As much as society today doesn’t want to admit it, what you wear has a huge impact how people see you. Ordinarily the stereotypical student is a hooded slob with remnants of last night’s make up smudged across their face, walking bleary eyed to lectures. But we all know this has changed dramatically over the past decade. Being a student is now a fashion statement in itself. You are no longer defined by academia but by the clothes that you wear. When did this change take place? When did going out become not only a drunken escapade but also a fashion show? It is impossible to define an exact moment, but perhaps the impact of women who instantly found fame because of what they wore are a huge factor, being “the dress that made them famous.”
Is it not almost every girl’s dream to walk into a room and have the most killer outfit on that everyone stops, stares and wows? Whether it be the latest Aqua dress or a recycled number with a few new scissor slashes, you want to look your best and for people to remember you because of it. This is not a recent phenomenon the stage has been set for a ‘that’ dress since before we were even born. I thank Marilyn Monroe for introducing the idea of a ‘that’ dress. It was costume designer William Travilla that designed the dress that is now synonymous with Marilyn herself.
Even now that dress is simply iconic – from that day forward everyone knew who Marilyn was knew that she was here not only for a lifetime but forever.
After the little white number comes the little black number, any guesses? Here’s a hint: pretty much every fancy dress party there is at least one person who will be brave enough to take on Audrey. If not at a fancy dress party you will see this dress on a poster in nearly every girls’ fresher room – Breakfast at Tiffany’s screams first year halls.
Audrey Hepburn is now and always will be synonymous with ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ and Givenchy will be forever grateful for helping Audrey steal the show. No one else could take on a long, black, shift dress and make it more memorable and classic than this.
Skipping forward a few decades, we move from Hollywood royalty to actual royalty. Perhaps the most famous royal that there ever was and may be, the one and only Princess Diana. Before Diana was the nation’s sweetheart she could only be labeled a shy girl who had only met her husband-to-be a handful of times. There had been whispers and murmurs about her, an air of intrigue followed her but that was gone with a flash when she stepped out of the carriage at Westminster Abbey in ‘The Emmanuel’s’ creation, and she cemented her status as, ‘The People’s Princess’. Overnight Princess Diana was a sensation and even after her tragic death we cannot get enough of Diana or her dresses.
So you would think following in Diana’s footsteps the next princess on my list would be our very own ‘Common Kate’. However we are skimming past Kate and heading straight to her little sister that might just have stolen the show- Pippa ‘that dress/that bottom’ Middleton. I fear Sarah Burton may be off Kate’s Christmas list and right at the top of Pippa’s! Before revealing ‘that’ dress and certainly ‘that’ rear, Pippa was only ever going to be the Duchesses’ pretty (but nothing incredibly special sister). It was meant to be Kate that gripped the nation and was the fashion icon, but ever since the wedding I have yet to find a magazine or a mail online article that does not mention Miss Middleton Junior and her now rather famous derriere.
Moving real royals to one side we bring in music royalty (but continuing to follow the bottom trend) we turn to Miss Lopez and that Versace number.
No one actually remembers who won what at that Grammy awards, but they remember that Jennifer Lopez was no longer a ‘kind-of’ famous name – J-Lo was here and she was staying. She had cracked the Latin-American market and now the rest of the pop world was in the palm of her hand waiting to see what her next fashion move was; and despite a few plunders along the way she has not disappointed. After one award show J-Lo was a household name and ‘If you had my love’ the biggest selling song of the year. The girl and her booty had arrived.
Versace seem to have a knack for getting people famous instantaneously next on the hit list is Liz Hurley. Now is Liz Hurley actually famous for anything? Getting married to rich men and then divorcing them? No. She is famous for being a nobody before she donned a ‘that’ dress. Flung over the arm of Hugh Grant at the Premiere of “Four Weddings and Funeral”, Liz Hurley was a model, so we were told because nobody knew a thing about her. A vision of flesh and safety pins, the camera bulbs would not stop flashing – who was this girl? Everyone had to know the answer, and within minutes a celebrity was born. One might think this is an odd combination and ordinarily it really should be, but leave it to Versace and indeed Liz Hurley to make it into the most famous dress of the year. Hurley had made it and Versace had made her.
The lesson to be learnt ladies: whether it be a dress that has cropped up more than a few times on your Facebook, a new splurge or a dress you completely forgot you had, wear it with confidence and a mega smile and who knows? You might become the next fashion icon. It’s an absolute prerogative that a girl has her own ‘that’ dress.