Revisiting Gwyneth Paltrow’s Bubblegum-Pink Oscars Dress
A new understanding of the actress’s notorious red carpet dress
“For the entire evening, big-jawed Paltrow, with her nasal, teeth-clenching Lisa Kudrow style, looks like a Green Bay Packers cheesehead tottering atop a mushy pink Hostess cupcake.”
The first Oscar gown I can remember loving was the one Gwyneth Paltrow wore the night she accepted Best Actress for 1998’s Shakespeare in Love. Sitting in my elementary school’s computer room the morning after the ceremony, I sketched it out to show my best friend. It makes sense: The pink Ralph Lauren look was almost designed to appeal to an eight-year-old. The V-neck bodice was held up by tiny spaghetti straps, hung loosely on Gwyneth’s chest, and billowed out into a wide skirt. She carried a gossamer scarf purely for decorative purposes. And it was pink! Like, so fucking pink. It was a dress for a princess, and, holy shit, I loved it.
In 1999, Gwyneth looked like a walking fantasy. But these days it’s more like a fantasy than ever before. The actress told the New York Times in October 2017 that she was among the women who had been sexually harassed by Harvey Weinstein. In the online version…
