Does this dress make my bank account look big?
It's not uncommon for the jewels to be the standout pieces of a celebrity's look - and, indeed, we've seen some incredible jewelry looks at the Oscars, and enviable diamond moments from the likes of Cartier and Tiffany & Co.
But that doesn't mean that the accessories always upstage the garment. And these record-breaking dresses prove that, for a bit of fabric, there can be quite the jaw-dropping price tag.
From dresses requiring hundreds of hours of work to complete to record-breaking auction sales, explore moments of fashion that exude extravagance, excess and expense.
The most expensive and extravagant celebrity dresses of all time
Marilyn Monroe’s Seven Year Itch dress
There are few images as enduring in pop culture as that of screen goddess Marilyn Monroe laughing away as her ethereal white dress billows up around her. It was a scene taken from her movie, The Seven Year Itch, and the visual has become synonymous with the star. Indeed, it’s colloquially known as a ‘Marilyn Moment.’
If the simple, pleated white dress designed by William Travilla wasn’t already forever entwined with Hollywood history, Singin’ in the Rain star Debbie Reynolds purchased Marilyn’s dress and kept it as part of her collection, right up until she sold the dress in a 2011 auction, where it fetched a staggering $4.6M (approx. £3.3M).
Queen Letizia's wedding dress
When a former journalist named Letizia married Felipe, Prince of Asturias in 2004, history was being witnessed. The now Queen Letizia of Spain heralded her arrival with one of the most magnificent wedding dresses in history.
Designed by one of Spain's most famous couturiers, next to Cristobal Balenciaga, Manuel Pertegaz, Letizia’s dress featured a four-and-a-half-meter-long train and embroidery woven into the silk using real gold thread.
Letizia’s opulent dress has been estimated to be worth around $10.7M (approx. £6M) by numerous outlets.
Kate Middleton’s wedding dress
In 2010, the world watched with bated breath to finally see Kate Middleton’s wedding dress – and it didn’t disappoint.
Designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, Kate’s lacy dress was estimated to be worth around £250,000 (approx. $339.1M). Standout details of the gown included the hand-embroidered motifs in the veil, representing each flower of the countries in the United Kingdom, and the nearly nine-foot train.
Jennifer Lawrence’s Oscar dress (considered the most expensive Oscar dress in history)
Designed by Raf Simmons for Christian Dior Haute Couture, Jennifer Lawrence’s cream ballgown for the 2013 Academy Awards is widely reported to be one of the most expensive red carpet looks in history.
Widely cited to be worth $4M (approx. £2.9M), the expense of the dress is thought to be in the luxe materials and the value of the elaborate embroidery and craftmanship. It’s possible that some of that price tag also includes the price Jennifer was paid to wear it as an ambassador for the brand.
Blake Lively’s 2022 Met Gala dress
In 2022, the Met Gala had a theme of Gilded Glamour, and Gossip Girl star Blake Lively certainly lived up to it. Wearing custom Atelier Versace, which the likes of Vogue reported took over 600 hours to create, Blake’s dress featured a crystal-encrusted art deco bodice and an elaborate bow detailing which opened up to reveal a huge, flowing light blue train, evocative of the Statue of Liberty.
A masterpiece, and with the 600 hours of work combined with the materials, one can only assume this comes with a hefty price tag.
Princess Diana’s Jacques Azagury gown
Once worn by Princess Diana in Florence in the 1980s, the black, ballerina-length velvet evening dress designed by Jacques Azagury was sold at Julien's Auctions in Hollywood for a total of $1,148,080 (approx. £904,000).
At the time, it set a world record for being the most expensive Princess Diana dress ever sold at auction.
Rihanna’s 2015 Met Gala dress
At the 2015 Met Gala, the celebrities brought their finest and most opulent looks for the year’s theme, China: Through the Looking Glass. However, when Rihanna arrived on the red carpet, she stole the evening. Considered one of the most iconic Met Gala looks of all time, Rihanna wore a custom-made Guo Pei dress that featured a yellow, fur-trimmed cape that stretched out for 16-foot.
No accurate figure has been provided for the dress, but it was reported to have taken two years to create, with over 50,000 hours of hand embroidery included. Estimates have the dress starting at a base figure of $3M (approx. £2.1M).
Audrey Hepburn’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s dress
A match made in style heaven, Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy were one of the most perfect examples of muse and designer. Givenchy worked on many of her films, including the likes of Sabrina. But it was his dress designed for the classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s that cemented Audrey’s legacy as a screen and style icon.
In 2006, the Parisian fashion house donated one of her dresses from the film to be sold to raise funds for schools in Kolkata, and it sold for $923,187 (approx. £675,000) at a Christie’s auction.
Beyonce's 2016 Met Gala dress
Designed by Givenchy’s creative director, Riccardo Tisci, superstar Beyonce brought wearable art to the 2016 Met Gala, squeezing herself into a latex gown that featured elaborate beading, dripping pearls, and embellishments that gave a sense of movement.
