While it's hard to pinpoint who was the pioneer of the "naked dress," the definition of the eye-catching non-clothing clothing item has certainly evolved over the past decade. As we inch closer to 2020, we continue to see more celebs unapologetically showing off their bodies thanks to a little body positivity and, you know, freeing the nipple. From the CFDA red carpet (hi, Rihanna) to the MTV Video Music Awards (we see you, Miley), here are 40 of the best naked looks of the decade.
Katy Perry (2010)
We all know Katy Perry isn't one to miss when it comes to red carpet fashion. At the 2010 MTV Movie Awards, the singer wore this very short, very sparkly Zuhair Murad mini dress—with a blue wig to finish the look.
Melody Thornton (2012)
The former Pussycat Dolls singer wore this see-through brown vintage lace dress to the 2012 ELLE Women In Music event and left almost zero to the imagination.
Jaimie Alexander (2013)
The actress arrived at the 2013 premiere of Thor: The Dark World in an Azzaro Couture long-sleeve black dress with a sheer slit in the back, and we're still speechless.
Miley Cyrus (2013)
While promoting the release of her hit "Wrecking Ball," Cyrus wore Agent Provocateur bikini bottoms, nipple pasties, and a white mesh dress to perform at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in 2013.
Gwyneth Paltrow (2013)
The front of Paltrow's Antonio Berardi dress may have been rated PG at the 2013 Los Angeles premiere of Iron Man 3, but when she turned to the side, the sheer number totally became R-rated.
Amber Rose (2014)
The model and designer wore this chain Laura Dewitt outfit on the 2014 VMAs red carpet. Anyone else getting Rose McGowan 1998 VMAs dress vibes from this look?
Rihanna (2014)
The nakedest look of all naked looks: Rihanna's custom Adam Selman fishnet dress, which featured more than 230,000 Swarovski crystals. Her girls may have been on display at the 2014 CFDA awards, but they were covered in Swarovski crystals...so she wins.
Irina Shayk (2015)
At the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscars after-party, the model wore an asymmetrical sheer, dotted pattern Versace dress that showed off her killer body.
Rita Ora (2015)
This black mesh Donna Karan gown worn by Rita Ora at the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscars after-party proves that showing off side butt can be better than showing off side boob.
Jennifer Lopez (2015)
The singer-slash-actress-slash-mogul wore this red sheer Versace gown at the 2015 Met Gala celebrating the "China: Through The Looking Glass" exhibit. Is there anything J.Lo doesn't look good in?
Beyoncé (2015)
Beyoncé's 2015 Met Gala dress, which was covered in strategically placed multi-colored rhinestones, reminded us not only how beautiful she is in Givenchy, but also how a high ponytail can be your best accessory.
Chrissy Teigen (2015)
Teigen went commando in the name of fashion at the 2015 VMAs when she wore this black Marchesa dress made of lace and sheer fabric.
Miley Cyrus (2015)
Miley Cyrus gave us lewks on lewks during the Bangerz era. At the 2015 VMAs, she wore this strappy silver outfit by Atelier Versace.
Keke Palmer (2016)
The Hustlers actress wore a silver two-piece Natalia Fender outfit to the 2016 American Music Awards. We really weren't worthy.
Diane Kruger (2016)
The German actress wore this wine-colored dress from Reem Acra to the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscars after-party. Cheers, Diane!
Madonna (2016)
Madonna is known to strike a pose in anything-but-ordinary outfits. At the 2016 Met Gala, her black lace Givenchy outfit exposed her chest and butt as a "political statement on ageism and sexism."
Ciara (2016)
When Ciara hosted the Billboard Music Awards in 2016, she made sure to bring it. The singer may have worn seven different looks that night, but this silver dress with top and bottom cut-outs from Philipp Plein takes the cake.
Kim Kardashian (2016)
Just days before she would be robbed in her hotel room, Kim wore an Olivier Rousteing creation from the Balmain creative director during Paris Fashion Week. The gray crochet floor-length knit dress is further proof of how far Mrs. West is willing to go for fashion.
Bella Hadid (2016)
After her first Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2016 (remember that awkward interaction with her ex, The Weeknd, while walking the runway?), the former VS Angel wore a silver beaded gown by Julien Macdonald to the after-party. The dress was paired with a nude thong and jewelry from Messika.
Emily Ratajkowski (2016)
At the 2016 Harper's Bazaar Icons party, the body-positive activist wore a Julien Macdonald gown with a neckline that went all the way down to her belly button. If you squint hard enough, you'll notice that the dress featured sheer sparkly fabric on the sides and the front that held everything together. We love to see it.
