Aaaaah - the Oscars

The last decade or so, I've not been really interested in this, but with fashion this spring taking a noticeable turn for the better (prettier things are coming out), I really was excited about seeing what was on the red carpet and there was a lot of good stuff - always some bad stuff, but no Bjorn's Swan Dress or other oddities...really mostly nice stuff....

 

So here goes...my favs

This has been so much fun to watch this lady and her dresses during the award season...she's just had on one beautiful dress after another.  Dressing some of my preggie ladies for formal wear, one of the things I like to do is exaggerate is their bustline...they usually have ample busts and it's a fun time to flaunt them.  I love to see this style on a pregnant lady.

NOTE:  See how the dress comes in under her bust?  This does two things.  It accentuates her bust (makes it even look more voluptuous), and it gives the illusion of a waist, albeit only on the side, but it's a nice visual trick that works well with this dress. 

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This lady never fails to wear something really elegant and that shows off her great figure.  She's not afraid of her voluptuous figure and likes to show it off.  She likes those 3/4 sleeves and they look great on her.

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Haley is a favorite of the red carpet and this sort of dress shows why.  Great figure, great lines on the dress and lots of high drama with the skirts and ruffles and tulle - so girlie girl.  Great color for Halley and wonderful over all silhouette for her - shows off her great figure and yet has lots of fullness and drama around the hem and train.

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I wasn't so much of a fan of black dresses this year, but loved this dress of Reese's.  It's beyond classic - it just reeks of sleekness dripping with wealth lines.

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Another gal who does a great job with her wardrobe is Annette Benning in this beautiful overlay with striped rhinestones.  Additionally the lines on this dress were very interesting.  Annette has a great figure so she doesn't need any help, but the lines on this dress were exceptionally artistic in that it accentuated her waist and made her look like she had a small waist.  She doesn't need this sort of artistic maneuvering, but it sure doesn't look bad on her either. 

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This lovely lady has lived up to her rep ever since she won her first Oscar, and she is becoming one of the gals to watch on the red carpet.  Halley Berry better watch out!

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Isn't Jennifer Hudson great in her new shape...and this is the reward - getting to wear a bright red dress that shows off her new figure.  Notice how the warm tone of her skin goes beautifully with the warm tone of this dress.  It really shows off her beauty.

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OK - this one is interesting.  In case you haven't done your colors and you have that ruddy complexion and red hair you should never...I repeat NEVER wear blue!  This is a hard and fast rule...unless you want to break the rules.  Like I've often said - once you know the rules, then you can break them.  The reason why this works is that there's a "twaing" or a rub with the combo of blue and that red hair, and it makes her look more striking than if she wore something that was closer to her color.  Only a true professional stylist could pull this off and make it work.  I'm not nuts about the turquoise jewelry, but the dress works.

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OK - now for some usual entries.....

Miss Blanchett knows better, but I think she probably wanted to wear something artsy, and for that, this fulfills the bill.  It shows off her waist which I like, but the bust is sort of lost in that circle, and the over flap over the shoulders is pretty arty, but it doesn't work for me.  I like to give the people who dress these starlets an extra edge, but somehow this one misses.  And I guess we've seen Kate Blanchett wear much more beautiful things.

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I thought this was interesting too - Joan Crawford would be green over those shoulder pads...are they coming back?  I adore the collar and the front slit - top and bottom.  I adore the silhouette hugging profile of the dress.  And the lace overlay on this dress is really elegant.

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Oh dear!  This doesn't work at all.  I think that Scarlett is just too light-colored for this sort of dress.  If she had really dark hair like Anne Hathaway, it would be one thing, but Scarlett's face and hair are all lost - where's Waldo Scarlett?

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I don't normally pick out wives of screenwriters...but this was too delicious to pass up.  Remember how I'm always talking about draping in an x where the x marks the waist...this is the classic example.  Mrs. Sorkin (or whoever this is), doesn't look like she has much of a figure problem, but she's wearing a classic "thinning" look.  Take note...if you do this it will make you look positively svelte!!!

 

Don't ask why - I just loved this dress...it's my favorite...maybe it's the layers of ruffly lacey thingies on the side with the chiffon hanging down in front and the discrete lace medallions on the inside of the lace around the bustline.  It's all so flaming couture.  And I loved the idea of a waist, a bust, a nice line around the decolletage, and she probably wears a nude slip under the skirt which makes it completely secure but looks like it's see-thru.

 

All it all, it was a hugely beautiful show - nothing really crazy, a few mistakes but really very minor and honest ones.  Everyone wanted to look pretty and they did.  What a change, and welcomed one at that, and The King's Speech won - loved that!

 

Comments

[Bunny]

The fashions were surely the star of the night. While the movies winning were great, the TV show left a lot to be desired IMO.

My faves were: #1 - Jennifer Hudson, spectacular dress, spectacular body

#2 - Haley Berry, just exquisite as always. That girl glows.

My most awful: that dress on Kate Blanchette, yuk! The front looks like a bib waiting to happen and the colors of the yellowy beads and the light lavender just seemed to clash. Just horrid. She is too pretty for that.

Other awful, Scarlet Johansen. Lots of talk last night about how gorgeous she and her gown were but I thought the color of the gown was just horrid for her. She could have looks so much prettier.

All of this is just my HO. You and I seem to be in agreement. If I were going to the red carpet and had to pick one of these dresses, it would probably be Haley Berry's or Sandra Bullock's. I still can't get over Bullock's new face, but the dress was very nice.

[Carolyn]

I agree with alot of your choices. And there were very few whatwerethey thinking moments on this year's carpet. Tho I didn't like Cate Blanchett's dress at all and I want to be Helen Mirren as I age. What a wonderful dress she had on!

[AnaJan]

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