What makes the dress’s value likely incredibly high is that each individual pearl on the gown reportedly cost $8000 (approx. £5800).
Judy Garland's gingham dress
One of the most recognizable costumes in film and pop culture history, Judy Garland donning the gingham dress, red ruby slippers and pigtails helped immortalize The Wizard of Oz.
As it turns out, Judy wore several gingham dresses throughout shooting, and in 2019, Heritage Auctions sold a black and white variant (used in the black and white segment of the film) for $750,000 (approx. £550,000).
Nicole Kidman’s couture moment
Considered one of the most expensive looks in the history of the Oscars, Nicole Kidman’s appearance at the 1997 ceremony came with quite the price tag – a widely reported $2M (approx. £1.4M).
The chartreuse Haute Couture gown might have divided fans and fashion critics at the time, but it's been credited with helping revolutionize the Oscars red carpet, as the early 90s saw stars move away from traditional glamour in favour of scaled-back looks.
Nicole, choosing to spotlight couture, stunned in the dress designed by John Galliano for Christian Dior, and she brought back high fashion in a new way.
Lupita Nyong’o dripping in pearls
Black Panther star Lupita Nyong’o brought exquisite glamour to the 2015 Oscars, wearing a bespoke Calvin Klein dress that was made with over 6,000 pearls. The dress was widely reported to be worth $150,000 (approx. £110,000).
Marilyn Monroe’s ‘Happy Birthday’ Dress (last seen on Kim Kardashian)
In 2016, the Jean Louis dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in 1962 when she famously serenaded President John F Kennedy with a sultry rendition of ‘Happy Birthday', sold for $4.8M (approx. £3.5M) at a Julien's Auction sale. It was purchased by Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum.
The dress had a second moment in the spotlight when it was unexpectedly worn by Kim Kardashian to the 2022 Met Gala.
Cate Blanchett dazzles in crystals
Tar and Elizabeth star Cate Blanchett dazzled on the red carpet of the 2007 Oscars wearing Armani Privé. The figure-hugging, one-shoulder, gunmetal gown was entirely embellished with Swarovski crystals, which gave the dress a reported value of $200,000 (approx. £146,000).
Meghan Markle's wedding dress
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s royal wedding to Prince Harry in 2018 was a marriage of Hollywood style with Royal flair. Meghan’s guests included the likes of George and Amal Clooney and Oprah Winfrey, but it was her Givenchy dress that stole the show.
Estimated to have cost £110,000 (approx. $149,200), the timeless gown needed 3,900 hours of embroidery. The look included a 16-foot-long veil with the national flowers of each of the 53 Commonwealth countries embroidered.
Princess Diana's floral day dress
In June 2025, a floral day dress designed by Bellville Sassoon - often worn as Diana visited people in hospitals, which led to its nickname as the 'Caring dress' - sold for an impressive $400,000 (approx. £291,000) at an auction in Beverly Hills.
The buyer was Renae Plant, who founded the virtual Princess Diana Museum, where the dress will now take pride of place.
Kate Middleton’s charity fashion show dress
In 2002, a young Kate Middleton wore a rather risqué see-through silk dress, designed by Charlotte Todd, as she walked in a student charity fashion show.
Legend has it that Prince William, upon seeing his friend in the dress, started to see her in a different light. The dress, therefore, might have been the piece that ignited the royal romance. Which might explain why it ended up selling for £78,000 (approx. $105,800) in a 2011 auction.
Audrey Hepburn's My Fair Lady gown
In 2011, the dress designed by British photographer and costume designer Cecil Beaton (famed for his portraits of royalty, including Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret) for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady sold for $4.5M (approx. £3.2M) at a Profiles in History auction.
Princess Diana’s ‘Travolta’ dress
Princess Diana visited the United States with the then-Prince Charles in 1985. During a gala dinner at the White House, Princess Diana famously danced with Grease icon John Travolta. A legendary moment, made even more iconic thanks to Diana’s iconic midnight blue velvet gown designed by Victor Edelstein.
The dress sold at auction for £264,000 (approx. $358,225).
Grace Kelly’s White House dress
She was a Hollywood icon and a real princess, so it's not surprising there's a high value put on clothes belonging to Grace Kelly.
Back in 2007, an Irish Company bought Princess Grace's green Givenchy dress which she wore during an official 1961 visit to the White House for lunch with JFK.
The dress was sold at a Sotheby's auction in New York for $135,000 (approx. £99,000) and now is on display in the Museum of Style Icons, in County Kildare, Ireland.
Marie-Chantal, the Crown Princess of Greece’s wedding dress
Marie-Chantal, the Crown Princess of Greece, wore a custom Valentino, pearl-encrusted gown to her 1995 wedding to Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece.
The ivory silk dress featured long lace sleeves, a fitted bodice and a 4.5-meter Chantilly lace train. It reportedly took a team of 25 people to complete and is worth an estimated $225,000 (approx. £165,000).
