The fashion at last night’s Oscars was impressive. Many actresses struck just the right balance in elegant slightly risk-taking dresses that flattered. There weren’t any truly atrocious dresses that we spotted on the red carpet this year, but there was plenty of disappointing hair. Kate Winslet stood out in a puffy, matronly hairstyle paired with a mediocre one-shoulder gown with a lace panel overlay. Anne Hathaway’s mermaid-like gown was amazing, but her hair was just stuck to her head with a curl on the side. That gown called for loose romantic hair and the updo kind of ruined it for me. Overall, though, the dresses were breathtaking and the event was fun. The fashion was classic elegance and the actresses were stunning.
Amy Adams in Carolina Herrera with a black patterened bustier and an amazing 630 carat Fred Leighton necklace adorned with emeralds, rubies, sapphires and diamonds. This was a daring dress that doesn’t seem to translate as well to photos. It really impressed me when I saw her on the red carpet.
Marisa Tomei really got it right in form fitting Atelier Versace. She’s had some bad fashion moments at past events this season and this dress is a real triumph for her.
Taraji P. Henson in a magnificent tiered Roberto Cavilla with a very slight train. This dress is subtle and lovely.
Anne Hathaway in striking diagonally patterned Armani Prive. This is an incredibly elegant and lovely gown, but I didn’t like Hathaway’s hair. There was something geeky about the flat way it was plastered on her head with that big curl flopped to the side.
Freida Pinto was stunning in a blue one shoulder John Galliano gown with subtle beading.
Beyonce was outrageous in a ridiculous dress from her mother’s House of Deron. I like her leaf jewelry but that’s about it. The huge gold flower pattern on this dress and too tight fit make her look like a outdated couch that needs a slipcover.
Angelina Jolie in black strapless Elie Saab Couture with a 65 carat Colombian Emerald Ring and 115 carat emerald Lorraine Schwartz earrings. She was understated and elegant and the dress really fit her well.
Many of you were struck by how different Alicia Keys looked during her presenting duties. She was positively glamorous and while her hair was a little too fake-looking long, that lilac Armani Prive gown was gorgeous. Her makeup was perfect too. It’s looks overdone in these photos but it translated well to the stage.
Tina Fey in champagne colored Zac Posen with Fred Leighton drop earrings. This is how you work the Oscars.
Penelope Cruz in a 60 year-old vintage white Pierre Balmain with a sweetheart neckline. She complimented it with $3 million worth of jewels including with a 69 carat Chopard diamond necklace. She told Tim Gunn she first saw the dress eight years ago and it made such an impression on her she had to find it again.
Natalie Portman in pink Rodarte. I’m not sure if I like the dress, but Natalie looks lovely in it and it’s slightly risky without being over the top.
Kate Winslet in a one shoulder Atelier Yves Saint Laurent gown with a lace panel overlay. The dress and goofy hair seemed like a missed opportunity for the woman who went on to take home the best actress statue. Kate usually gets it right and this was disappointing.
Jennifer Aniston in beaded Valentino Haute Couture. I didn’t like the design of this gown and found it a little too “ice skating chic.” The too-wide pattern made it look a little cheap to me.
Sarah Jessica Parker in Dior Couture. The dress was too much with the super tight bodice that made her boobs too high and fake-looking. I’m not a fan of John Galliano’s designs and think that he makes women look cartoonish, although he got Freida’s dress right this year.
Evan Rachel Wood in Elie Saab Couture. This dress is old Hollywood and I love how Wood pairs it with upswept hair and dark nails.
Jessica Biel was swimming in a silk Prada Gown with enough fabric draped down the front to make an entire skirt. It was a confusing gown choice.
Heidi Klum in bright red Roland Mouret. She is said to have chosen the gown’s color to help the Heart Truth campaign for heart disease awareness. At least some good can come out of the dress.
Miley Cyrus in a scaly-looking Zuhair Murad gown. Many of you in the chat room liked this gown but thought it was just too mature for 16 year-old Miley. It looked much better on camera than it does in these photos.
