Stephanie Seymour
FameFlynet
When model Stephanie Seymour attended the Tribeca Film Festival this week, she assumed she was properly attired in a little black dress by Chanel. But when the flashbulbs went off on the red carpet, the LBD turned NC-17—Seymour’s dress became sheer and she had to position her clutch carefully to maintain a modicum of modesty.
Jennifer Lopez
Mark J. Terrill / AP Photo
At the 2012 Academy Awards, Jennifer Lopez’s sheer Zahair Murad gown played peek-a-boo on the red carpet, but when she presented onstage at the Oscars, TV audiences swore J. Lo went too low. Did the American Idol judge actually reveal a sliver of her nipple? While areola-ologists debated the issue for days, the nipple itself developed a big following on Twitter.
Mena Suvari
WENN
On Mena Suvari’s Twitter profile, she gushes about being a “Lover of all things Fashion!” And judging from the chic, gauzy black dress the 33-year-old actress wore to the American Pie Reunion premiere in London this month, few would have called the Fashion Police on her—until she turned around. When Suvari leaned over on the red carpet, the bright lights made her dress see-through, and she accidentally mooned the paparazzi. Still, she wasn’t bummed about flashing her behind. Later that night, she tweeted, “Had an amazing time tonight with audiences for @americanpie screenings #london”.
Blake Lively
Donna Ward / Retna Ltd.
At the 2010 CFDA Awards in New York, Gossip Girl star Blake Lively stirred up a little gossip when the flashbulbs went off and her black Chanel dress revealed a white bra underneath. A year later, however, Lively’s faux pas turned into sheer delight when she wore a barely-there Marchesa dress to celebrate the 100th episode of her series. Her tassels did all the work for her.
Alexandra Kerry
Pascal Guyot, AFP / Getty Images
Transparency in government is one thing, but not this kind. At the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, Alexandra Kerry, daughter of then Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, attended the premiere of her short film, The Last Full Measure, in a long black gown. But under the bright camera lights of the red carpet, the 30-year-old director was overexposed. “I walked through the whole thing and nobody said a word,” Kerry said three years later. “It wasn't until the next morning when my press person said, ‘We have a little problem...’ Then my stepbrother checked the Internet, and he was like, ‘Don't look!’ It was a complete shock and surprise. Even more of a surprise was that people made it as much of an issue as they did.” She added, “It's such a shame. I saw the heads of Google last summer, and I joked with them: ‘How do I get this off your site?’”
Nicollette Sheridan
X17online.com
Was former Desperate Housewives star Nicollette Sheridan a little desperate for attention last October when she showed up at Nobu in Los Angeles without a bra? Or did she just not realize that the flashbulbs gave the cameras X-ray vision? At least Sheridan dressed more demurely when she appeared in court last month for her lawsuit against Housewives’ creator Marc Cherry.
Natalie Imbruglia
Matt Dunham / AP Photo
At the 2009 GQ Men of the Year Awards in London it was a woman, of course, who owned the night. Singer Natalie Imbruglia walked the red carpet in a full-length glittering gown that became sheer under the lights. But that didn’t distract the British press from asking Imbruglia about her relationship with Prince Harry. “I haven’t seen Harry lately,” she said plainly. “He’s been busy.”
Brooke Mueller
Angela Weiss / Getty Images
Given that Brooke Mueller was once married to Charlie Sheen, outrageous behavior is all relative. Appearing on a red carpet in a sheer shirt without a bra? Not exactly shocking given her ex’s lowlights. But when you consider that Mueller was appearing at a children’s charity event—with her own kids in tow —well, you can’t help but see exactly what Sheen may have seen in her.
%>
Hayden Panettiere
Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
Most celebrities have figured out that the lights on the red carpet can turn a dress transparent, but sometimes the solution looks worse than the problem. At the 2011 Golden Globe Awards, Hayden Panettierre preserved her modesty by strategically placing nipple tape under her sheer Amanda Wakely dress. Next time, she should just try a different dress.
Melody Thornton
Michael Buckner / Getty Images
Of course, not all red-carpet revelations occur by accident. Earlier this month, former Pussycat Dolls star Melody Thornton attended the Elle Women in Music event in Los Angeles in a vintage dress that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. “I just really wanted to do something crazy. And my friend was like, ‘You have to stop being so safe, so Jackie O,’” Thornton told the Daily Mail. “She was like, ‘Go out there and show some ass.’” Oddly enough, that’s the one part Thornton didn’t reveal.
