[IMG:L]Whose Oscar dress was a success, who showed signs of distress and who was just a total mess? There were an unusual amount of fashion risks at this year’s Academy Awards, but how many hit the jackpot and how many crapped out? Hollywood.com hit the red carpet for an up-close encounter with the most stylish—and style-challenged—stars.
DRESS SUCCESS!
Hollywood.com Couture Champion: Cate Blanchett
Nothing scandalous to take note of here as Cate demonstrated her impeccable fashion sense to become our choice for the best dressed woman on the red carpet, a streamlined Art Deco goddess come to life. “They choose you, these frocks,” she said of her sleek, silver one-shoulder Swarovski crystal-mesh Giorgio Armani Privé gown, topped with a tulle beaded floral overlay with a jet black paillette floral motif. “This dress chose me when I saw it on the runway of the Armani Privé show in Paris.” She completed the look with black-and-white diamond earrings set in blackened metal, a diamond cuff and a blackened diamond right-hand ring from Lorraine Schwartz.
[IMG:R]DRESS SUCCESS!
Penelope Cruz
Penelope could have knocked us over with a feather—dozens of them, in fact—in blush Atelier Versace gown with a sweeping train that knocked the dust off of Oscars’ usually too-safe fashion sense. She added Chopard’s 20-carat diamond cluster earrings, a 30-carat yellow-and-white-diamond flower bracelet and a 10-carat yellow diamond ring and she toted a satin crystal Betty clutch with braided crystal trim and cabochon crystal detail by Daniel Swarovski. Though her ‘do might have fit the frock better if left to her usual flowing mane, she still cruised to the top of our winners list.
[IMG:L]DRESS SUCCESS!
Naomi Watts
“It’s just so Old Hollywood,” Naomi Watts sighed to us about her buttercup-yellow Escada gown, and her marceled waves completed her 30s movie star mood. But even Hollywood’s earliest screen idols never had dazzlers like Naomi’s King Kong Bling: an 85-carat triple-strand diamond necklace, 12-carat cushion cut diamond earrings and a 16-carat oval blue sapphire-and-diamond cocktail ring, all from Chopard.
DRESS SUCCESS!
Reese Witherspoon
Nina Ricci continues to do right by Reese styling her as a newly single knockout, this time wih a gem of an amethyst strapless, tiered gown, made all the more sleek looking with her straight honey-blonde hair. And though her wedding ring is gone, that doesn’t mean Reese is bling-less, dripping Van Cleef & Arpels jewels, including an 83-carat 1937 diamond bracelet and 12.5-carat diamond earrings.
[IMG:R]DRESS SUCCESS!
Jennifer Hudson
Everyone was so certain Jennifer was going to take home the Oscar, we wondered if her choice of a golden beaded gown was intended as a subtle complement to her impending accessory. “Actually, I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” she admitted after claiming her trophy. “It just turned out to be a fabulous dress and a Roberto Cavalli.” Completing her Dream-y look were platinum and diamond earrings, bracelets and cocktail ring by Neil Lane and a make-up palette by Christian Dior.
[IMG:L]DRESS SUCCESS!
Jessica Biel
Jessica looked sweet and tasty in her strapless raspberry Oscar de la Renta gown, which together with her flirty updo showcased her super-shapely shoulders. But in addition to how it highlighted her buff blades, Jessica told Hollywood.com there was one simple reason she favored the frock: “The color! How could you not love this color?” If she didn’t already look priceless enough, she added several million dollars worth of Neil Lane jewels, including 15-carat diamond flower earrings, a black diamond bracelet and a 10-carat diamond right-hand ring.
DRESS SUCCESS!
Maggie Gyllenhaal
New mom Maggie proved she was no fashion featherweight, showing off her bodacious post-baby body in a crystal-embroidered navy Proenza Schouler gown with a one-strap neckline and feather-trimmed hem, paired with H.Stern’s appropriately titled Red Carpet Deco diamond hoops and diamond bracelets.
[IMG:R]DRESS SUCCESS!
