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

By Olivia Bahou
Updated Dec 12, 2016 @ 5:15 am
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George Pimentel/WireImage; Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic; Kevin Winter/Getty

When Bryce Dallas Howardannounced 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.”

VIDEO: The Best Black Gowns on the Red Carpet

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.

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Bryce Dallas Howard

Steve Granitz/WireImage

Earlier in 2016, the actress picked up her off-the-rack Jenny Packham gown from Neiman Marcus just days before presenting at the Golden Globes.

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Bryce Dallas Howard

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

For the 22nd annual Critics' Choice Awards, Howard chose a $250 dress from Topshop.

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Hayden Panettiere

George Pimentel/WireImage

Panettiere made headlines when she revealed that she purchased this Tom Ford dress herself for the 2014 Golden Globes after he wouldn't dress her.

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Edie Falco

Steve Granitz/WireImage

At the same award show, Falco wore a red Lanvin dress that she also purchased. “I walked into Jeffrey on 14th Street in New York City and a woman named Chantal said, ‘I have just the dress for you,’ and this is it,” she told EW.

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Madonna

Kevin Winter/Getty

The icon picked out this Reem Acra dress off the rack for the 2012 Golden Globes.

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Jane Fonda

Bettmann/Getty

Fonda wore an off-the-rack pantsuit to accept her 1972 Academy Award for Klute.

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By Olivia Bahou