Last night, Awards Season wrapped up with the 85th Annual Academy Awards. Now, a lot can be said about the show; too long, disappointing tribute to 50 years of James Bond, the Jaws theme as the cutoff music (that was just plain rude). But I would need a whole new blog just to talk about the actual show. However, this is a fashion blog and, let's be honest, the best part of awards season is the fashion and last night the stars definitely did not disappoint. When I was thinking about writing this blog I was all ready to do a best and worst dressed list, but even the dresses that missed the mark were still amazing. So even though I have included a "Worst Dressed" category, it would be more appropriately called the "This dress is pretty but it's just not doing it for me" category. So with that being said here are my Best and "Worst" Dressed stars from last night's Oscar Awards.
My first Best Dressed nomination goes to a new face on the Oscars Red Carpet. Samantha Barks, is a part of the show stopping Les Miserables cast. Though she plays downtrodden Eponine in the film, she traded in her Les Mis rags for this beautiful Valentino gown. What I love about this dress is that it is perfect for her first visit to the Oscars. Often, fresh Oscar faces try to get noticed in elaborate gowns or try too hard to make fashion statements their first time out. I say leave that for your much more establish costars who can afford to make mistakes. Oscar newbies should be remembered for their role not for making the Worst Dressed lists. Barks' gown definitely does the actress justice. I love that it is simple. Everyone thinks that black is too safe but I've never understood why that's a problem. This black gown is sexy, but not too much so. With the deep V plunge in both the front and the back she shows a lot of skin, but manages to avoid looking totally skanky. I also love just the small touch of gold in her necklace. Overall this look is a winner for me. She looks sexy yet elegant and was noticed for all the right reasons.
Well this leading lady needs no introduction. My next Best Dressed nomination goes to the one and only Halle Berry. She rarely disappoints on any Red Carpet and last night was no exception. The star showed up dressed in a custom Versace gown that was reminiscent of her Bond Girl days. The 46 year old actress wowed in a plunging neckline, all over metallic beading, and sheer panel sleeves. In my mind Ms. Berry can do no wrong and I absolutely love this look on her. Now, if only the James Bond tribute she introduced had been just as incredible.
Sex appeal seemed to be the theme for many of the ladies on the Red Carpet last night, and the style was debuted by Jessica Chastian. The Zero Dark Thirty star, turned heads in a nude toned Armani Prive gown. Some have called her the living Jessica Rabbit, but I think she does sexy even better than her cartoon counterpart. We're used to seeing Ms. Chastain in long, slim-fitting, jewel-toned gowns, but this was definitely a wonderful departure from her usual look. My favorite part about this dress is the shape. The form fitting, fit and flare style is a dress that can be difficult for some women to pull off but the Best Actress Nominee does it flawlessly. I also love the color. Since we usually see her in such a bright color I love that she did something different with this flesh toned number. I can't find a single thing wrong with this look. It is absolutely stunning.
The ladies of Les Miserables made a lot of statements last night. My next Best Dressed Nominee is Amanda Seyfried. Known for her role as Cosette in the Best Picture nominate film, she stands apart from her sweet, Daddy's girl character in the gorgeous McQueen gown. I absolutely love the lace detail, but my favorite part was the super high neckline. I think it was a great dramatic detail and made her gown stand out even more.
Jennifer Lawrence...where do I start with Miss Jennifer Lawrence. One word can sum up the look worn by the Best Actress Award Winner: Perfection. As the new face of Dior, we expected her to show up in one of the couturier's amazing gowns but she still made my jaw drop. Either she has a really good eye for fashion or she has a really great team of people making sure she makes every Best Dressed list on the planet. Either way she looks INCREDIBLE!!! Her couture gown was a fit and flare silhouette and I loved the large full bell on the bottom. It was a wonderful statement as was the two-tone color of the dress. Yes it was a little long and we all saw her trip but if anyone can fall on stage at the Oscars its J-Law. I just love love love everything about her and this look. She is my Best Dressed Winner!!! It also can't hurt that both Hugh Jackman and Bradley Cooper rushed to her rescue when she tripped.
I had a lot of beautiful gowns to choose from when picking my noms and winner for this category so here are my runner-ups:
Quvenzhane Wallis: Little Q as Hollywood, as affectionately named her, looked so lady-like and grown up last night. With her lovely blue gown and her signature puppy purse she just stole my heart. I can't wait to see what else she can come up with as she grows up. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of this pint-sized star in the future.
Charlize Theron: I'm sure there will eyebrows raised as to why she isn't on my Best Dressed list. I loved everything about her look but it just didn't stand out as much for me as some of the other ladies did. She looks perfect as always but I've seen this look on her before. I am loving that new haircut though.
Now for the "Oops" Red Carpet moments. Like I said all of the dresses at The Oscars last night were beautiful but some of them just missed the mark for me. Let's get this hot mess ball rolling.
My first Worst Dressed nominee is Jennifer Aniston. Say what you will but this dress was just so disappointing. I would have loved to see her in a fit and flare or mermaid style gown in this bright red. But this Valentino gown just fell flat. I watched the show with my parents last night and all of us agreed that this dress was a major miss. In my opinion, this dress looks like a bland wedding gown dyed red. Everything about her look was boring. Her hair was boring. Her jewelry was boring. Just everything was boring!!! The dress needed to be more fitted and she was in desperate need of a ton of bling. A belt, necklace, earrings, and funky bracelet...just SOMETHING!!!
