Sandra Lee Transforms $99 Dress She Bought on Instagram with DIY Embellishments for Elton John Oscars Party (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Sandra Lee at Elton John’s Oscars Party (left); Sandra Lee creates her own dress (right).Photo:Getty;Sandra Lee

Getty;Sandra Lee

Sandra Leeis not afraid to do a little DIY on her red carpet looks.

“I was initially hesitant to order because they never are as good as they look on the website, but this dress was the exception. It was just as beautiful!” Lee says of the blue square-neck crushed velvet dress she’s wearing toElton John’s AIDS Foundation annual Oscars viewing party.

Sandra Lee creates her own dress.courtesy of Sandra Lee

courtesy of Sandra Lee

“I always love wearing something unique to a special event and as a board member of the Elton John Foundation, I love to represent and look my best,” she says.

When she realized the roses on the original dress “were not as exquisite as the dress itself,” she took matters in her own hands.

“I let my mind wonder as to how I might recreate and adorn the dress, and as my creative energy kicked in, I thought I’d create something unique to wear to our annual Oscar event,” she says.

Sandra Lee creates her own dress for the Elton John Oscars Party.courtesy of Sandra Lee

She added a ruffled tulle bottom and a bejeweled embellishment to the top with “silk flowers and precious antique trims that I discovered in New Orleans,” she says.

She also added some length to the bottom of the dress to make it “formal attire and not cocktail” for the red carpet. She repurposed material for the bottom from her Netflix show,Blue Ribbon Baking Championship. “It’s not the perfect color, but I was absolutely determined to make it work,” she says.

andra Lee makes her own dress for the Elton John Oscars Party.courtesy of Sandra Lee

Overall, Lee reveals, “The dress took about six hours to reimagine and then I grabbed an antique purse that I’d purchased at a vintage store and then I embellished it to match the dress.”

Sandra Lee makes her own dress for Elton John’s 2025 Oscars Party.courtesy of Sandra Lee

For her other accessories, she says that most of them are “leftovers from a hat milliner.” She used any extra materials in her hair and purse.

Admittedly, she says she struggled with where to cut herself off and so she didn’t over-embellish the dress. “This is hard for me because for me, more is more!”

Sandra Lee’s jewelry and bag for Elton John’s 2025 Oscar Party.Sandra Lee

Sandra Lee

The mom of two also did her own glam for the March 2 event, which is something she’s been in the habit of lately. “I don’t always do my own glam, but I have been lately and it takes me less time than when I work with a glam squad,” she says. “Although I love my glam squad and I’m so appreciative of them!”

Sandra Lee does her own glam ahead of Elton John’s 2025 Oscar Party.Sandra Lee

She’s got plenty of experience herself. “Well, I do have an Emmy for makeup which very few people know about, and so I think I do a pretty good job!”

Breaking down her routine, Lee says, “I bring everything down to the same tone with a beautiful foundation and concealer, and then build up from there.  To prep the skin, I always do a full face mask before I start and a lot of SkinCeuticals and moisturizer.”

This is the second time that Lee has created a gown for John’s annual party, followingher 2022 “F-U cancer” sheer look— which she admits “will be my favorite dress forever.”

“I always love dressing for the Oscar events and I love seeing what everybody else wears as well. Anything and everything goes! It’s about owning your personality and your luck and I love that. I enjoy having something unique every year.”

Sandra Lee gets ready for Elton John’s 2025 Oscar Party.Sandra Lee

Plus, Lee says that John and hishusband David Furnish"always comment on how beautiful my dresses are," so she knows “this year will be no exception,” though this time it cost her “a fraction of the price.”

Taking the reigns on the dress has also been a “great place for me to put my creative energy given that I am not able to live in my home,” Lee says.Her Malibu house was spared in the L.A. wildfiresin January, but she’s still “living in a hotel room.”

Sandra Lee on the way to Elton John’s Oscars Party.Sandra Lee

“It’s not been an easy start of the year, but this is certainly making me happy and I can’t wait for Elton and David to see it!”

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source: people.com