Vanessa Hudgens was just goofy looking in this black Marcheesa with feathers across the bodice. Some of you liked the dress, though, and thought it suited the young HSM star.
Reese Witherspoon wore a too complicated black and blue Rodarte gown. Her makeup during her presenting duties was overdone and clownish. She’s a beautiful woman and this was a rare fashion misstep for Reese. She’ll have plenty of chances to redeem herself on the red carpet, though, and maybe she’s just so happy she can’t be bothered.
Designer details from People.com. Thanks to all of you who helped with the fashion analysis in our chat room. Photo credits: Fame and WENN
Absolutely hated Beyonce’s dress. Atrocious.
I love Heidi’s dress, it’s complicated but she carries it off. That shade of red is stunning on her.
Overall fav is Marisa Tomei. What the hell was Kate W thinking? Between the hair and the matronly gown, she’s added abut 15 years to her age. Not good.
I thought that Sarah Jessica Parker’s dress and hairstyle were way too reminiscent of “Glenda the Good Witch.” I agree that John Galliano’s designs often make women look over-the-top and cartoonish, and SJP’s dress unfortunately proves this point…All she needed was a magic wand to complete the look!
I found most dresses bland. Nothing to write home about. Actually, the blandest oscar styles in a long while.
I loved Miley and Penelope’s dresses. They were both gorgeous. I agree that maybe Miley’s is too mature for her age though, I wish someone else had worn it. And why does Angelina always wear black? To me she just looks tacky in anything though because of those horrible tattoos she’s got.
Anyone else think that Jennifer Aniston is pregnant? She looks more than “bloated” or a few extra pounds to me. I think that we will be hearing the pitter patter of like Mayer-Aniston feet soon!
I really liked Reese’s dress, just not on her. I also thought that Heidi’s was great, very dramatic. Again, love the cut of Angie’s but wished it was in colour – the jewellery was FAB, I adore those earrings.
But the hair… dear God what were all the Hollywood hairdressers on this year? Biel, Heidi, SJP and Lisa Rinna are the worst offenders.
All in all my favourite was Evan Rachel Wood, a beautifully-cut dress with interesting detail and great hair and makeup.
Amy Adams broke the cardinal rule of being a redhead. You never wear red – it washes you out makes your hair look dull. A better stylist would have known this and made sure she enhanced her hair and skin coloring with a nice green or blue gown instead.
Just looking at SJP’s bodice made my chest ache! I can’t imagine how uncomfortable that must have been sitting in that gown all night.
Anne Hathaway could wear a tin foil and look beautiful. Life is rather unfair, although thank goodness I wasn’t the only one who thought her hair wasn’t jealousy-inducing!
Miley, to quote The Guardian, looked like a tower of doilies.
agree with ursula- no one to praise this year
i think nicole k., anne h. and evan r. wood should not wear colors so close to their skin tones.
i liked jessica biel’s dress on her in color and fabric/style but it was too long.
alicia keys’ dress was pretty.
and meryl streep chose a nice color for her.
no standouts
besides SJP’s over the top dress, her husband looked unhappy to be with her all night…i wonder when the news will come out about them….
it was defnitely a bad hair night for the oscars. jessica biel was a hot mess from head to toe and had hands down the worst hair of the night.
heidi’s hair-blech, winslets hair? blech.
beyonce, for the love of god, stop pouring yourself into these damned mermaid gowns every single awards show-she never wears a column dress or anything empire or anything-just these tacky tacky dresses over and over.
and my favorite thing to hate of the night was aniston’s dress, which, for a woman whose only form of entertainment is working out and tanning, made her look remarkably thick-waisted and bloaty.
I agree with everyone’s comments. My favorite dresses were Ann Hathaway’s, Evan Rachel Wood’s and Tina Fey’s, these are definitely Oscar glamorous dresses! Penelope’s is beautiful but it sort of looks like a wedding dress. My least favorite is Beyonce’s, yuck! Miley’s is quite beautiful also! But Angelina’s is just plain boring!
That’s a bit of an outdated “cardinal rule”, there’s a shade of red for everyone– you just have to get the tone correct.
