Jennifer Garner in silver Oscar de la Renta at the Oscars: flapper fug or fab? (update)

The 86th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals A6
Last year at the Oscars, Jennifer Garner put on her game face to support her husband, Ben Affleck, who ultimately took home best picture for Argo. For her trouble, Garner got disrespected in her husband’s Oscar speech. This year, Garner was a presenter and she was in one of the nominated films, Dallas Buyer’s Club. (She was the weak link in that film, in my opinion, and I hate to say that because I genuinely like her.)

In 2013, Garner accompanied Affleck to the ceremony and sat next to him. (Update: Affleck did go to the ceremony with Garner. He was there with her when they panned to the audience during the best supporting actor section. He left before the end, though, and was not show when McConaughey won, which is why I thought he was not there.)

2013 Vanity Fair Oscar Party

Garner wore this silver Oscar de la Renta gown which was lovely from the waist up, but just had too many levels of fringe on the bottom. In motion, it looked quite busy and too long, like it wanted to be a flapper dress but was double the length it should be. Plus she was wearing stacked stripper heels! I can’t remember when I’ve seen Garner get her footwear right.

The 86th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals B1

Update: More photos came in from the Vanity Fair party!
The 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles

The 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles


I did love her styling. She sometimes wears her hair back and it looks too severe, but I loved her soft waves and how effortless her hair looked. Her makeup was so pretty too.

I’m also including these photos of Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party. Look at how affectionate they are with each other! Portia was in this white eyelet Naeem Khan gown, which was technically very interesting and unique but I’m not sure how I feel about her look overall. There’s a nude lining to the dress, I think, which isn’t opaque enough.

2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party

The 86th Annual Oscars - Red Carpet Arrivals

2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party

Photo credit: WENN.com and FameFlynet

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81 Responses to “Jennifer Garner in silver Oscar de la Renta at the Oscars: flapper fug or fab? (update)”

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  1. lenje says:

    She didn’t seem too happy on stage last night. I noticed that because Garner usually smiles all the time, showing off those dimples. Maybe they had a little fight or something?

  2. alexc says:

    Portia has got some serious botox brow going on. She should stop tweaking her face before she ruins it. Jennifer looks lovely, I liked the dress, shoes or hideous though.

    • foxyw says:

      Yeah, I noticed that, too. Whatever she’s doing, it has aged her. That doesn’t look like natural aging, at least not to me.

    • Patricia says:

      I know I wish Portia would stop! Her face is soooo beautiful when left alone. I read her book and it seems she has been plagued with insecurities throughout her life. It’s sad she can’t see how very beautiful she is without any Botox, with just the natural beauty she was born with.

    • Esmom says:

      I think she’s very close to ruining it, almost to the point of no return. So sad because like Nicole Kidman she is naturally so lovely. Crazy Hollywood pressures.

      • danielle says:

        I remember how gorgeous she was on Ali MacBiehl and this makes me sad. She has destroyed her own beauty in an effort to look young.

    • Lucy2 says:

      Yes, it was very noticeable when Arrested Development came back. I too hope she stops, I like her and she’s so pretty.

      • India says:

        Love Portia’s dress but Good God Girl, your overly arched botoxed eye brows look like hell. Give it up already.

      • amilu says:

        I was just about to say this. Her appearance on the most recent series of Arrested Development was seriously jarring.

  3. Lindy79 says:

    Her shoes are awful. The dress is ok

  4. Hate Jennifer’s dress–below the waist it’s U-G-L-Y.

    Hate Portia’s dress too–it’s too ice skater-y…but she and Ellen look so cute together.

    • QQ says:

      THIS! ITA

    • FLORC says:

      They are such a cute couple! Above the waist Gerner is gorgeous. Ben never looks pleased. I’m coming around to the cheating rumors.

    • atrain says:

      In photographs I think the dress is terrible, but on stage she looked great. It flowed well and glittered gorgeously.

  5. MrsBPitt says:

    I was surprised that Ben didn’t present the best picture award. Doesn’t last years recipient usually present to the new winner???

