The Oscars are the highlight of the awards season - and of the red carpet fashion season. As expected, some celebrities took risks, and some of those risks paid off. But a few...didn't quite. And a few celebrities should have taken more of a risk than they did, ending up solidly in "meh" territory. So here they are: the good, the bad, and the meh.
The Good
Nicole Kidman is never afraid to take a fashion risk, and it almost always pays off. Her risk last night was an enormous bow at the front of her cobalt blue gown, and it did pay off. It could have overwhelmed a more petite person, but with her slender figure, her height, and the otherwise simple, clean lines of the gown with its deep sweetheart neckline, high front slit, and hint of a train, it worked beautifully. She looked as elegant and striking as the Oscar statue itself.
Some may put Laurie Metcalf in the "meh" category, but I felt like she carried off this simple, elegant blush pink dress perfectly. The boat neck absolutely works on her, the smooth, clean lines show off her figure to perfection, the long narrow train adds just a touch of old Hollywood glamour, and the hair and makeup are perfect. This is how to do simple but elegant.
Gal Godot could probably make the Best Dressed list wearing a paper bag, but she certainly makes it in this stunning silver fringed gown. With a plunging spaghetti strap top and a skirt fitted to the hip, it flares into multiple layers of fringe that look smooth when she stands, but that swing and catch the light as she walks. Accessorized with a gorgeous diamond Y-necklace, bright red lipstick, and a sleek but soft updo, Godot was simply stunning.
Octavia Spencer is hitting her fashion stride along with her acting stride. Her red carpet looks continue to hit it out of the park. This deep green gown, with its draped sleeveless bodice and full but perfectly proportioned skirt with just enough train, makes her look like she's floating on air. As she should be.
Tiffany Haddish's gown was lovely in its own right, with its beautiful gold and black embroidery, gilt-trimmed black velvet cape, and simple gold tiara, but I loved it even more when she explained that it was a tribute to her Eritrean heritage and her late father. Lovely
and meaningful.
Jennifer Garner wore my favorite gown of the night, looking absolutely luminous in a Grecian-inspired, wrapped chiffon gown in an amazing shade of cobalt-purple. The bodice was a sweetheart neckline wrapped with several angled strips of fabric that formed a halter, and a long scarf trailed from the back of the bodice, echoing the soft lines of the flared skirt. It was ethereal and feminine and simply gorgeous. And her softly waved hair and subtle makeup were the perfect finishing touches.
Taraji P. Henson looked killer in this gorgeous black halter dress with front keyhole opening, thigh-high slit, and pretty trailing scarves falling from her upper arms. I loved the sheer yoke and almost-sheer fabric, the strappy black sandals, the perfect makeup, and the impossibly smooth, shiny bob. The devil is in the details, and Henson got every detail right.
Mary J. Blige stunned in a clinging white gown with an asymmetrical bodice with just a hint of sparkle, and a long, narrow train. It was a beautiful balance of classic and contemporary, with softly traditional chiffon but unusual draping and angled lines, and soft and subtle makeup but an edgy platinum pompadour. A terrific example of an unusual and eye-catching look without going too far.
Much like Laurie Metcalf, above, Helen Mirren's look was successful more because of the wearer than what was worn. Mirren's smooth, charcoal gray dress with attached train skimmed her perfect figure and set off her lovely coloring and silver asymmetrical bob. Accessorized with a heavy diamond necklace, a small clutch, and a Mona Lisa smile, Mirren is - as always - sheer perfection.
Laura Dern often opts for gowns that don't flatter her, but last night's gown was just lovely. Her pure white dress had a v-neck with a single flutter sleeve, and a bodice that was fitted from the empire waist to mid-thigh and then flared just the tiniest bit. Her softly waved hair and subtle, feminine makeup was lovely and elegant. A really great look for her.
Jane Fonda's sleek white column reminded us all of the power of aerobics as it skimmed her trim figure. The shoulder pads and zig-zag neckline were a little 80s, but she pulled it off with her perfect posture and confident walk.
