A history of the red dress

No one does red like Italian designer Valentino Garavani, whose signature heady hue is a mix of magenta, yellow and a dash of black. His premier red creation—a cocktail dress with a skirt of tulle roses named Fiesta—debuted in his first collection in 1959. In 2011, the Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum was launched, allowing an insider's look into the couture designer's past 40 years of making fashion history.

Princess Diana wore red suits, ski outfits, hats and maternity dresses. Her penchant for the shade is legendary, so much so that the royal style icon mistook the song Lady in Red to be about her, (Singer Chris de Burgh later clarified that he wrote it for his own wife, Diane.)

The color red holds strong in Chinese cultural history, as this fiery color is associated with bringing happiness and good fortune. Unlike the Western view of this color and its use in costume, red is the traditional color of a bride's wedding dress in China.

Julia Roberts' iconic red silk opera gown in Pretty Woman was nearly—gasp!—made in black. Costume designer Marilyn Vance fought the studio to put the then-22-year-old actress in arresting red for the ultimate street-to-society makeover.

Always a fan of fashion and a symbol of the '80s, Nancy Reagan often wore red, so much so that the term Reagan red was coined during the Reagan administration.

Never underestimate the red factor. In Funny Face, Audrey Hepburn prances down the steps of the Louvre in a show-stopping silk confection by Hubert de Givenchy. I like pink, the actress once said, but the rich red Givenchy dress played off her fair skin and dark hair for a dramatic effect on film.

During the 1950s, fashion looked to Spain for style inspiration, and rich ruby became the it color—often worn with matching red lipstick. Liz Taylor, Brigitte Bardot and Ava Gardner all favored the shade that accentuated their curves. In 1953's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell impersonate human stop signs in sexy sequined red gowns.

The 1930s and animator Max Fleischer brought us Betty Boop, the little minx with saucer eyes and a strapless fire engine–red minidress that featured a heart-shaped neckline. Jessica Rabbit of 1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit? carried on the sexpot cartoon tradition in her sequined red gown with a dangerous side slit.

After the publication of Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous tale of adulteress Hester Pryne and her scarlet A in 1850, the color took on scandalous connotations. Society girls quickly opted for a softer hue of pink.

Mary Queen of Scots, known for her long auburn tresses, wore a startling scarlet dress beneath a black cloak to her execution in 1587. Even her petticoats were red. Why the festive look? Because red is the color of martyrs.

Red's supremacy can be traced to its exclusivity. The very first crimson dye—derived from a Mexican bug known as a cochineal—was discovered by Spaniards in the 1500s and became the main export to the New World. It took 70,000 insects to make a pound of the coveted dye.