Gwyneth Paltrow
After a few memorable misses on the Oscar runway, Gwyneth proved she was no fashion poser in Zac Posen’s tulle-and-chiffon creation, radiant in its radiating pattern. Apple’s mom and the apricot gown got together in a story straight out of the movies—“I just saw it and I fell in love with it,” she told Hollywood.com. With her stick-straight looks and fashionably crimson lips, she added multiple Fred Leighton diamond bracelets and rose-cut diamond chandelier earrings and platinum and diamond ring, bangle and link bracelet by Neil Lane.
[IMG:L]DRESS SUCCESS!
Rachel Weisz
Last year Rachel had a baby on board when she showed up to collect her Oscar, but she was one hot mama for her return trip, sporting soft, pre-Raphaelite ringlets, a platinum satin Vera Wang gown, a dazzling diamond vintage Cartier floral Diamond brooch on chain and a delicate gem-covered ribbon pin that appeared to be gathering the gown at the bustline. “It was much easier to find a dress this year!” she told Hollywood.com. “It’s so romantic.”
DRESS SUCCESS!
Jada Pinkett Smith
With a golden prize like this at home, what does Will Smith need with an Oscar? “I love that it’s sexy, I love that it’s elegant and I love that it’s Carolina Herrera,” Jada told Hollywood.com of her snug yellow-bronze gown matched with H.Stern’s Vesta drop earrings in 50 carats of canary diamonds set in yellow gold, worth $1,000,000.
[IMG:R]DRESS SUCCESS!
Helen Mirren
Helen ruled regally over the red carpet in a floral print Christian Lacroix gown topped with embroidered lace on her way to becoming the night’s reigning monarch. “It was made for me and built for me, and I have to say it’s the most comfortable thing I’ve ever worn,” said Helen backstage. “It’s as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside, and I really do feel like a queen, princess or fairy godmother. I love it.” It even came with its own crown jewels: Chopard’s jaw-dropping 62-carat oval-shaped cognac and white diamond brooch on the back of her gown, a 55-carat marquise-cut diamond flower bracelet and pear-shaped diamond cluster.
[IMG:L]DRESS SUCCESS!
Rinko Kikuchi
“I wanted to be very proper and very honest,” said Rink, who left nothing lost in translation. As she has in all her red carpet rendezvous, Rinko continued her love affair with Lagerfeld, but veered away from the fashion forward fascination and opted for old school glamour in a sexy black sequined fishtail gown with Chanel Haute Couture and Chanel jewels, including a one of a kind Diamond cuff, contrast Diamond earrings and the diamond “Camelia Ring,”
DRESS SUCCESS!
Isla Fisher
Wawaweewa! On the arm of Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat’s babe Isla proved far preferable to Pam Anderson in a bag in her painted-on emerald green satin corset gown by Monique Lhuillier, Lauren Merkin clutch and drenched in Lorraine Schwartz diamond bracelets and diamond drop earrings. High five!
[IMG:R]DRESS SUCCESS!
Emily Blunt
Forget the Prada. Emily’s inky-blue sequined Calvin Klein gown by Francisco Costa earned her a promotion into Oscar’s fashion elite. Her H.Stern jewels included diamond stud earrings, a sapphire and diamond ring and the $300,000 Stern Star cuff bracelet, the brand’s signature and patented diamond cut shaped like a star. So was Emily.
[IMG:L]DRESS SUCCESS!
Cameron Diaz
Cameron shouldered past the fashion wannabes in her white satin Valentino Couture gown and a whopping $2.9 million worth of Cartier jewelry, including a 9-carat cabochon emerald and 65-carat diamond earrings. “It was sort of glamorous, Hollywood and couture classic, and that’s what I wanted,” she told Hollywood.com. Only her surfer girl ‘do kept this angel from looking totally heavenly.
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[IMG:L]DRESS DISTRESS?
Nicole Kidman
“I only ever choose one dress,” Nicole told Hollywood.com. “I don’t have any others. I just had the one.” But was her crimson silk crepe Balenciaga column dress with an oversized bow the right one? Fashionistas’ verdicts have ranged from red hot to rotten tomatoes, but all agreed that her choice of L’Wren Scott’s custom-designed cuffs, which contained a massive 375 carats of raw diamonds, was rock-solid.
