5 Down-to-Earth Celebs Who Bought Their Award Show Dresses Off the Rack

When Bryce Dallas Howard announced that the plunging canary yellow gown she wore to the Critics’ Choice Awards was purchased for $250 at Topshop, the internet was abuzz with the idea of a celebrity choosing an affordable award show gown.

While Howard was the only one to reveal that her dress wasn't borrowed from a designer last night, she certainly isn’t the first celebrity to pick her ensemble off a (department store) rack. Stars like Madonna, Jane Fonda, and Hayden Panettiere have scooped up their winning looks without the helping hand of a major fashion house.

While Howard’s explanation was size-related—she likes to have more size 6 options than just one—Panettiere had a different reason for purchasing her Tom Ford dress for the 2014 Golden Globes. “It’s the first time I’ve ever worn him, because I’ve been begging,” she said on the red carpet. “I feel sexy in it, I feel comfortable in it, and I’m in Tom Ford. I would wear a plastic bag if it was designed by him.”

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While the Nashville star was dying to wear Tom Ford, he was exclusively dressing Naomi Watts for the show, so she took matters into her own hands and bought the dress herself.

Keep scrolling for six award show gowns that these stars picked up off the rack.