Julie Christie's Oscar Dress

Julie Christie went for the gold on Oscar night, literally. 

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Julie Christie was a first-time nominee and winner on April 18, 1966, when she won for the British mod film Darling, a departure from previous nominated works. She beat Julie Andrews's iconic performance in The Sound of Music with her work as a young model courting two older men in Swingin' London. 

And when you're a symbol of the young and mod generation, you need to wear something that accompanies that young and refreshing vibe. In Julie's case, that was a gold column dress. She literally looked like an Oscar statuette herself.

It's one of my favourite looks, clearly, since I'm featuring it in this series, very youthful and fun. And here's the fun part: it wasn't designed by an old stalwart of British design nor an up-and-comer in the industry: it was homemade!

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"When I first got an Oscar, my friend Alfie made me an outfit from a pattern that we chose together, and we went and bought the fabric together, and that’s what I wore," she later said about her dress. 

The high-neck column dress became a classic immediately, and it was attainable: if you could find the pattern, you too could wear Julie Christie's Oscar dress. Though by today's standards it's very simple and not at all controversial, for the time, it was revolutionary. And that's why I love it!