BASIC INSTINCT:Sharon Stone, 68th Annual Academy
Awards, 1996 Sharon Stone was up for Best Actress, having given it her all
as Ginger, the two-timing hustler in Martin Scorsese's "Casino." The
"Basic Instinct" flasher had aced out Nicole Kidman and Michelle Pfeiffer for the ... morepart, not to mention Traci Lords, Robert De Niro's first choice. Stone
loved dressing up for the Academy Awards, and she had the body and bearing to
bring off the best Valentino and Vera Wang had to offer. So for this auspicious
year, she had two exquisite dresses by her favorite designers to choose from,
one low-key beige, the other stunning navy, red and gold. Still dithering the
night before the ceremony, Stone called up another designer who came over to the
house and ordered the frantic actress to "go get your five favorite things."
Faves included a black taffeta, floor-length Valentino trumpet skirt and an
Armani black-velvet coatdress. What to wear underneath the coatdress? A black
Gap mock turtleneck T-shirt from the bottom of a drawer, of course. Stone's mom
sewed up the T's underarm tear, Sharon added a gardenia from her garden and
haute couture -- but not an Oscar win -- eventuated. (Marissa Roth/Retna
Ltd.)
