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These Old Hollywood Oscar Dresses Will Make You Yearn For The Past
27.
1968: Carol Channing
Carol Channing might have been a renowned Broadway legend, but she also made spectacular appearances on Oscar red carpets. She's best known for bringing Broadway characters like Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly! to life, and had a flashy sense of style. Nothing captured that more distinctly than her 1968 Academy Award dress.
She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Thoroughly Modern Millie that night, which was only her second film. She came dressed to impress in a heavily sequined, floor-length, long-sleeved, turtleneck gown. The silver dress was capped off with a yellow silk vest on the red carpet, which was taken off during the ceremony to let the glittery dress take center stage.
While it was definitely a bold look, Channing was known for her daring sense of style, and was a favorite client of avant garde French designer Rudi Gernreich. "She's from somewhere else," Gernreich told News-Journal in 1968. "Like a strange tall flower that can make you laugh. She relates to my clothes, but she soaks them up like a sponge. At first nothing I did seemed to be too exaggerated." The two first crossed paths when Gernreich was commissioned to create the costumes for the zany 1968 movie Skidoo, which Channing co-starred in.
While it's unknown who designed Channing's dress at the Academy Awards, Rudy's comments give you an insight into Channing's style: the wilder, the better.
She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Thoroughly Modern Millie that night, which was only her second film. She came dressed to impress in a heavily sequined, floor-length, long-sleeved, turtleneck gown. The silver dress was capped off with a yellow silk vest on the red carpet, which was taken off during the ceremony to let the glittery dress take center stage.
While it was definitely a bold look, Channing was known for her daring sense of style, and was a favorite client of avant garde French designer Rudi Gernreich. "She's from somewhere else," Gernreich told News-Journal in 1968. "Like a strange tall flower that can make you laugh. She relates to my clothes, but she soaks them up like a sponge. At first nothing I did seemed to be too exaggerated." The two first crossed paths when Gernreich was commissioned to create the costumes for the zany 1968 movie Skidoo, which Channing co-starred in.
While it's unknown who designed Channing's dress at the Academy Awards, Rudy's comments give you an insight into Channing's style: the wilder, the better.