[IMG:R]DRESS DISTRESS?
Jennifer Lopez
Dressing for the Oscars is “more fun than anything,” said J-Lo, who decided to go with the flow in her crystal-encrusted lilac silk Marchesa gown and pinned-up curls that some loved and some thought was better suited for a toga party, even when blinged-up by 20-carat Lorraine Schwartz gray-and-champagne-diamond earrings with peach rose-cut diamond drop and a clear crystal oval Alcazar clutch by Daniel Swarovski.
[IMG:L]DRESS DISTRESS?
Anne Hathaway
We wondered how icy Miranda Priestly would weigh in on Anne’s lacy white Valentino gow, which some thought came undone with the giant black bow on the front. Anne was more concerned about the ice. “I decided since it was my first Oscars that I’d wear every single diamond I could find,” she said, and she did, dripping in white pearl and diamond pendant earrings, diamond bracelets with more than 100 carats and a 13-carat diamond ring, all from Van Cleef and Arpels.
[IMG:R]DRESS DISTRESS?
Beyonce
“I’ve been watching stars all my life and that is where I learned to pose,” said Beyonce, and she certainly struck the right on in a crystal-adorned one-strap Armani Privé gown and Lorraine Schwartz jewels, which had the right mix of movie star mojo and music biz sizzle, but the Klingon Empire-meets-Liberace’s Las Vegas sash kept it from being a completely dream ensemble. She heated her look up in an ice blue Elie Saab Couture gown for the Vanity Fair bash.
[IMG:L]DRESS DISTRESS?
Kate Winslet
Kate’s one-shouldered Valentino gown was perfectly suited to her shape, but some felt the pale green color was a wash, taking a bit of the bloom off this fair-skinned English rose. Turns out the idea came from little children: “I loved the color—my daughter picked it out,” Kate told Hollywood.com. Her sparkle was enhanced by Chopard’s fancy pear-shaped yellow diamond cluster earrings, an oval fancy yellow-green diamond cocktail ring, a yellow diamond bracelet, two yellow and white diamond brooches and 18-karat gold Bulgari clutch.
[IMG:R]DRESS A MESS!
Kirsten Dunst
“I bought it online,” said Kirsten of the beaded Chanel Couture gown featuring a feathered hem, and we only hope her eBay bid wasn’t too high for the flapperish flop—not even Bulgari’s platinum bracelet with Burmese rubies and diamonds from 1934 could up the luster—that labeled her Hollywood.com’s worst dressed star at the Oscars. We’re calling it the Dunst Cap.
[IMG:L]DRESS A MESS!
Jennifer Hudson
Though she redeemed herself admirably later in the evening, this Dreamgirl got off to a nightmarish start on the red carpet in an outfit chosen by her usually spot-on style guru, André Leon Tally: a futuristic metallic python-cropped jacket squeezed the life out of an already ill-fitting Oscar de la Renta chocolate chiffon gown, blinged with 1960s-era Fred Leighton diamond necklace with 32-carat yellow diamond drop, diamond leaf earrings and a brown diamond right-hand ring.
DRESS A MESS!
Meryl Streep
For once Prada bedeviled Meryl. Her black coat and duchesse satin skirt were overwhelmed by her poorly conceived choice of an emerald-green belt and gigantic necklace. After 14 trips down Oscar’s red carpet, we expected more from the perennial nominee, but perhaps she’s only stylish when she’s acting like it.
[IMG:R]DRESS A MESS!
Oprah Winfrey
We know this was the year the Oscars did diversity, but Oprah took the concept far too literally at the Vanity Fair party uniting waaaaay too many colors on her Gucci gown. We never thought we’d say it, but we’d rather be watching Dr. Phil.
DRESS A MESS!
Kelly Preston
We want to forgive Kelly’s risky, frisky choice of a leopard-print Dolce & Gabbana column dress and Judith Ripka’s stacked diamond bracelets simply for the sentiment behind it. “My husband”—that’s John Travolta to you—“bought it for me for Christmas, and I waiting for something special to wear it to,” Kelly told Hollywood.com. “I thought not too many people wear leopard to the Oscars.” Honey, there’s a reason.