  6. emmie_a says:

    I want to like Jen’s dress because I like all the elements – but it just doesn’t work on her. Her hair & makeup did look great though. (I could see Nicole Richie pulling off the dress for some reason)

    I love Portia and I liked her dress but I wish she’d stop tweaking her face. She’s a natural beauty and doesn’t need to mess with w/anything.

  7. Marianne says:

    I didn’t like the spaghetti straps, but otherwise really liked Jennifer Garner’s dress.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Me too. I loved the skirt part…it reminded me a beautiful chandelier, and I always love a dress that looks beautiful in motion and has some movement to it.

      • Pandy says:

        I liked the dress too. And I thought it looked great in motion when she walked across the stage. Liked her hair and make up as well. Shoes not so great though.

  8. bros says:

    garner was a total fug in her cheap looking outfit and stripper shoes.

    portia looked amazing-that dress was so beautiful with the design reminiscent of tilework in morocco or tunisia. gorgeous dress.

  9. Merritt says:

    I liked Jennifer’s dress. I felt it was a little different for her.

    • Tulip Garden says:

      I felt like Jennifer did something different (for her) too. While I usually dislike the “to the floor” fringe, I really thought it looked great on her especially in motion. Her face always looks good to me.

    • shaye kay says:

      Merritt,
      I guess we’re not in the majority here but I loved her whole look! The top was very fitted and the bottom just added a movement for the sparkly silver to bling! I’m not a hugeGarner fan but I actually thought she looked great from her lovely hair to the stacked heels. Nothing boring, nothing ugly, nothing too revealing, nothing too OTT…just right here.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      I like it, too, and I don’t think these pictures do justice to how pretty she looked last night. A few times the camera panned to her and she really did look lovely.

      • Jayna says:

        She did. I don’t think the photos do her justice either. I thought when she was at the podium she was so pretty, very soft and pretty. Hard to believe she is 41. And I loved the dress, the way it moved as she walked across the stage.

  10. Kiddo says:

    Flapper dresses need to be short, that’s the charm in them and in their movement. Too much going on in this length. I hate the shoes.

  11. sundaygal says:

    Did she get her shoes at Cathy Jean??

  12. Emma13 says:

    I’m in the minority here. I actually loved the dress when she was walking. It looked awesome! It may have been better, a little shorter (more true to the flapper style) but I still liked it 🙂

    • Tulip Garden says:

      Agree! Said something similar upthread before I got to your comment.

    • Belle says:

      I’m finding myself in the minority quite often on this site. I also thought Jennifer looked lovely. I mentioned last night how much I liked the dress on stage. 🙂

      Was in the minority last night on Ellen’s hosting performance as well. I liked most of it! Ellen looked beautiful in all of her outfits, but I can’t see past Portia’s overly-tweaked face to even consider her dress. Sad.

      • TG says:

        I really liked Ellen’s performance too and found myself laughing at pretty much everything she said and kept looking forward to when she would appear again. I mean ordering the pizza was lame to me since none of those folks eat but the joke on Harvey Weinstein was worth it. I actually wondered if it wasn’t a subtle hint that he throws money around to get votes. Also loved that Coke written clearly on the pizza boxes got free advertisement when Pepsi was a sponsor of the Oscars. Not sure of that was intentional or not.

        Jen’s dress was okay. I like her and think she is so beautiful with a great body so always wish she would do better. Also even though I believe they use the paps to their advantage I still think she is a genuine happy person and a great mom. If Ben is stepping out on her or busy doing drugs I hope she dumps him and tosses his butt out.

    • We Are All Made of Stars says:

      I liked it too! It’s the Oscars people, it’s fun and flashy! We need a 90s Oscar flashback so we can remember all the people who used to bring fun and humor to the event.

    • Jayna says:

      I agree.

  13. Alexa says:

    Wow – Jennifer Garner looked BEAUTIFUL! And so did Portia and Ellen. Love all three of these ladies.

  14. blue marie says:

    Like her hair but not the dress on Jennifer. The top is great, bottom not so much. Affleck does not look happy to be there, she should use those stripper heels to kick him in the butt.

    I would love to hang out with Ellen and Portia, they look like fun.