When Rita Moreno won her Oscar in 1962, she wore this same dress - it was a halter top then, not a strapless, but the fact that Moreno is not only wearing, but beautifully carrying off, the same dress more than 50 years later is a tribute to her classic style. I actually prefer the bodice style of the original, but the collar necklace is simply fabulous in the way it echoes the circular patterns on the skirt.
Allison Janney tends to vacillate between good and bad on the red carpet, but she hits it out of the park in this glorious scarlet gown with amazing floor-skimming scarf sleeves and long train, and pretty curved v-neckline, accessorized with a diamond choker and bracelet and a matching scarlet clutch with diamond buckle. Lady in red, indeed.
Kelly Marie Tran does cleavage - and color - right in this pale blue halter gown with full chiffon skirt and spangled bodice. The top is tailored beautifully to her figure, the narrow belt emphasizes her curves, and the elaborately braided hairstyle and pastel makeup all work together to make this look a real success.
The Bad
Emily Blunt was one of the many unfortunate victims of the square-shoulder trend on the red carpet. I loved the sweeping fullness of her skirt with its short train, and the way the bodice was gathered was just lovely, especially with its criss-cross sash and diagonal edging. Had the dress been a halter style, it could have been great. But the squared-off shoulders changed the whole silhouette so it was unbalanced and clunky. A bit more ice-blue and a bit less blue-gray would have also worked better on her, but it was the shoulders that killed the look.
A lot of people will disagree with me on this one, I know, but Emma Stone's look just did not work for me. The jacket was great, with its double front and in a gorgeous cranberry satin, but the hot pink sash clashed terribly, and the black satin pants were just too casual for the Oscars, especially with boring black pointy-toed pumps. And her stiff, sprayed hair falling over her face was the final nail in the fashion coffin for me.
Lupita Nyong'o rarely makes a fashion misstep, but last night was the exception that proves the rule. Her metallic gold gown had pretty gathering at the hip and just a hint of a train, but the oddly stiff, scooped line of the bodice did not fit her well, and the black and gold sash capped by an oversized shoulder pad was like a bad Miss America gown from 1983.
Zendaya's dress was so close to being a winner - in fact, if you cover up the left side of this photo, it lands firmly in the "good" category. The soft draping of the sleeveless side of the bodice, the rich chocolate hue, the heavy diamond cuff, even the fullness of the skirt are simply gorgeous. But the heavy, bulky right "sleeve" (I hesitate to call it a sleeve, since it seems to be a continuation of the bodice without any actual distinction of where the arm would be separate from the torso), along with the overlong-but-not-really-a-train length, weights the gown down and makes it look more like a toga hastily improvised from a bedsheet.
Oh, Whoopi, Whoopi, Whoopi. You are simply not a ballgown kind of person, and you are certainly not a giant-purple-and-yellow-flowers-on-a-teal-background-over-a-hoopskirt-ballgown kind of person. The bodice actually isn't terrible; the curved line of the top of the bodice is flattering, and the wide belt even works for me. But the giant hoop skirt is a giant mistake.
Andra Day's look reminded me of the Little Mermaid's outfit that she improvises from a sail and some rope when she first becomes human:
Except Day clearly used an old, ugly curtain instead of a sail. It was just baggy and bulky and awful.
I wanted to like Salma Hayek's dress, I really did. But unlike some dresses that grow on me, the more I looked at this one, the less I liked it. The worst part was the heavy diamond ropes across the bodice and hanging at the shoulders, but the too-tight bodice and the cascading ruffles are too juvenile, and the overall lines are too narrow in the skirt and too broad in the shoulders, making her look topheavy.
I don't know who St. Vincent is, nor do I know what to say about her outfit, other than...NO.
Betty Gabriel tried to be edgy but took it a little too far, in my opinion. Although I appreciate that her open-fronted gown had a modesty panel all the way up to her collarbone, the opening was so wide that the panel squished her bust unflatteringly flat. In addition, the silver trim blended with her skin to make the opening look even wider, which made her chest look fake, like a molded Barbie doll. It's a shame, because the rest of the gown was lovely, with its scattered flowers and butterflies, and the color and silhouette were stunning on her, but the bodice was just disturbingly weird.
