Luckiest Colours & Styles to Wear at the Oscars

The nominees have been announced and the academy are now in the process of submitting their votes, which will eventually decide the winners for the 24 individual categories. Meaning by the time Hollywood’s elite walk the red carpet on the night of the Oscars, the winners will have already been selected and the results sealed securely in their gold envelopes.

But for the superstitious amongst us, can the colour, designer and style of outfit selected really effect your good fortune and perhaps the nominee’s chances of taking home that coveted gold statue?

Here at Accessorize we’ve looked back at the last 40 years of ‘Best Actress’ and ‘Best Supporting Actress’ fashion to uncover which colours, styles and designers really are the luckiest and which this years nominees should look to avoid!

Luck be a lady tonight?

In terms of sheer popularity amongst winners a monochrome palet of black or white are the most common colours worn, however their winning influence is weakened as a number of the losing nominees within the same category also chose to wear those colours.

Luckiest best actress outfit

Our research in fact shows that gold really is the winning colour, demonstrated by Emma Stone in 2017, with 43% of all the Best Actress nominees who wore it going on to win.

But is it a plunging neckline or an off the shoulder number that’s most likely to provided the much needed look for nominees? The luckiest neckline for Best Actress nominees is in fact illusion, with four out of the five who wore it going on to win – this includes Cate Blanchett who doubled her chances of winning back in 2014 with both an illusion neckline and gold toned dress.

American designer Bob Mackie takes the crown for luckiest designer with all nominees dressed in his designs going on to win the award. Who could forget the icon that is Cher, collecting her 1988 Best Actress award in that daring black see-through gown?

Luckiest best SUPPORTING actress OUTFIT

Cate Blanchett was definitely on to something in 2005 when she took home the Best Supporting Actress gong, doubling her luck by wearing a yellow dress with an asymmetric neckline. In fact three quarters of women who have worn this colour and 43% of the nominees who have chosen an asymmetric neckline have come out victorious.

Nominees in the Best Supporting Actress category should perhaps consider Giorgio Armani as their chosen designer, the Italian fashion house has racked up the most winners, with the likes of Mira Sorvino wearing a beautifully crafted gown for her 1996 win.

Styles to avoid

UNLuckiest best actress OUTFIT

In the last four decades 14 of the Best Actress nominees have chosen to wear green on the red carpet, with all but one losing out on the winning title. Kate Winslet was perhaps doomed from the beginning in 1998, when she chose to wear a green dress with a scoop neckline to the awards – 16 nominees have all lost out when wearing this style.

Giorgio Armani may be lucky for Best Supporting Actresses, but his haute couture collection Armani Prive is actually the unluckiest for stars nominated in the Best Actress category, with all five of the actresses who wore the designer losing out on the big night.

UNLuckiest best SUPPORTING actress OUTFIT

Best Supporting Actress nominee Kate Hudson may not have chosen her grey, high necked gown back in 2001 if she’d have known the odds. In fact, all actresses that have chosen to wear either the colour or neckline have gone on to miss out on the coveted awards.

Finally, whilst Marchesa dresses might look stunning on the red carpet, 100% of nominees who chose the designer lost out on posing with that iconic statue.

And as if by magic

Combining all our calculations, across both categories and the 40 years of data, we’ve designed both the winning dream dress and the losing look to avoid – 2019 nominees, you’re welcome!

luckiest dress overall

Whilst it might not be everyone’s first choice on the red carpet, yellow is the luckiest colour choice for nominees across both categories, with 60% of stars going on to win. Combined with an illusion neckline, short sleeves and a hemline above the knee, you’re on to a winner.

unluckiest dress overall

It’s the colour of second place, and this couldn’t ring truer for the nominees who chose to wear silver, with 92% missing out on the winning title. A high neck, capped sleeves and dipped hem are all styles to avoid, with only three out of the 23 actresses wearing a high neck taking home the award on the night.

It's all about the accessories

If you’re anything like us, you’ll agree that it’s the accessories that make an outfit! Flowing locks seems to be the way forward with just under 60% of previous winners wearing their hair like this, nominees should team this look with drop earrings for a bit of extra sparkle and a classic nude lip to finish off their winning red carpet looks.

Never go out of style

We’ve analysed the luckiest and unluckiest, but what about the styles you’re most likely to see appearing on the red carpet this year.

The style most favoured by Best Actress nominees is a classic black, full length dress, with a plunging v neckline and no sleeves. In contrast most popular for the Best Supporting Actress category is a white, full length gown, with a v neckline and long sleeves.

In terms of colour, as previously mentioned a monochrome palet has remained the most popular over the four decades, with blue gowns coming in third place. Designers of the decade include Valentino during the 80s, Richard Tyler for the 90s and Giorgio Armani the 00s.

The fashion of this decade was flawlessly embodied by Jennifer Lawrence back in 2013, with the star choosing a full length white gown, with a straight across strapless neckline, designed by the decades favourite designer, Christian Dior.