“I bought this dress for the Oscars – I had no idea it was see-through,” Says Sadie Frost About Her Style

I’ve always been a low-maintenance person who would frequently wait until the last minute to complete tasks. It was the same in 2000 when Jude [Law, to whom Frost was married at the time] received an Oscar nomination. I found this amazing dress at the vintage shop One of a Kind in Notting Hill, which truly fits like a second skin. It has a lovely jeweled high halterneck, a low back, and is this lovely cream color. It wouldn’t have been too expensive for an Oscars gown, in my opinion, at only a few hundred pounds.

My friends who work in the fashion industry make fun of me because I’ve always been somewhat anti-fashion. My mother ran a vintage clothing shop while I was growing up, and I worked at the Camden Lock market. It always involved putting on clothes quickly; sometimes they looked good, sometimes not.

The Oscars night was one of those times when I felt joyful and beautiful. It was a memorable occasion and an exciting event that I initially feared I might never attend again. You don’t often feel that good about yourself on the inside and out.

I’ve worn the dress a lot over the years, whether it was for date nights out or when friends came over for dinner and I felt like dressing up. It’s incredibly transparent, but I wasn’t aware of how transparent it was until I saw photos where my nipples were visible. It was just a beautiful dress; you didn’t do things like that back then, and I most definitely didn’t do it to get attention. I now wear a layer underneath it. It has a very luscious quality, but I also enjoy layering it over a striped T-shirt to clash two fashion trends. For a walk, or with wellies.

I moved to the country with everything I cared about, and I had to stop and consider what was important. I think my daughter Iris will look lovely in this dress, so I want to give it to her. Even though it has a few stains and tiny holes, it is still delicate, lovely, and simple. It’s nice to own a dress that holds special meaning for me.

When you purchase something from a vintage shop, it has character, unlike most new clothing, which is frequently characterless. I enjoy donning these faded dresses with holes and the occasional tea stain. The stories they tell and the places they have been are intriguing, and they are still very attractive. This dress went to the Oscars and is now hanging out in a pitch in Wiltshire, so I believe it was handmade, possibly in the 1940s.