Eva Longoria reveals she wore a $40 dress to her first Cannes Film Festival in 2005

• Eva Longoria attended her first Cannes Film Festival in 2005.
• The actress told People that she wore a $40 dress for her first appearance.

Over the years, Eva Longoria has made many fashion statements in dresses from designer brands like YSL and Victoria Beckham.

But that wasn't the case when she attended her first Cannes Film Festival in 2005. Longoria revealed to People that the gold knit dress she wore to the event only cost $40.

"I was like, 'I'll just wear this one, this knit gold, that feels right,'" she said. "Nobody would've known it was a $40 dress."

Longoria told People she "had no idea what Cannes was" when she purchased her gown for the event from a store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, California. She added that she was even confused when someone asked her "who" she was wearing at the film festival.

"I was like, 'What do you mean? It's mine,'" she said. "Everybody just loved the dress, and I was like, 'It's just from Melrose!'"

The actress said wearing the $40 dress proves that walking on a red carpet is about style and not how much the look costs.

"It's not the dress, it's the woman who wears the dress," she said.

For this year's Cannes Film Festival opening ceremony on May 17, Longoria wore a black ruffled dress from Alberta Ferretti. She told People that she was supposed to wear a different dress, but it wasn't ready in time. When Longoria saw the sheer gown, she knew it was the one, she said.

"I mean, it was so spectacular," Longoria said. "I was like, 'Yes, let's do that one.'"

Representatives for Longoria did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.