Anne Hathaway is gradually taking more and more risks on the red carpet.

And on Thursday, she picked an especially unusual number in the form of a white leather dress with a studded lacy Peter Pan collar and neckline, along with a sheer black panel across the chest.

The combination of a simple and sweet silhouette with a racy fabric and see-through segment left the frock more than a little strange.

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Unusual choice: Anne Hathaway (seen left with Marlo Thomas) wore a unique dress to the World Of Children Awards in New York City on Thursday

But Anne, 31, still looked beautiful as she posed at the World Of Children Awards in New York City.

The actress left her long legs on show and added inches to her willowy 5ft 8in frame with a pair of high heeled gold court shoes.

Anne wore minimal make-up to enhance her gorgeous complexion, with just a slick of rosy pink lipstick and some black eyeliner to make her brown doe eyes pop.

The charitable Les Misérables star was joined at the event by her husband Adam Shulman, who wore a dapper checked black suit.

The happy couple were also joined by That Girl actress Marlo Thomas, who defied her 76 years and looked fantastic in a black dress with sheer neckline.

Anne graciously greeted the noble honourees at the event, including 14-year-old Jaylen Arnold, who has Tourette Syndrome, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Aspergers Syndrome, and was given the Youth Award for his efforts to combat bullying.

Earlier in the day, the star appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to promote her new movie Interstellar, and discussed dealing with cyber bullies.

Anne said that after winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Les Misérables, she Googled herself and found an article headlined 'Why Does Everyone Hate Anne Hathaway?' Anne told a sympathetic Ellen that she couldn't put the words she'd read out of her mind.

'And then I realised why I couldn't was I hadn't learned to love myself yet,' the actress revealed. 'I hadn't gotten there. And if you don't love yourself when someone else says horrible things to you, part of you is always going to believe them.'

But she added: 'It's really OK. It has a happy ending. Life continues.'

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