#16. Meryl Streep's Iconic Oscar Moment in Pauline Trigère

Meryl Streep in Pauline Trigère

Before she became Miranda Priestly, Meryl Streep was Mrs. Joanna Kramar, and she made Oscar history in Pauline Trigère.

On April 14, 1980, Meryl Streep accepted her first Academy Award  for Kramer Vs Kramer wearing a stunning Pauline Trigère creation. The ensemble featured an ivory color evening gown with spaghetti straps decorated with colorful crystals on the front bodice. The dress is completed with a matching jacket decorated with the same rectangular rhinestones doubled as buttons for the jacket.

But the story didn't start on Oscar night.

While searching through hundreds of photographs, I discovered another photo of Meryl wearing the same outfit prior to the Oscars. She had worn this same ensemble when she met Queen Elizabeth a month earlier at the London premiere of Kramer vs. Kramer on March 18, 1980.

Meryl Streep in Pauline Trigère meeting Queen Elizabeth

Then came an even more exciting discovery.

A year after I first wrote about Meryl's Oscar ensemble, I was researching the archives at the Kent State University Museum when I stopped in my tracks. Hanging before me was the very dress and matching jacket. I recognized it instantly. According to the museum's records, the ensemble was donated by Martha's boutique, though little else is known about its provenance.

The mystery was solved when Devon O'Brien, who is an author, actor, and model, remembered seeing this outfit hanging in the Trigère's studio. It was shortly after Meryl Streep won her Oscar. Devon vividly described her initial encounter with Pauline in a beautifully article for Vogue titled "Runaway Model".

Could this be the very gown Meryl wore to the Academy Awards?

The final answer remains a mystery.

What do you think? Is this the actual Oscar gown?

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June 28, 2024