As my interest lies in fashion, you can bet Oscar night is one of my favorite nights of the year. Not only do you get to see actors and actresses weeping over their win (or loss) of a golden statue, but you get to see everyone dressed to the nines, showcasing designers' most fantastic creations. This year, while the show was (to say the least) rather dull, nearly everyone looked amazing! It's almost sad how good everyone looked- I was at least expecting Helena Bonham Carter to pull out some crazy ensemble, as she did at the Grammy Awards, but even SHE looked decent! Although, come on Hel, if you're going to ditch the wacky/out-there look, choose something that is at least pretty (read: not velvet).
OK, I was trying to decide on how to choose my favorite dress of the evening- there are so many different criteria one could judge on! First impression, color scheme, overall look, one I would want to wear the most... the list goes on and on. I narrowed it down to my top four then decided it would be too traumatizing to cut any of the dresses so here are my personal favorites of the night:
Best "I Wanna Wear That!" Dress: Mila Kunis
Best Haute Couture: Cate Blanchett
Not many people can pull off dresses that were created mostly for artistic purposes on the red carpet (ahem, Nicole Kidman), however Cate pulls this Givenchy off brilliantly. This dress really grew on me the more I saw it, because the more you look at it, the more you realize the intricacies of it . The way it flows is so flattering, the waist is placed in the perfect spot, and those beads are fantastic! I don't know if y'all know but the back of this dress has yellow/lime green beads which just makes this dress that much better. All of this being said, however, Givenchy take note: this would look unreal with the weird shoulders taken away so the dress became more halter like... I'm just saying. Feel free to use my advice I will not sue. Still, I dub this dress best haute couture of 2011.
Best Collaboration: Hailee Steinfeld
All I can say is well done, newcomer! How adorable is this? I thought this was such a great choice for Hailee. Not only is this super flattering and gorgeous, but it is AGE APPROPRIATE. Take note, Miley Cyrus. What is even more wonderful about this dress is that this 14 year old assisted the team at Marchesa with this after she thought of this design (more or less) the moment she was invited to the Oscars. I don't have much else to say about this besides I think this was a brilliant choice by Hailee because it allows her to feel glamorous but also let's the world see that she still understands that she is 14 years old. Clearly she did not begin her career at Disney. I dub this dress best collaboration of 2011. Side note: I dub Melissa Leo's bejeweled doily worst collaboration of 2011.
Best Pregnant Dress: Natalie Portman
This category should be called Best Natalie Portman Being Pregnant Dress, however then I couldn't say the winner's name. This really is just the best, by far, of Natalie's awards season dresses. She looks incredibly elegant and the color is absolutely beautiful. I think the reason I love this dress so much though is the fact that it's Rodarte. "Who the hell is Rodarte?" You may ask. Rodarte is a fashion house which features two sisters as the designers, Kate and Laura Mulleavy. Turns out, while Amy Westcott is technically credited as the costume designer for Black Swan, in reality, the now iconic swan costumes were actually mostly designed by these two sisters, with help from Mulleavy and the director Aronofsky. I don't know if Natalie chose this dress to pay homage to Rodarte, but I think I'll pretend she did as personally, I think that would be pretty neat! I dub this dress Best Pregnant Dress of 2011.
As for my "worst of 2011", I think number one on that list would be Anne Hathaway in her look number 7. To remind you all, this was the long sleeved, grey lace, bejeweled, turtleneck number that she deemed appropriate to finish off cinema's biggest night in. Seriously, Anne? I'm sorry, you probably weren't the one in charge of picking your outfits but must you have agreed to wearing that? The rest of her night was OK, she provided a nice fashion show throughout the night- I think my favorite was the red Versace number- the addition of leather made that a really interesting and elegant choice.
Other flops: Reese Witherspoon (I know, I apologize, but seriously Reese, Miss America called and she wants her look back), Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman's wife, and really anyone who tried to be "edgier" but didn't go far enough so they just looked like they were trying too hard.
The men looked dashing, I have crushes on them all now. I wish I could comment more but there isn't a whole lot to say about a slew of black or grey suits that all fit impeccably. Well done, men. I wonder if sometimes they wish they could elaborate on their outfits? Maybe throw in a bedazzled lapel or a trail from their jacket? Likely not, that's just what I would wish for.
We would love to hear your (the five of you who follow us) opinions on the Oscar 2011 fashion- who was your favorite? The queen has spoken, now it's your turn!
Fare thee well, peasants.
The Queen