  15. cyn says:

    Jennifer Garner always looks gorgeous when she attends events. I’m just surprised she was at the Oscars as she’s never even been nominated for an Academy Award and Ben isn’t up for anything this year. I guess it makes sense since Jared & MMc received so much critical acclaim for Dallas Buyers Club, but from what I’ve read – haven’t seen the movie – she was the weak link in the movie, not the star.

    • kelley says:

      Well if the likes of Kate Hudson and Kristen Bell were there…hardy A-list actresses either.

      • lenje says:

        Kristen Bell is in Frozen, which won for Best Animation & Best Song.

      • kelley says:

        & there’s no way in H*ll the movie would have got those awards without her voice in the movie.

      • lenje says:

        Garner and Bell were present because they were in the nominated movies. Do you have a problem with that?

  16. Esmom says:

    I thought Jennifer looked stunning, really amped up the glamour with her hair and makeup especially. I actually didn’t recognize her at first and I can’t put my finger on what looks different. She’s maybe a bit slimmer?

    • Meinu says:

      Same for me, it seems she has changed something. Looking at the first picture, I’d say cheekbones. They seem much more prominent than they used to be.
      I still think she looks amazing though. She has a very contagious smile.

  17. Ice Queen says:

    Both dresses are nothing special, but they are not that bad ether.

  18. kibbles says:

    I didn’t watch the Oscars (saw a few clips online) so I can only base my opinion on these photographs. I do remember Garner being very supportive of Affleck last year and also trying to make light of his disrespectful acceptance speech. I remember that they posed for many photographs last year. Even if neither were nominated this year, Affleck should have still put on his game face since Jennifer was in a nominated film and she was a presenter. I wonder how it feels to be in a one-sided marriage where your partner doesn’t support or respect you nearly as much you support them. It must not feel so good.

  19. Carol says:

    Still don’t think Ben’s speech was disrespectful last year. Clearly he attended the oscars with her; don’t know how that gets spun into “He doesn’t support her.” Oh well.

  20. Lucy2 says:

    I liked Jen’s dress but hated her shoes.

  21. danielle says:

    I thought she had worn a nearly identical dress before, but that was Jessica biel. She wore a dress identical from the waist up. Anyone else remember that one?

  22. mar says:

    I love Portia’s dress. Jen’s dress is gross.

  23. Jayna says:

    She looked so so pretty, I thought. And I loved the dress on her, the way it looked as she walked across the stage to present.

    Regarding him not walking the red carpet with her, she was not nominated. She has said in an interview once when she does her stuff, which isn’t that often, she rarely has Ben walk the red carpet as it’s all about them, then, or him. It’s kind of her moment away from the Ben/Jen machine and the focus back on her career or whatever she is doing. So I doubt she wanted him to walk it. He was out in the audience with her.

  24. shellybean says:

    Jennifer’s dress was one of the worst of the night, for me. Hated it. I do like her hair. Portia looked awful. That dress is not flattering, and her tweaked face is a mess.

  25. Grant says:

    I hardly felt like Jennifer Garner was the weak link in DBC. She was just kind of F’ed because hers was a relatively unmemorable role book-ended by two career-defining ones. I actually kind of like her dress. There were so many bland nudes/neutral/light colors on the red carpet and this silvery confection was relatively inoffensive in my opinion.

    • don't kill me i'm french says:

      it’s obviously that her role is not showy or memorable next to the 2 lead characters

    • Jayna says:

      I think her small part was really to help carry the story along in a couple of places with the AIDS epidemic story and the medical establishment and nothing more. So it would never be showy, I didn’t realize until I saw her in an interview that she didn’t wear a stitch of makeup, nothing. I assumed she just wore some very understated makeup. Zero.

      She was going to turn down the roll because she didn’t want to leave her family and the baby was very young. Ben thought she should do it as he said she always seemed happier when acting. it was a very short shoot for her. Maybe three weeks. She came home on weekends but it was shot in New Orleans. She said the first day of shooting she broke down crying and was so embarrassed and felt unprofessional and had to explain she missed her children and she said Matthew was so sweet to her I hearted her for that. But that once she got the cry over she really did love being on set and being part of a movie that was so good. It as an indie movie and so a tightknit group and she loved watching the director work and Jason and Matthew.