Did not understand Angie’s emerald earrings – they stuck out ALL NIGHT to me.
LOVED Tina Fey!!
I actually think Kate Winslet looked lovely.
I really liked Kate W’s hair and dress. I think it takes a very beautiful woman with very striking features to pull off that old school Hollywood hair.
I hate the fact that I liked Miley’s dress.
Tina Fey looked awesome and the made-up religion joke was hilarious.
I was fine with Jennifer A’s dress but of course she has to be bashed.
The only kind of bodice I like for a strapless dress is straight across, I hate sweetheart necklines or when each breast seems to have its own cup.
Amy Adams’ necklace was absolutely gorgeous!!! But her dress was fug. Tina Fey’s dress was a knockout.
I think it was a rather safe Oscars’ fashion défilé this year…
Aniston’s dress and hair were terrible choices. She looked rather bloated and trying hard to be young with the hairdo. Her waist seemed to have decided that the Oscars were not a good event to be seen at and to have chosen to be voluntarily absent.
I absolutely loved the Rodarte dresses although I wasn’t sure if Portman’s was Oscars appropriate (the shade was just a tad too neon). And maybe if someone else than Reese had been wearing the overly famous black & blue one (see, I believe it would have been a perfect fit for Amy Adams).
Jolie’s look was rather good. Safe and classic but classy. I don’t agree that the fact she has tattoos makes her look tacky in everything she could wear. As a matter of fact, she might be one of the celebrity ladies who hasn’t been on the tacky radar for a very, very long time. If not almost forever. The earrings were most definitely the part of the outfit that made it all (and I tend, as a good French fashionista, to go with the theory that the main piece of clothing isn’t necessarily the main fashion element or attraction of one’s look) and were absolutely stunning.
Winslet’s choice was quite terrible. The hairdo AND the dress. It could have looked great on an older woman though. I’ve been looking over and over again at the dress and it is a beautiful piece but she’s just too small in height to pull off such a bodice.
I disagree regarding Galliano’s vision when designing. He does create very difficult and complex pieces of clothing. He does go towards a very theatrical embellishment of women. But it’s not simply about making them doll-like. There is something very particular about his vision & it goes beyond making spectacular looks that seem cartoonish. Pinto’s dress proves this point: it’s gorgeous, very detailed, sleek&chic, the perfect colour match. I wish I could have just tried it on for a few a minutes only… SJP’s dress however does tend to go to the more extreme shapes he can put women into. Unfortunately, it didn’t work at all in this case: she’s much too old and it seemed painfull to watch her wear it. It felt as though she was trying so hard to appear younger and fresh. Her hair was probably the worst too… But all in all, you can’t deny that she did not look small in the dress. Galliano’s designs have very tricky ways to make women often stand out in general and I’ve rarely seen women look small in them (in SJP’s case, it’s a rather big issue).
Galliano loves making collages (and he makes some that are close to being art). You can see that his way of assembling elements and making them work together although they are quite excentric sometimes shows in his designs.
So maybe SJP looked very bad (I’d say “wrong”) but Pinto was perfect in her dress…
Worst look goes without a doubt to Beyonce. I don’t dislike the lady but she should really not go on trying to sell her mother’s designs (and she’s not really helping her mother being qualified so often and unanimously “worst dressed”).
The only things that stuck out to me was jewelry. Angie’s enormous emeralds, which I actually kind of liked, but was a little bit of an eye sore on screen…Amy Adam’s necklace as well. And I agree, she should have worn a green or blue dress. Red dress and red hair- not so much. She wore it well though. I really loved Taraji’s dress along with Tina Feys. Marisa Tomei’s dress was very stunning as well.
There seemed to be a lot less bling this year–appropriate for a recession.
Turns out there may have been some truth to the rumor about Angelina checking out New York jewelers for a $20M diamond necklace: she had the biggest bling of the evening, with hundreds of carats’ worth of emeralds. Her earrings and Heidi Klum’s earrings were the best of the evening.
