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Jessica Chastain’s choice for her Oscars 2012 look, a custom Alexander McQueen design with an intricate gold overlay and a flowing chiffon train, was something she’s been dreaming about since, well, forever. “Most girls think about their wedding day and their wedding dress, but when I was a little girl I never really thought about my wedding dress,” The Help star told InStyle.com at the Marni for H&M launch party a few weeks ago. “But I always wanted to be an actor and I thought about what it would be like to be at the Oscars. So this dress to me is probably the closest I’m going to get to a wedding dress. Not in a bad way, but it’s great.” In turn, the Best Supporting Actress nominee put a lot of thought into her look. “It’s kind of emotional to me,” she said. “It’s my first time there and beautiful dresses are being made. It’s very exciting.”

See more Oscars 2012 looks in the gallery!

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• See the 2012 Oscar Nominees!

— Sharon Clott, with reporting by Lindzi Scharf

It was a meeting of the redheads when Emma Stone (in J. Mendel) helped celebrate Ahna O’Reilly (in Issa) and Jessica Chastain‘s Best Ensemble Cast win for The Help at the National Board of Review Awards Gala, held at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York. When we caught up with Chastain separately, she told us she picked out her Zac Posen dress just for the big night. “This dress is so theatrical, but also very modern,” she said. “It’s feminine and edgy. I’m a huge fan!” See Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, and more stars at last night’s hottest parties in the gallery!