Princess Eugenie’s wedding dress
Princess Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank in 2018, wearing a truly stunning and unique £200,000 (approx. $271,400) wedding dress designed by Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos.
She reportedly worked closely with the pair to create numerous meaningful motifs, including a Thistle for Scotland, a Shamrock for Ireland, and the York Rose and ivy, representing the couple's home.
Eugenie's gown also featured a distinct low back that would display a scar she had from scoliosis surgery.
Kate Winslet's silky sophistication
For the 2007 Oscars, Titanic star Kate Winslet looked radiant in a silky, mint green Valentino gown. With rouching around the bust and a one-shoulder design, the dress also featured a flowing train or sash, adding a sense of Old Hollywood glamour.
The dress was widely reported to be worth over $100,000 (approx. £73,000).
Lady Gaga’s Golden Globe dress
For the 2019 Golden Globes, Lady Gaga brought a real sense of extravagant glamour. Wearing Valentino Haute Couture, Gaga’s custom-made dress featured puffed sleeves and an elaborate 10-foot-long train.
In a special nod to her award-winning role in A Star is Born, Gaga’s choice of periwinkle blue was a nod to a dress Judy Garland wore in the 1954 version of the same film.
Mariah Carey’s wedding dress (that went up in flames, allegedly)
Now for a unique twist. Legendary diva Mariah Carey may have even outdone herself in 2017, when it was widely rumoured that the icon set fire to a $250,000 (approx. £184,300) Valentino gown in a music video.
Mariah torches a wedding dress in the video for I Don’t, and it’s been widely suggested it was the exact gown she was going to wear to her wedding to James Packer, before she called it off.
Charlotte Rampling in floor length crystals
Charlotte Rampling's Armani Prive gown cost an estimated $125,000 (approx. £92,000). The dress’s value comes from the fact that it is made of a luxe silk jacquard base material, and on top, the geometric pattern is embroidered with multi-colored, genuine Swarovski crystals going all the way to the bottom of the dress.
Janelle Monae glistens in over 160,00 of crystals
Singer and Glass Onion actress Janelle Monae always knows how to make a statement with her incredible red carpet looks, and for the 2020 Academy Awards, she wore a mesmerising, futuristic take on Hollywood glamour.
Wearing a custom-made Ralph Lauren hooded gown with a voluminous skirt, the entire thing was embellished with over 160,000 Swarovski crystals. Per reports after the event, the dress took 600 hours to make.
The most expensive Paco Rabanne dress ever sold
Before the brand became better known for its fragrances, Spanish-born, French-nationalized designer Paco Rabanne made a name for himself as one of the most unconventional designers of his day, often using unexpected materials and silhouettes.
One of these was the legendary Armour dress, first debuted in 1967 and made of chain-link aluminium squares and rectangular plates.
In April 2024, one of the original dresses from the collection - a true piece of fashion history - sold for $112,100 (approx. £82,000), setting a world record for a Rabanne piece.
Cardi B brings the drama to the Met Gala
Cardi B's rise from reality star to record-breaking rapper included a pivot to becoming a fashion icon, too. Which is why she received an invitation to the Met Gala, where she made sure to bring her best.
Wearing an elaborate scarlet Thom Browne gown, the extravagant look included 30,000 feathers, and required a reported 2000 hours and 35 people to make.
The breastplate on the dress alone featured 44 carats of rubies valued at $250,000 (approx. £183,000), so we can only assume the dress as a whole comes with quite the impressive price tag.
Petra Ecclestone's chic, understated wedding dress
One of Formula One billionaire Bernie Ecclestone's daughters, Petra Ecclestone had a stunning, bespoke Vera Wang gown made for her first wedding in 2011. The subtle, sophisticated dress featured elaborate lace work and was worth a reported $140,000 (approx. £102,000).
If that sounds expensive, reports at the time suggested Petra's wedding to James Stunt cost anywhere between £5M and £12M (approx $6.8 to $18.5M, so the dress barely scratched the surface.
Paris Hilton shines like a diamond
Paris Hilton was one of the pioneers of Y2K style - when bling, pink and labels reigned supreme.
When the entrepreneur attended the Hollywood Beauty Awards, she kept this spirit of more is more alive with an elevated twist. Paris wore a dress worth a reported $270,000 (approx. £198,000).
The August Getty gown was designed with 500,000 Swarovski crystals and took eight months to make, and was aptly named the 'Million Dollar Dress.'
Princess Diana’s wedding dress
One of the most famous dresses in royal and fashion history, Princess Diana's 1981 wedding dress defined the decade. It had everything synonymous with the era, big sleeves, big trains and a big price tag.
Modern valuations differ, but in recent years, many suggest the wedding dress would cost a minimum of £150,000 (approx. $203,500).
The dress was designed by David Emanuel and his then-wife, Elizabeth. It featured ivory silk and was embellished with pearls, sequins and antique lace.
It was topped off with a 25-foot train - the longest in royal history.