Chrissy Teigen (2016)
Our favorite person to follow on Twitter wore a black Yousef Akbar dress at the 2016 American Music Awards with a slit so high it must have broken a world record...right?
Cara Delevingne (2017)
At the Mexico City premiere of Valerian, Delevingne wore a Versace mini dress made of small, silver discs linked together to create a chainmail effect. To tone it down a smidge, the model and actress wore a nude bodysuit and nipple pasties underneath.
Nicki Minaj (2017)
The rapper attended Haider Ackerman's fall 2017 show in Paris with one boob out and her nipple covered with a black diamond pastie from Alexandre Vauthier. It reminds us of Lil' Kim's purple outfit at the 1999 VMAs.
Lady Gaga (2017)
Lady Gaga walked the 2017 Grammy Awards red carpet in all of her underboob glory wearing platform over-the-knee boots, leather shorts, and a leather feathery cropped jacket. A star was truly born.
Jennifer Lopez (2017)
The Hustlers star walked the 2017 Latin Music Billboard Awards red carpet in a Julien MacDonald long-sleeve cut-out dress that fit her in all the right places.
Gabrielle Union (2017)
We're not only jealous of how good Gabrielle Union's skin looked here (that glow!), but also of the Jean Paul Gaultier spring 2017 Haute Couture gown that she wore to the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party.
Hailey Baldwin (2017)
Before she and Biebs tied the knot, Baldwin wore this metallic jumpsuit designed by Zuhair Murad with nude underwear to the 2017 VMAs.
Violetta Komyshan (2017)
Ballerina Violetta Komyshan wore a red sheer ruffled knit Alexander McQueen dress without a bra (free the nipple!) at the premiere of boyfriend Ansel Elgort's 2017 film, Baby Driver.
Bella Hadid (2018)
During the AMFAR Gala at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018, Hadid wore the dress of our ice princess dreams by Ralph & Russo. The outfit featured up to 150 meters of hand-appliquéd silver chains and took around 3,000 hours to create.
Kendall Jenner (2018)
The supermodel wore a sparkly sheer mini dress by Alexandre Vauthier with nude underwear underneath to the Chopard Party at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018.
Dascha Polanco (2018)
The see-through dress the Orange Is the New Black actress wore for the 2018 VMAs fulfilled all of our lace dreams. She completed the look with eyeshadow that stole the show.
Bleona Qereti (2018)
Known as the "Madonna of Albania," Bleona Qereti had worn a sheer gown with nipple pasties before she attended the 2018 Oscars after-party, but this look she chose for the Vanity Fair bash was just as shocking as if it was the very first time.
Alessandra Ambrosio (2018)
The former Victoria's Secret model wore this bejeweled Ralph & Russo dress at Vanity Fair's Oscars after-party in 2018. To call her an icon in this dress would be an understatement.
Zoë Kravitz (2018)
The Big Little Lies actress attended the 2018 Met Gala in a 1990 Yves Saint Laurent lace dress that was tied together with beaded bow ribbons and showed off her incredible legs.
Kendall Jenner (2018)
Jenner showed up to the second day of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival wearing a very sheer dress at the premiere of Girls of The Sun. The revealing gown was designed by Schiaparelli Haute Couture from their fall/winter collection.
Rita Ora (2018)
Ora attended the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards in a patterned sheer black dress from Jean Paul Gaultier.
Indya Moore (2019)
The Pose actress wore a metallic floor-length dress by LaQuan Smith to the 78th Peabody Awards Ceremony in New York City this year.
Kim Kardashian (2019)
Everyone's favorite selfie queen showed up at the 2019 Hollywood Beauty Awards in a vintage dress by Thierry Mugler from his spring/summer 1998 runway collection.
Kylie Jenner (2019)
Despite whatever drama happened between Kylie Jenner and Alex Rodriguez at the Met Gala in 2019, we still can't get Kylie's purple look out of our minds. The custom-made Versace dress was designed with interlaced crystal mesh, Swarovski crystals, and ostrich feathers. Oh, and it had removable feathered sleeves.
Emily Ratajkowski (2019)
The model made us re-think our current ab workout routine (or lack thereof) in her Cher-inspired outfit designed by Peter Dundas at the 2019 Met Gala.
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Bianca Rodriguez is the Commerce Editor/Writer at Hearst Magazines Digital Media, where she covers fashion, beauty, home, and more. She likes long walks through shopping malls, a good book, and thinks a closet without platform sneakers is a travesty.
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