Wasn't I just praising jet hued gowns of Oscars past? Call it red carpet ESP, or a mere coincidence, but many ladies dared to go bold in noir colored gowns at this year's Oscars. Some of them I love — Penelope's feathery Chanel and Swank's embellished Versace — and some fell flat for me, mainly, Garner's ruffled Oscar de la Renta. Alas, these all have something in common: they're black, but far from boring.
To see more of the ladies of film noir, read more
While many chose to let the gowns speak for themselves and go with bare necks on the red carpet, these ladies were rocking knockout necklaces. From Nicole Kidman's dramatic icicle-like layered necklace to Jennifer Gardner's choker, all of these ladies had a little, or a lot, of frosting on their necks.
To see more of these ladies and their knockout necklaces, read more
Beading, feathers, rosettes, sequins and scallops . . . what would an Oscars red carpet be without a little haute couture embellishment? Hilary Swank, Jessica Alba, Marion Cotillard, Anne Hathaway, and Penelope Cruz made sure they had the little details covered, from their bodices all the way down to their trains.
To get a better look at this evening's embellishments, read more
You've told me how you feel about each individual Oscars red carpet look, but now it's time to choose the best dressed lady of the night! These final five you see before you were narrowed down by your votes, and from what I can see, you really liked the ladies in red tonight. Are you ready for the ultimate decision? And now, the nominees for best dressed . . .
Vote on all my Oscars Red Carpet polls here!
Red is stunning on the red carpet, but so is black. The Oscars is a serious black-tie affair, after all. There are a million things that can be done with an LBD, but the right black gown on the right woman doesn't require many bells and whistles. Black is chic, classic, and dramatic — excellent characteristics for the red carpet. Beyonce isn't one of my usual red carpet picks, but no one can deny she looked fantastic in this Atelier Versace black-velvet gown at the 2005 Oscars. Behold: film noir . . .
25 Red Carpet Moments
Sure, the tear-shedding, Jesus-thanking, faux-humbling moment of collecting an Oscar statue is a milestone — but it will never hold a candle to the public's collective memory of the dress worn while doing so. Check out our gallery of the 25 most memorable moments in red carpet history.
I love seeing red on the Oscars red carpet. And I'm not alone: Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman, and Kate Winslet have all arrived in past years with a little fire in their eyes . . . and on their dresses. Catherine Zeta-Jones likes wearing red so much, she's a double-offender — her crimson years were 1999 and 2004. Perhaps we'll have a new lady in red come next Sunday, but in the meantime, let's look to the past for inspiration, kicking it off with Lucy Liu looking Fab in Versace.
We did so much fabulous Oscars fashion coverage that we don't want you to miss any of it so here is a round up of the looks, trends and polls that we covered all last week!
If there was a best dressed on the red carpet through the ages I would say it is Cate Blanchett. She is versatile - not afraid of color or the avant-garde; she experiments with beauty - from up dos to bouncy curls; and lastly, she is confident - she exudes successful woman and Hollywood grace. Her most recent brilliant Oscars red carpet choice made both my A List and bellasugar's A List and her talent continues to take on new forms. Here is my red carpet tribute to Cate the Chameleon. Her first red carpet stand out to me was her daring black Jean Paul Gaultier with jeweled back - we should have know then and there she was a red carpet force to be reckoned with.
To see more of Cate through the ages, read more
