REALLY? WHO HAS $30,000 TO PAY FOR A GOLD DRESS?

It's gold, it's glittery and it's the hot dress of the holiday season.
A shimmering Balmain dress with puffy 1980's inspired sleeves and a plunging neckline has appeared on the cover of six magazine covers this season.

Models including Cindy Crawford, Natalia Vodianova and Claudia Schiffer wear the dress for Vogue India, Harpers Bazaar and the German magazine Zeit.

The dress also makes an appearance on the covers of Italian and Spanish Vogue.

There are reportedly two version of the dress: An ankle-length version with a slit that rises to mid-thigh and a mini-dress.

Vodianova wore the longer version of the dress to the Harper's Bazaar party Monday night.

The Daily Mail estimates the longer version of the dress to cost a staggering $33,600. The shorter version is no less of a bargain at $30,700.

The French company has been synonymous for luxury since Pierre Balmain founded it in 1945. While the fashion house's fortunes have risen and fallen in the last decades, the brand clearly seems to be on an upswing.

Stars like Rihanna as well have been photographed checking out Balmain's designs at the Spring 2010 show in Paris.