Jennifer Lawrence's Oscar Dress

Jennifer Lawrence quickly became the It Girl of the early 2010s; and her Oscar win—and infamous trip up the stairs—was cemented by a fashion-forward gown from Dior that I still think about all the time.

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Let’s save the discussion of whether or not Jennifer Lawrence was old enough to play a widow at 22 years old; or if Silver Linings Playbook is actually good (I remember disliking that movie but being impressed by Jennifer); and focus instead on her Oscar night fashion.

Because here’s the thing: Jennifer Lawrence has always had impeccable fashion sense. For her first Oscars red carpet in 2011, she showed up in a va-va-voom Calvin Klein scarlet gown. And when she was again nominated in 2012 for Silver Linings Playbook, everybody was wondering what she’d wear.

At the Oscar Nominees luncheon, Jennifer said to expect fashion. “Last time was comfort,” she said of the simple scarlet frock. “This year I’m like, ‘Suck it up, wear a corset.’ I am going to go for fashion this time.”

She also joked she’d show up in sweatpants, which, if you know Jennifer Lawrence’s sense of humour—and commitment to the bit, at times—you know is something she might actually entertain someday.

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Cut to Oscar night, when she arrives on the red carpet in a princessy blush pink Dior ballgown designed by then-Dior director Raf Simons. It was pure princess perfection, suited for the glam of the Oscars and the youthfulness of the star wearing it. I especially love how the slim bodice trails down to a drop waist that flows out to a bouffant skirt. It’s bold and elegant, like Jennifer.

Another standout from Jennifer’s look? The Chopard necklace she wore ‘backwards’ with the chain snug around the front of her neck and the actual jewel dangling down her back.

And in a moment that will follow Jennifer until the end of time, when her name was called as the winner of that year’s Best Actress statute, as she made her way up the steps of the Dolby Theatre, her feet snagged in the fabric of her skirt and she tripped.

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She’d joke that she wasn’t paying attention, starving from the stress of prepping for one of the biggest nights of her life, and thinking about cake. As she told W magazine: “I was at the Oscars, waiting to hear if my name was called, and I kept thinking, Cakewalk, cakewalk, cakewalk. I thought, ‘Why is cakewalk stuck in my head?’ And then, as I started to walk up the stairs and the fabric from my dress tucked under my feet, I realized my stylist had told me, ‘Kick, walk, kick, walk.’ You are supposed to kick the dress out while you walk, and I totally forgot because I was thinking about cake! And that’s why I fell.”

She’d also say, while looking at past red carpet moments in a video for Dior—of which she became a brand ambassador in 2012—"I have special memories of Oscars dress, some fun, some not. They need to make it more accessible for stairs, in my opinion.”