Moving right along. We make a jump from too little to too much. Cathrine Zeta-Jones has always been one of my favorite leading ladies to look for on any Red Carpet, but this year I have to say I was a little disappointed. Though the gown was beautiful the look just felt too Xena Warrior Princess for me. It made her hips look a little wide and the gold in the dress and her accessories was just overwhelming and obviously not in a good way. I would have preferred to see her in something a little darker like a navy or black dress with gold accessories. She looks very pretty in this ensemble but it just missed the mark for me.
My next Worst Dressed nominee was Anne Hathaway. I was sad to see the Best Supporting Actress Award winner come onto the carpet in such an underwhelming dress. Her Prada gown was sweet in the soft pink color and had great details in the back but it just wasn't special enough. Another huge mistake about this dress was the darts on her bust line. Instead of looking at her face all you could see was her nipples. Like holy hell, put those things away!!! I understand that the dress was just poorly fitted and that this dress was a choice made THREE HOURS before the show but there had to be other options that wouldn't make her chichis stand out so much. I did love her Tiffany jewels and her pixie cut hairstyle is adorable but overall this look just didn't do it.
So the next lady on my Worst Dressed list isn't an actress at all but I just couldn't overlook her outfit. I'm talking about Hugh Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness. Now, if you're married to one of the hottest men on the planet I'm going to need to you to always look your best on a red carpet. This outfit though...not working. She looks like she's on her way out for dinner with her in-laws or Mom's Night Out with other PTA moms. This was just too plain for The Academy Awards Red Carpet. This outfit just isn't special enough for the Oscars. Her husband looks as handsome as ever though.
The last stop on my hot mess express was Kristen Stewart. I'm not even sure why this girl is even at the Oscars anymore. Watching her act or appear in public is just painful and awkward. Let's just start by stating the obvious, K-Stew was HAMMERED!!! She was stumbling around the Red Carpet and could barely string her teleprompted lines together while she was presenting the award for Best Production Design. So now I'll give you all a minute to look at the picture and take in her actual look......
HOT MESS ALERT!!! I don't even know where to start. This look says "I just rolled out of bed and put on the first gown my stylist gave me". The gown makes her look fat. Her hair isn't even brushed. Ugh...everything about this look is just WRONG!!! I would rather watch paint dry or the grass grow than listen to this girl struggle to string a sentence together, but can her team at least make her look presentable, so then I can at least say "Well she is about as emotional as a two-by-four but at least she looks pretty"??? I like to see Kristen in short skirts and fun colors. I love it when she wears her favorite pair of Converse All Stars on the Red Carpet. But this makes her look like she's either trying to be glamorous or her people forced her into something that would scream innocence. It's no secret that Stewart had a scandalous affair with her Snow White and The Huntsman director. But this look is just all wrong for her. Next time I see her on a red carpet I want her hair in a high ponytail, her dress to be short and figure flattering, and for her to at least make an attempt at sobriety. She is my Worst Dressed Award Winner!!!
My Worst Dressed Nominee Runner-up were hard to choose too but these ladies just weren't rocking the Red Carpet like they usually do.
Kelly Rowland: After wowing us, and quite frankly, blowing her Destiny's Child costar Beyonce out of the water at the Grammy Awards Kelly's Oscar dress fell a little flat for me. It seemed too predictable. I've seen her wear dresses like this before and I'm a little tired of seeing her in black and white. I would have loved to see her in a color.
Adele: During an interview Adele made a comment about how she had to wear black because she was a bigger girl. Well we all know that's not true we would just prefer if she not show up in something that looks like it was made out of someones old couch or curtains. I actually loved the outfit she wore when she performed her award winning song Skyfall. I wished she had worn that on the Red Carpet instead. This dress was just too safe for my liking.
I have one last award to give out and that is my Most Improved Award:
In years past the leading men of Hollywood have been hit or miss on their tuxes. This year it was hit after hit across the board. The guys made sure that this year their suits were well tailored and fit perfectly. It brought back that feeling of everything that was right with old Hollywood glamour. I've always said nothing is sexier than a fine looking man in a suit and the gentlemen of the Oscars definitely proved that to be true. Bonus points to Bradley Cooper for bringing his mom as his date.
So now that I've handed out all my awards, let's talk trends:
Every year when I watch The Oscars I look for trends that I can't wait to try out myself. This year I fell in love with sequins and glitter all over again. I usually shy away from sparkle in the spring and summer because it kind says holiday party to me but this year I might just bring out a little sparkle for my birthday (I'll be turning 25 in May). I also loved the nude and natural colors the stars were wearing this year. Jessica Chastain pulled this trend off perfectly. I can't wait to start shopping this trend myself. I'll definitely be doing some research for how I can pull this off. Lastly I loved the understated jewelry trend. Lots of stars showed up with show stopping pieces of jewelry, but they weren't the statement pieces we're used to seeing (think back to Angelina's green earrings or Natalie Portman's purple earrings and necklace). This year it was about small jewels. I loved the Vintage Harry Winston cuff Jessica Chastain wore. Anne Hathaway wowed me with her Tiffany & Co. necklace. But Jennifer Lawrence really caught my attention with her string of diamonds necklace that trailed down her back.
Now just like there are amazing trends there are also trends that I wish would go for good. The most obvious is this hobo beard trend. The leading men of Hollywood like George Clooney and Ben Affleck have been growing their beards for what seems like forever, but gentlemen, it is time for a shave. Or at the very least a trim. It didn't work when Brad Pitt did it and its not working for these guys either. My biggest MAKE IT STOP "trend" though is the Angelina Jolie Leg Pose. We get it everyone wants to show off their legs and the slits in the gowns but people find a different way to do it. Even if the pose is unintentional it still looks like a bad impersonation.
So there you have it. My wrap up of all that was right and oh so wrong about last night's Oscar Award. I can't wait to see what our stars will pull next season.
Until next time, Stay stylish,
Lena B
