between the heroine and the Beast in one way or another. The blue dress, for example, that Belle put on to dance with the Beast, is the same dress that she also tried to escape to her sick father in.

Lily James, Cinderella

This azure dress that was created by the Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell, was made of more than a dozen layers of the thinnest silk. Lily James, who played Cinderella, said, “When I first put it on, I felt both empowered and scared. How could I live up to this? Then I realized I could use that fear to show me how Cinderella would feel at that moment.”

Kate Winslet, Titanic

More than 1,000 hours were spent on the creation of this exquisite red chiffon dress. And it was worth it because costume designer Deborah Lynn Scott won an Oscar after Titanic was released. By the way, this dress was later sold for $330,000 at a Hollywood auction.

Catherine Deneuve, Donkey Skin

Catherine Deneuve’s costumes were as heavy, as they were beautiful and it wasn’t easy to wear them. That was why the actress was followed by assistants everywhere. During the breaks between the episodes, they put a chair under her puffy dress so that she could sit without damaging the costume.

Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman

The legendary red dress can be called the culmination of Vivian’s transformation from a woman of easy virtue to a lady from high society. By the way, the dress could’ve been black — that was the desire of the production studio. But luckily, the costume designer didn’t back down until the studio managers agreed and approved of the red fabric.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love

Despite the fact that the character of the queen undoubtedly had the most magnificent and rich wardrobe in the film, Gwyneth Paltrow’s outfits were practically the twists in the storyline. Every time she appeared on screen, we wondered what she would wear this time — a light ball gown or a velvet jacket?

Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The designer who created Katniss’s wedding dress also created costumes for celebrities like Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian. The skirt of the dress that was made of organza and chiffon looks lush, but at the same time light and mobile.

Charlize Theron, The Huntsman: Winter’s War

What should a queen look like when she arrives into this world straight from the mirror? The costume designers dressed Charlize Theron in so-called “molten outfits,” each of which looked like it was made of liquid gold. By the way, all her costumes were quite uncomfortable and heavy. Fortunately, the actress didn’t have to wear them for a long time.

Nicole Kidman, Moulin Rouge!

Although costume designer Catherine Martin carefully studied the fashion of that period of time, she didn’t try to make the costumes for Moulin Rouge! historically accurate. For example, the dancer Satine wore a knit bodysuit under her cabaret dresses in real life, but in the movie, Nicole Kidman’s outfits were made more gaudy and flashy.

Minnie Driver, The Phantom of the Opera

Carlotta’s wardrobe was perhaps one of the most striking and extravagant in the movie. Each of her costumes seemed to shout out loud that she was clearly not the kind of person who could be ignored. Costume designer Alexandra Byrne visited Paris (opera houses in particular) many times to find inspiration for the creation of these costumes.

Monica Bellucci, The Brothers Grimm

The outfit that Gabriella Pescucci created for Monica is reminiscent of the late Gothic period (in the lush headdress), and the dress itself skillfully combines the fashion trends of the Middle Ages — hanging long sleeves and a girdle belt that emphasizes the waist.

Audrey Hepburn, My Fair Lady

Audrey’s costumes from My Fair Lady are so unique and exquisite that some of them are kept in the Warner Brothers archive, and some have ended up in private collections. Costume Designers Guild President Salvador Perez is sure that this particular outfit is the most admired — the white dress and hat with amazing contrasting accents.

Keira Knightley, Anna Karenina

The sparkling trim that appears along the bodice is actually a separate piece from the 1950s, which Jacqueline Durran found at a vintage sale, and worked into the final outfit. However, she had to hide it, partly on the inside of the dress, because to include too much of this trim would have been a shock to the whole aesthetic.

Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria

The dress was made after Queen Victoria’s original wedding dress, which is now on display at Kensington Palace. Costume designer Sandy Powell was able to use historical items of clothing housed at Kensington Palace for her research to create historically accurate outfits.

Elizabeth Taylor, Cleopatra

This 24-carat gold cloth cape, designed to look like the wings of a phoenix, was intricately assembled from thin strips of gold leather and embellished with thousands of seed beads, bugle beads, and bead-anchored sequins. By the way, Taylor had 65 costume changes in Cleopatra, a record for a motion picture at the time.

Isabelle Adjani, Queen Margot

The movie was criticized for the fact that the outfits in it didn’t correspond to the era. However, the costume designers, who found inspiration in the paintings of Francisco de Zurbarán, Rembrandt, and Georges de la Tour, did it deliberately, without worrying about historical accuracy. Their choice was honored with an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design in 1995.

Grace Kelly, Rear Window

This “fresh from the Paris plane” dress inspired different costume designers when they worked on other movies. Edith Head actually seems to pre-date the Christian Dior “Ligne Corolle” (Corolle line) she so openly emulates by forerunning the ‘Y’ silhouette, as showcased by Dior for his 1955 collection.

Do you have favorite movie outfits? Tell us about them in the comments below.