I'm not sure what Maya Rudolph was thinking when she chose this bulky red gown - possibly comfort, because this gown is one step away from being a Snuggie. From the turtleneck, to the batwing sleeves, to the giant pleat down the front, to the doubleknit look of the fabric, it's simply not flattering. Her hair and makeup is great, though, and the color is fantastic on her. But lose at least 1/3 of the fabric from just about anywhere and this dress would be vastly improved.
The Meh
I feel a little bad about putting Meryl Streep in the "meh" category, because this gown is such a step up from many of her recent terrible gowns. It's a lovely color, it has pretty clean lines, and it's flattering, but it's just a little boring. Perhaps a big statement necklace in a contrasting color or even a strikingly simple diamond pendant would have given it enough "pop" to bump her into the "good" category. But I do give her credit for improvement.
Saoirse Ronan's pink dress was pretty; the large bow at the back worked for me, I liked the ankle-length hem with the longer train. But the color was too pale for her, the straight bodice was not flattering on her slender figure (read: small chest), and her limp hair and washed-out makeup made her look tired and listless, and not at all the vivacious, youthful, happy young woman that she usually is. A sweetheart neckline and a deeper pink, combined with fuller hair and just a touch more color in her face would have brought it to a whole new level.
It wasn't so much Jennifer Lawrence's gown that put her on the meh list as it was her hair and makeup. The gown was okay; I liked the way it was fitted to the hip with a curved seam and then fell gently to the floor, although the corset-style seaming across the bust spoiled the smoothness and looked uncomfortably stiff, like armor. But the overdone makeup, with heavy eyeliner and bright lipstick, paired with the too-blond hair with dark roots, looked brittle rather than elegant. Not bad enough to be bad, but just...meh.
Another "meh" based more on hair and makeup than the dress, Sandra Bullock's metallic gold and black wrap halter gown had a pretty silhouette, nicely softened by a black-lined ruffle at the hip. But its severe color scheme and stark lines called for a bit of softness in hair and makeup, not the severely straight hair and Sharpie eyeliner Bullock was sporting.
Sally Hawkins is adorable, but she is TINY, and this dress overwhelmed her. It wasn't especially voluminous, just poorly proportioned, and with such enormous shoulder pads that they actually curved UP. The sparkly silver was pretty on her, and I loved the black details at the hem and the tiny black belt, but she really needed a halter neckline or sheer sleeves or some other detail to lighten the visual weight of her top half.
Another gown that came close to being great, Margot Robbie wore a white chiffon column with some lovely scalloping at the hem and a small circular train that I just loved. But where she lost me was the starkly straight line of the bodice, edged with silver draping that reminded me of the top of a wedding cake. Robbie is quite square-shouldered, so although she managed to avoid the bad shoulder pads, she needed softer lines at the neck.
Viola Davis' bubblegum pink dress was actually quite pretty. But she lost points for a) not being able to walk in it (she was saved from taking a tumble as she exited the stage by an escort with quick reflexes), and b) her unflattering half-slicked back hairstyle. I really wanted to put her in the "good" category, and if I were basing my judgments on still photos, I would have. But presenters need to walk onstage and her look was completely ruined by her awkward gait. And I so wanted her hair to be loose and free and full, instead of painfully tight on top and then full underneath. It looked as awkward as her walk. So close, but not quite.
Gina Rodriguez's gown was pretty but the bodice was too tight and the color was too close to her skin tone. I loved the narrow skirt and the full overlay, but it would have been more flattering with a slightly darker and looser bodice, perhaps a pale chocolate brown halter. Her hairstyle was a bit stark but her makeup was lovely.
Elisabeth Moss wears a lot of lovely gowns in bland colors, and this one is no exception. The sparkly detailing on the bodice, the angled shoulder straps, and even the sheer skirt overlay all vanish into her skin tone. The same gown in ice blue or coral would have been striking. Her hair and makeup bring her face to life, but the rest of her look is too washed out.
Another gown that would have been successful in another color, Allison Williams' champagne gown was fitted to the hip, then flared out in a series of soft pleats. The silhouette was striking, and I liked the sheer yoke, but between the bland color and her harsh makeup and surprisingly stiff-looking wavy hair, she didn't look as lovely as she could - and should - have.
What looks did I miss - good, bad, or meh?
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