      • Jayna says:

        Oops. I forgot. She was crying because she was nursing and they were shooting fast and she wasn’t getting enough time to pump and she was in agony and got emotional and started crying in a scene she wasn’t supposed to cry in, but that Matthew understood and was sweet.

      • charlie says:

        TMI

      • StaCat1 says:

        The trials of working moms. Not TMI- just reality. 😉 For those in the know…painful- YES.

  26. Nerd Alert says:

    I love how Ellen and Portia always look so in love, and so proud to be together. Anyone smiling like that is just gorgeous to me.

  27. Maritza says:

    Both dresses are pretty and they looked gorgeous!

  28. StaCat1 says:

    I thought Jen looked beautiful, personally. I am sure she looked better than 99% of us commenting on her here- ha! I wouldn’t have chosen the dress myself (not a fan of fringes)…she pulled it off…not an easy feat, in my opinion.

    What’s the big deal if he didn’t walk the carpet with her and had to leave early? With a family and two working parents–trust me – schedules get nuts.

  29. Mitch Buchanan Rocks! says:

    With the new surgery Jennifer Garner looks like Lena Dunham mixed with Madonna.

  30. Camille (The Original) says:

    I think Garner looks boring and blah. I also don’t like her hair. Doesn’t look like it was styled at all.

    And Portias face! She really needs to lay off that botox. While watching her interview with Seacrest her facial expression was so weird, like she couldn’t smile/move her face properly. Terrible.

  31. MissNostalgia says:

    Portia and Ellen are a cute couple….Ellen really ages well!

  32. Dawn says:

    I think Jen looked absolutely stunning last night and I thought she was great on stage too.

  33. Meggin says:

    I loved Jennifer’s dress. one of my favorites!!

  34. India says:

    Jennifer’s dress was lovely but it screamed for some light silvery strappy sandals. Not pole dancer shoes.

  35. Maureen says:

    I LOVED Jennifer’s dress-I think she looks amazing! I especially loved the dress in motion-when she walked out to present, it was mesmerizing. This is my favorite dress of the night, I think she looks gorgeous.

  36. Kosmos says:

    Yep, Jennifer Garner is extremely pretty, a natural beauty, so Ben is a very lucky man. She seems like a really nice person to top it off; however, I’m not wowed by this dress. It’s just okay. Also, I like her hair a shade darker, isn’t it usually darker? She has a beautiful smile and comes off as easygoing and friendly……Ben, on the other hand, mostly looks pensive and serious too much of the time. I’m not sure why…..I guess she’s used to it, lol…..

  37. ScotiaGirl says:

    I thought Jen looked absolutely stunning! She looked abit different cause her hair has been lightened abit I think. Her smile could light up a stadium! And Ben looked sooo handsome. They make an adorable couple. They seem so normal for Hollywood. Love them!

  38. taxi says:

    Jen’s dress looked great, especially in motion. Nice touch of sparkle & whimsy among all those bony breastbones. Platform shoes are just nasty, anytime. I’ve never seen an outfit helped by a platform shoe. (Don’t know if the heels are “stacked” because I saw only the front portion.)

    Portia’s eyebrows are creepy & the dress is still too sheer. Why is Ellen holding Portia’s belly? Is she pregnant?

  39. Vilodemeanus says:

    I liked Garners dress, one reason some people are put in impossibly high shoes is the dresses can’t be completely altered, as most of them are loaned to the actresses and in order to shorten the hem on this dress some of the bead work at the bottom would have to be dismantled or taken off completely and the design house would never stand for that. Hence the sky high shoes. I loved Portia’s dress, it was a perfect fit on her, so I assume she either bought it or was one of the luckiest women at the Oscars that night as far as a tailored fit. There is only so much tailoring that is allowed and most of the actresses only get a couple of choices of dresses and those choices depend on where you are on the Hollywood food chain.

  40. Baskingshark says:

    Hey Nicole Kidman, out there burnin’ down Plastic Surgery Highway towards Botoxtown, check your rearview mirror – there’s a Portia on your tail and she’s gettin’ ready to overtake.