Tina Fey and Penelope Cruz were my faves, along with Angelina in her typical yet suitable black. Angie’s jewelry was to die for. I def think Pene was my fave though.
HATED Beyonce’s dress. The print was so hideous, I was almost embarrassed for her.
Seems to me that Angelina Jolie needs an intervention in order to gain weight. She looks like spider, perhaps she should star in the remake of “Black widow”? Just kidding..
p.s look at their hands in the photo..
Beyonce, comme toujours, was channeling Barbie. My favorite, hands, down, was Evan Rachel Wood. Enchanting.
I ‘ve loved… your new presentation of the dress : you can got look into details to the pictures if you want, you have the comment directly with it. Please do it again for another time
poor beyonce…does her mother bully her into wearing those atrocious dresses? she looked very cheap.
Slightly OT but what the hell were Miley Cyrus and Vanessa Hudgens (and I assume Zac Efron was there too) doing at the Oscars?
Just had to say that.
I think Miley’s dress, while age-appropriate in my opinion, was waaaaay too “Barbie’s Dream Prom” for my taste. I think Kate’s dress was lovely and unusual, but she had to go for younger, non-shellacked hair to pull it off. Meryl’s dress was lovely, and she certainly looked better than usual, but she really needed another color, because she looked pretty washed out in that one. SJP just looked too severe and I weep for her ta-tas. Just….OUCH! Freida’s dress was a bit too old for her. I could totally see Helen Mirren in it, which isn’t a good sign for Frieda. I think Anne and Tina knocked it out of the park.
Beyonce has become a pop culture embarrassment. Between her horrible clothes and insertion into every possible opportunity to promote herself (that song-and-dance thing was just painful for everyone), I am really hoping a huge backlash takes her DOWN!
Tina Fey was my definite favorite for the night; everything worked and her whole look was just stunning.
Taraji P Henson looked fabulous as well.
Everyone else had some kind of issue to me; usually it was the bad hair, my god. The amount of shellac used to mold the hair last night…
Aniston’s hair was a mess. Her stylist was probably going for the new braid styles that will probably be very popular this coming spring but the Oscars aren’t the place for them.
I loved her dress though. It was all waves and then a very art deco skirt. It’s more of a column-style dress; thus it wouldn’t cling to her and show off her waist. I think if it had been on anyone else, none of you would have anything to complain about. Miss Aniston has to be bashed for something.
Oc housewife Aniston should be in a movie called “the 40 year old Prom Queen” about a cougar who thinks she’s still in high school. Too much make-up and spray tan.
Angelina looked bloody awful, like she she came from the 1980s Dynasty set.
Amy Adams looked unique. Chic.
Kate Winselt won so what does she care that people didn’t like her dress? I wouldn’t
I had to lol when I read Justalark’s comments about Sarah Jessica Parker’s appearance on last night’s Oscars. When she came on stage, I said to my husband, “Good grief. She looks like Glenda the good witch on The Wizard of Oz.” We agree wholeheartedly, Jusalark! A bad decision on poor Parker’s part.
Let’s see…
Amy Adams – Interesting. Works for her decently, I think.
Marisa Tomei – Awesome. I’m not familiar with her works, but that’s a really pretty dress.
Taraji P Henson – She was my fav next to Freida Pinto. Actually I think this was my favorite look of the night.
Anne Hathaway – Sorry, Marion Cotillard wore her own version of that dress MUCH better.
Freida Pinto – Lovely dress. I usually read Lainey (I enjoy her sense of humor), and she’s right: Frieda’s been wearing too many prom dresses as of late. This is number two for me.
Beyonce- Whomever said that she was channeling Barbie was right. *eye roll* I don’t believe that she’s frugal on the bling. Bullshit. I’m so sick of her. She’s such a diva. And I heard that her entire family (including her) are registered members of the Republican party, yet she self-inserted herself into Obama’s inauguration. WTF?!
Angelina Jolie – I really could care less about her, Brad, the five year old divorce scandal (drop it please), and her ever-growing family (I heard she wants more, I sure hope not). BUT, she usually has a decent taste of style. Including this dress.
