I had a thought today: Sharon Stone doesn’t get enough fashion credit. It might sound like a random thought, but the actress attended the amFAR gala Thursday night and I had a very real reaction to what she was wearing when I looked through photos. Not only did I marvel at how hot (and subtly nipped-and-tucked, but I’m 100% on board with self-maintenance) the 57-year-old looked, but the outfit she was wearing summed up everything I love about her. She doesn’t exactly wear unexpected pieces, but wears certain pieces at unexpected times.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Lea Michele, Emma Roberts, and a whole gaggle of models also happened to be at that very same gala and I can’t remember which gown belonged to whom, but I can tell you that Stone arrived in a black pants suit, a lace top with a black bra underneath and a long necklace and looked like the chicest—and coolest—person there.
We all know she’s been doing things this way since the late ’90s, when she famously bucked the pomp and circumstance of red carpets by rolling up to the Oscars in a mock turtleneck from the Gap and a Valentino skirt in 1996, and again in 1998 when she wore a white button-down from the retailer and paired it with Vera Wang. Both outfits caused a frenzy, even back then before Twitter, Instagram, and hundreds of websites critiquing celebrity existed.
The more I look at photos of Stone outside of the Oscars, the more I’m impressed by her ability to seamlessly shift between wearing signature pants suits and ultra-feminine gowns, and always manages to be the epitome of sex appeal. She’s not afraid to look masculine when everyone else is looking princess-y, yet knows the power she wields when rocking a tiny slip dress or a plunging red gown.
Plus, she always looks like she’s having fun; like she’s ready for another glass of wine; like she’s got a touch of kook, which is giant departure from today’s A-listers who always appear so polished and serious on the red carpet. She looks like someone I’d want to hang out with, which I can firmly say is not true of most female celebrities in the news today (Kim Kardashian, snore.)
As an ode to Stone and her sense of style, I’ve assembled some of her greatest looks, from the most recent through the late ’90s.
