What’s the best way to style a backless dress? While a typical necklace will do, there’s a better way to accessorize this dress style that will surely make you stand out.
Ditch the traditional necklace wear; flip it to cascade down your bare back, instantly elevating your jewelry game to unprecedented heights.
Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly wears a backdrop necklace in the 1961 American romantic comedy film Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Credit: Paramount Pictures)
This trend is called the backdrop style, and you’ll be surprised how popular it is on the red carpet.
Although primarily popular with formal dresses, this trend can also be worn with casual outfits. It is not new and has been spotted as early as the 1960s in Audrey Hepburn’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
During the red carpet season, it has become one of the go-to accessories for ladies who love wearing low-back dress styles. Here are just some of our favorites:
1. Jennifer Lawrence in Neil Lane
Jennifer Lawrence in a red Dior gown with a carved rock crystal Neil Lane necklace on the red carpet at the 86th Annual Academy Awards held at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on March 2, 2014 (Credit: WENN)
How do you like her red strapless Dior dress and backdrop necklace worth $2 million by Neil Lane? It features 100 carats of diamonds.
Jennifer Lawrence wears a backdrop necklace to the Oscars (Credit: WENN)
2. Anne Hathaway in Tiffany & Co.
Anne Hathaway styled her dress with a floral necklace from Tiffany & Co. (Credit: WENN)
Many fashion critics did not like her pink Prada dress, and in 2018, she apologized on Instagram.
“I had to change my dress last minute, and so it looked like my nipples were hard, I had full-blown laryngitis and had to sing, and a bunch of corny haters were getting lots of attention from the media for being haters, but you know what? It was still the best,” she shared in March 2018.
“To all the nominees, I hope you have a BLAST tonight doing all that #bestlife #oscars stuff. Peace xx.”
Anne Hathaway in a pink Prada column gown at the 85th Annual Oscars at Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles on February 24, 2013 (Credit: WENN)
“I look in the mirror, turn to [husband] Adam [Schulman], and say, ‘It looks like my nipples are hard.’ He says, ‘You look beautiful. Your nipples look pointy. The red carpet’s about to close. We gotta go,’” she told Harper’s Bazaar in 2014.
How do you like her chunky floral diamond and platinum necklace from the Tiffany & Co. 2013 Blue Book Collection?
Anne Hathaway wears her diamond and platinum necklace backward (Credit: WENN)
3. Cara Delevingne in De Grisogono
Cara Delevingne shows off her De Grisogono statement necklace featuring a little chimpanzee set with 771 black diamonds (Credit: WENN)
When wearing this trend, go for long necklaces that drape beautifully down your back. Lariat styles and wrap necklaces are the best choices as they are easily adjustable.
Cara Delevingne in a beaded Roberto Cavalli Spring 2014 dress at the De Grisogono dinner party, in collaboration with Gyunel during the Cannes film festival at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on May 20, 2014, in Cap d’Antibes, France (Credit: WENN)
If your necklace choice is bold and big, forego the earrings so all the drama is directed to your statement necklace.
Cara Delevingne wears a bejeweled monkey necklace draped down her back (Credit: WENN)