Alicia Keys – The color and her skin tone didn’t look right to me. And she’s no Natalie Portman.
Some more (*embarassed* I like putting my 2 cents in…)
Tina Fey – I cheered when she came on. This was favorite number three for me. 🙂
Penelope Cruz – *Shrug*
Natalie Portman – Same deal with Alicia Keys. It just didn’t look entirely right. But she wore it well, because she’s Natalie Portman. Grrrrr.
Kate Winslet. Aw, I liked her at the Oscar’s! She seemed so humbled and a complete exception out of the million and a half overstuffed hats that were there. The dress was slightly odd, but it worked ok on her.
Jennifer Aniston – “Ice Skating Chic.” That’s a great way to put it. Didn’t like it very much.
Sarah Jessica Parker – Er…huh?! She looked like she was suffocating, her husband looked like he didn’t want to be there, and she looked like she was drowning in her skirts.
Evan Rachel Wood – Not a fan of her. The dress and her appearance last night? I can live with that in my mind.
Jessica Biel – Ben Barnes, I have a question for you: How is wearing a dinner napkin SEXY?! Seriously, I don’t get it. And her hair looked like she dumped too much gunk in it for an updo, decided that wouldn’t work and forgot to wash it out. Actually, I’m not sure if that’s the right way to describe her hair. It just looked awful. And the lipstick didn’t look great either. And her 30 second thing onstage? Not funny.
Ben, how is this sexy?
Heidi Klum – I don’t like her.
Miley – I’m in shock that she was even here in the first place. Her dress looked like someone sewed a bunch of shells together and dumped glitter all over it.
Vanessa Hudgens – The dress would have been nicer if the bodice was different. I hate her anyway. I read on Lainey that she was throwing multiple fits about the train. I lol’ed
Reese Witherspoon – Dress looked different. I kinda liked it. The makeup? Not so much.
awwwwwwwwww come on! Cut Bey some slack! Looks like she had a hard time getting in, it’s so tight! 😮 Those hips need to get a name of their own.
Angie- gorgeous
Portman- fucking stunning
Maniston- desperate hag- who invited her?
Beyonce- wtf?!
Hathaway- looks like a f.ucking clown as usual. somebody take that red lipstick away from her.
The Ellie Saab worn by Evan Rachel Wood is sublime!
Penelope Cruz – how wonderful to be able to get into a dress you saw 8 years ago and have it actually fit you!!! amazing
Angie Jolie – didnt like her hair, thought it was too bee-hivey, could have had birds nesting in there and we’d have never known
What’s with the stupid piece of fabric hanging in the front?
It seems like every dress lately has a piece of fabric that serves no purpose but to hang from your stomach. Does anyone remember the beautiful green dress from Atonement? Gorgeous but had that stupid fabric down the front. Please stop doing that. It might work to do that down the back to add a bit of train but the front? Why?
Amy Adams’ necklace was absolutely hideous. Good luck selling any of those.
Jessica Biel looked dreadful. I couldn’t believe that weird ill-fitting bedsheet thing.
I absolutely LOVED Tina Fey’s dress. It was my favourite.
I thought Anne was great in her song & dance, nice surprise.
But dear please use some bronzer, you look like Casper the Ghost with red lipstick.
What is that Beyonce´s dress…Does she really have a stylist?…I doubt
I think Jennifer’s face is melting onto her neck. She tries to go for glowing, but she is too mature (I’m trying to refrain from saying “old” because 40 is not old) for that. Esp the way she as abused her skin with all that tanning.
Jessica Biel was embarrassing.
Beyonce, straight up nasty.
I loved Miley’s dress, until I saw a full picture. Hate everything below the belt.
I thought Natalie Portman’s dress was, while a bit of a risk, an excellent choice. It went very well with her skintone and made her look healthy. It made her look a little young, but she pulled it off nicely.
This dress is so beautiful and sexy. It is v-neck, can show your tempting cleavage.
I really liked Kate W’s hair and dress.
It went very well with her skintone and made her look healthy. It made her look a little young, but she pulled it off nicely.