The world’s most famous dresses

InStyle fashion director Hal Rubenstein named the most iconic and significant dresses in fashion history in his new book, “100 Unforgettable Dresses.”

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Oscar-winning screen legend Olivia de Havilland, in her role as Melanie Hamilton in “Gone With the Wind,” showed that antebellum style was one of the factors that made the movie one of the most beloved of all time.

/ Reuters

Marilyn Monroe with her white dress billowing around her thighs is seen in this September 1954 file picture during filming of "The Seven Year Itch".Marilyn Monroe’s most iconic dress is the white halter-top gown she wore for "The Seven Year Itch."

Matty Zimmerman / Associated Press

Audrey Hepburn’s little black Givenchy dress in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" sold for $1 million at auction in 2006.

File Photo / From "The Little Black Dress"

Elizabeth Taylor and Rex Harrison appear in a scene from the 1961 film "Cleopatra." Taylor’s costume is a cinematic classic.

/ AP

Jacqueline Kennedy lifts her inaugural gala gown as she and her husband leave their Georgetown home in Washington en route to an inaugural concert. Kennedy’s dress is part of the Smithsonian’s "First Ladies" collection.

/ AP

Model Twiggy brought waiflike figures and thigh-skimming dresses, like this one from Yves Saint Laurent's spring/summer collection, into style.

Bert Stern / Bert Stein

Tina Turner, pictured here in a 1978 concert with Tom Jones, was famous for her sparkly gold minidresses.

Joe Heiberger / Joe Heiberger

Princess Diana’s wedding dress, with its extra-long train, became a much-emulated style for brides of the era.

/ AP

Madonna’s lingerie-inspired dress for her “Like a Virgin” video ushered in an era of fashion imitators.

/ AP

First lady Nancy Reagan wore fiery red dresses so often that this shade of red became known as “Reagan red.”

Bob Daugherty / AP

Cher, never afraid to push the envelope of good taste, shows off her Oscar for best actress and her Bob Mackie black sequined see-through gown after winning the award for her role in "Moonstruck" at the 1988 Academy Awards.

Lennox McLendon / AP

Actress Elizabeth Hurley, accompanied by Hugh Grant, wore a safety-pinned black dress by Versace that may be responsible for jump-starting her career. This dress is the first dress featured in the book "100 Unforgettable Dresses" by Hal Rubenstein.

Michael Stephens / AP

Jennifer Lopez wore this navel-plunging Versace to the 2000 Grammy Awards. Lopez’s dress was so iconic that “South Park” creator Trey Parker wore it to the 2000 Academy Awards.

Scott Gries / Getty Images

Singer Bjork wore a whimsical swan-shaped dress to the 2001 Academy Awards.

Michael Caulfield / AP

Yves Saint Laurent’s “Mondrian” dress, revealed in 1965, is largely credited for the emergence of color blocking.

Remy De La Mauviniere / AP

A holographic image of Kate Moss floating in yards of rippling fabric closed Alexander McQueen’s fall/winter 2006 collection, creating a dramatic exhibit that helped the model re-emerge on the fashion circuit after rumors of drug use surfaced.

Michel Euler / AP

Alexander McQueen’s tartan dresses exemplified the late designer’s use of an array of textile techniques and helped label him as one of the most inventive fashion designers. The fabric, a tartan of his own design, was also a visual representation of the struggles through Scottish history.

Stuart Ramson / AP

Michelle Obama’s 2009 inaugural gown catapulted Chinese American designer Jason Wu to fashion stardom. The white chiffon dress is part of the “First Ladies at the Smithsonian” exhibit at the National Museum of American History.

Richard A. Lipski / The Washington Post

Lady Gaga wore a dress made of raw meat at the 2010 Video Music Awards, sparking an uproar from vegan and animal rights organizations.

Matt Sayles / AP

The Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding gown, designed by Sarah Burton of the house of Alexander McQueen, was deemed extraordinarily successful and helped solidify Burton and the McQueen line after the late designer’s death.

Odd Anderson / AFP/Getty Images

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 21: Statues on display on the Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden in The Great Pavilion at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show on May 21, 2013 in London, England. The Chelsea Flower Show run by the RHS celebrates its 100th birthday this year. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Photos of the day

Chelsea Flower Show, face transplant in Poland, Oklahoma residents cope with tornado aftermath and more.

Lea Bessinger salvages a picture of Jesus as she and her son Josh Bessinger sort through the rubble of the elder Bessinger's tornado-ravaged home Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in Moore, Okla. A huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening an entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Tornado near Oklahoma City causes more damage

Rescue workers are searching for survivors after a twister carved a long path of destruction in a suburb of Oklahoma City. It was part of the...

ANNAPOLIS, MD - MAY 20: The Herndon Monument Climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the United States Naval Academy. The plebes climb to the top of the lard-covered 21 foot high monument and remove the 'dixie cup' hat at the top replacing it with an upperclassman's hat. After completing this, the freshmen are called 'fourth class midshipmen.' This class completed the task in 1 hour 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The hat was placed by Patrick Lien from Orlando. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The Herndon Climb

The Herndon Monument climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 21: Ken Marino, Erica Oyama, Ben Stiller, Chris Harrison, and Mike Rosenstein aceept the Webby Award for 'Burning Love' at the 17th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on May 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for The Webby Awards)

Eye on entertainment

Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Emma Stone, 2 Chainz, Tyrese Gibson, Susan Boyle and more.

This combination of Associated Press photos shows left, a neighborhood in Moore, Okla., in ruins on Tuesday, May 4, 1999, after a tornado flattened many houses and buildings in central Oklahoma, and right, flattened houses in Moore on Monday, May 20, 2013. Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999. (AP Photo)

Okla. tornado loosely followed path of 1999 twister

Monday’s powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the area in May 1999.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Animal views

Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.

FILE - In this undated publicity file photo, members of the Doors, from left, John Densmore, Robbie Krieger, Ray Manzarek and Jim Morrison, pose for a portrait. Manzarek, the keyboardist who was a founding member of The Doors, has died at 74. Publicist Heidi Robinson-Fitzgerald says in a news release that Manzarek died Monday, May 20, 2013, at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany, surrounded by his family. (AP Photo, File)

Ray Manzarek, founding member of the Doors, dies at 74

Manzarek co-founded the Doors after meeting then-poet Jim Morrison in California. The band went on to become one of the most successful rock-and-roll...

A man walks on sulphur and mineral salt formations near Dallol in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and harshest environments on earth, with an average annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius). For centuries, merchants have travelled there with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted and shaped into slabs, then loaded onto the animals before being transported back across the desert so that it can be sold around the country. Picture taken April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (ETHIOPIA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 2 OF 30 FOR PACKAGE 'ETHIOPIA'S ANCIENT SALT TRAIL'
SEARCH 'DANAKIL DEPRESSION' FOR ALL

Ethiopia’s salt trail

For centuries, merchants have traveled to Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted...

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