Oscars 2011: Fashion Up!

Okay, FINALLY, I'm getting this Oscar blog up! Only one week after the show! Just in time for everyone to have already forgotten to care about most of these dresses. Let's refresh your memories, shall we? My order this year is "Reverse Alphabetical By First Name," since that's how Blogger decided to upload the pictures. To the fashions we go!

I really searched for pictures that were the closest to what Scarlett Johannson looked like on the red carpet (via my television). Even these aren't quite right. The color was better - more like a pinkish plummy, and the slight difference in shade/sheen of the satin dress and the lacy overlay was a great detail, although here it mostly looks faded. I'll admit the hair was a little casual looking, and the gown is maybe a teensy bit snug, but I actually quite liked this look otherwise. It was unique and flirty while remaining tasteful.

Reese was looking super-cute, although definitely channelling (even if unintentionally) this famous black-and-white, retro-styled look of Julia Roberts from when she won her Oscar back in 2001. That look was the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw this on Reese. But even so, she looks simple and chic in her own right. Everyone always looks so much more relaxed when they aren't a nominee!

I went back and forth on Nicole Kidman's dress here. Like Cate Blanchett, she can wear things that no one else can really wear, and often dresses for high fashion as opposed to dressing for glamour or beauty. This dress is architectural and that's fine... but it is just really not flattering. If I'm going to fault Melissa Leo for wearing a dress that looks like it is made of paper (more on that later), I'm going to have to do the same for Nic here. And only someone built like Nicole Kidman would try this on and say, "I really love how this extra fabric is flaring out to give me giant hips." Saving it from being a total wash are her adorable red shoes peeping out, her finally-getting-back-to-red hair, and how happy she looked with Keith. If those two ever split, Nashville is going to LOSE IT, y'all. They're our King & Queen down here.

Preggo-eggo Natalie Portman! She's one of those normally very petite girls, like Kate Hudson, who looks SO GREAT being pregnant. She might feel like an uncomfortable cow, but the fullness and softness that pregnancy has brought to her is flattering on all accounts. Also, I don't know how long she hid it, but I think she's got to be at least as far as I am if not further. If she steals my due date, I'll have to write a strongly worded letter. Oh yes, we were talking about fashion, weren't we? I thought she looked beautiful. The color is outstanding, the dress is so soft and lovely, and the hemline, while normally not my favorite, is sensible for someone who is probably a little klutzier than usual and doesn't need to be tripping. The only thing I didn't like were the matching tassel earrings. I would've loved to see a beautiful jewel-tone sparkly set, like with sapphires or emeralds.

And next up is her Black Swan partner in crime, Mila Kunis. This was a different look for her. We've seen her play up the exotic and glamorous aspects of her beauty, but this was really just pretty and soft. But the boobs, yikes! When she was up there presenting with Timberlake, I was terrified we were going to have a wardrobe malfunction with every breath and giggle. Seriously, that lace must have been superglued to her skin.

Attention pale, blonde women who may one day be on the red carpet at the Oscars and who also read this blog (probably not a lot of overlap in those populations, but better safe than sorry): white dresses often do NOT photograph well. I could not find a photo where Michelle Williams here didn't look like a ghost. With her creamy pale skin and her adorable shortie pale blonde hair and her neck-to-ankles white beaded gown, there's just not a lot of contrast for the camera to work with. That's not to say she didn't look pretty, because I think she did. At first I was a little bored, but once the show started they showed a close-up and it revealed lots more beautiful detail in the beading. Not my favorite look of the night, but it went a long way from redeeming her from the Golden Globes Daisy Dress Debacle.

Speaking of white dresses, here's one on Melissa Leo. Unfortunately, I don't think photography is the problem with this one. I liked it in theory but not in execution. By this I mean I can imagine looking at a sketch of the gown and thinking, “Ooh, that looks promising.” But in person it looked like it was made of paper, like someone who cut out a very intricate snowflake. It sat very stiffly on her, and looked neither comfortable or flattering. The structure could work at the top, but by the bottom of the gown it is all wrong. It's doing it a little here, but in several photographs the dress appears to curl in around the split in the front, making it look like the world's most awful jumpsuit.

Oh, hi Jennifer Lawrence! I'm so sorry, but we forgot to tell you. First you wear a really classy and elegant gown to the Oscars, and THEN you can change into your other dress for the afterparties. Seriously though, she looks hot but the style and hair are too casual. Compared to what everyone else was wearing, this wasn't enough.

Jennifer Hudson has lost so much weight! Yay for her but she almost looks like another person. The tangerine color of this gown is amazing with her skintone, and the dress itself is beautiful and bold. I do have a problem with the bust area. I can't tell if it is too much boob, or odd placement of boob, or... something. It isn't coming across very tastefully, which is unfortunate because the rest of the dress is divine.

Don't you just hate it when your beautiful gown gets attacked by tulle tumbleweeds right as someone snaps your photo? Don't worry, Halle, it happens to the best of us.

Look at adorable little Miss True Grit herself! Hailee Steinfeld has turned into such a budding fashionista that I think people were a little let down by this dress, hoping she would've picked something really exciting. But c'mon, she's 14-years-old! This dress is a tween dream – princessy and pouffy and totally suitable for her magical night. I'm not a huge fan of the satin pump, which seems age-inappropriate. I would've gone whole hog on the princess look and picked something really sparkly and strappy.

I absolutely LOVED this look on Gwyneth Paltrow. Head-to-toe the styling is spot-on. It is glamorous and yet has such a relaxed, California-girl vibe. The color, sheen, style of the dress, plus the straightened hair and the glowing tan, are all adding up to fabulous.

Florence Welch is wearing the ugliest sad sack of a prairie dress I've seen in quite some time. The color, if you can even call it that, is awful. The style is awful. For her performance, she wore a really dramatic looking satin gown that appeared to be a fiery red-orange, almost like her hair. I would've much rather she walked the carpet wearing that.

There are some things that only Cate Blanchett can pull off. She's so regal and elegant that she makes a high-fashion gown wearable. The combination of the lilac and the chartreuse was so arresting. Some shots of the back made the clusters of beading look kind of like barnacles were growing on the fabric, but overall I thought this was stunning. Not for everyone, and not even particularly "pretty," but almost a walking work of art.

Annette, woman, you have GOT to get a GRIP on your HAIR. It almost distracted me from the thought that I actually quite like your dress, even if I'm a little concerned your boobs are being squished. And I wish for your sake that the lines from the hip area were a little more curved instead of being so straight, as I think that might be flattering. PS. I can't see them in this picture, but I wrote down in my notes as I watched that I was in love with your earrings, so they must have been awesome.

Amy Adams! You know I just wanted to end with someone who shared my name. She and Michelle Williams walked down the carpet near each other, and it was hard not to compare. Upon closer inspection, Michelle's dress had more detail in the beading, but from a distance it basically looked like Amy was wearing the navy version. I didn't hate this like some people did, but I did think the length of the sleeve was unflattering, and the neck is so high as to almost be veering into mock-turtleneck-ville, which is a dangerous place to be veering. Still, no one can deny that Miss Adams rocks a jewel-tone gown like no other.

Alright my pretties! We made it to the end! Again, my apologies for the delay. Feel free to share in the comments the Oscar looks you loved and hated!