Monday, February 28, 2011

Oscar Fashion: Best Dressed

This column is dedicated to my friend Luke, who knows how much I hated the Oscars this year but still wanted to hear my opinion on fashion. Hope you enjoy sir.

10. Jennifer Lawrence in Calvin Klein
At first glance I was so disappointed with Lawrence's look. She had been so flawless and risky all season long, wearing bold colors in even bolder designs (girl's got the legs) so when she showed up in this simple red column with practically no accessories and free flowing hair I was like "what?".
As the night went by however, she looked just radiant! The silhouette is perfection and unlike other actresses, she never looked constricted or restrained by what she was wearing. Can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

9. Sandra Bullock in Vera Wang
This is how it's done Anne Hathaway's Valentino (I felt terrible typing that by the way...Annie knows I worship her)

8. Natalie Portman in Rodarte
The Best Actress winner was the image of pure joy and her simple fashion choice proved to be flawless. I'm not sure what everyone was expecting of her given that she's pregnant and all which must make dress choices much more difficult.
However the color was stunning (anyone else had flashbacks of Keira Knightley in 2006?), the hair was lovely and she accessorized like a pro.

7. Jennifer Hudson in Versace
Va-va-voom Miss Hudson! The Oscar winner looks absolutely hawt in this orange Versace.
See how her dress is a bit of Sandra Bullock's and Gwyneth's all rolled into one bomb of sexiness.
The accessories are perfect, the hair is incredible and you just gotta love the boobs. Beyoncé's "style" must be rolling in its grave of tackiness.

6. Anne Hathaway in Givenchy Couture.
Anne changed dresses a LOT and while some weren't fully successful (that weird Tom Ford from the end) this vanilla construction was a delight.
The bodice recalls the Versace January Jones wore to the Emmys once but while Jones is all about the cutting edge, Annie fits more of a princess mold.
This dress was shown on the runway as a wedding dress and Hathaway makes it look positively regal.

5. Gwyneth Paltrow in Calvin Klein
The Oscar winner/country singer was stunning in this metallic CK column. She let her hair down and in all honesty looked like what Oscar would look like if he was a gorgeous woman.
The Louis Vuitton brooch was a bit off putting though, it was one of those situations when you like and then hate something. Good that you almost can't see it!

4. Anne Hathaway in Atelier Versace.
See what I meant about the Givenchy looking like Versace?
This is the kind of dress the house of Donatella is magnificent at: simple, sexy and delicately elaborate gowns that look as comfortable as shorts with the grace of couture mortals can't afford.

3. Anne Hathaway in Oscar de la Renta.
Disco was back for a few seconds as Anne rocked the stage in this beaded Oscar de la Renta which could do flashy nice things and made her look more beautiful than she did all night long (although it must be said she was all sorts of stunning in her masculine tux as well...)

2. Mila Kunis in Ellie Saab
As you know, I've had a love/hate relationship with Kunis' red carpet choices. Sometimes she looks stunning but more often than not she looks like she's trying too hard.
This lavender Ellie Saab was wonderful. Notice the gorgeous lace details on her cleavage and the way in which the dress flowed making her look radiant and quite sexy.
She was classic Hollywood with a slight edge and all throughout the night I kept telling myself "this is the classy version of this".


1. Cate Blanchett in Givenchy Couture
My prediction was right. This woman is a goddess among stylish women. The truth is her dress couldn't be more simple if it tried but it's such a well designed gown that like Cate's work, you find yourself uncovering layers and layers of what makes it so wonderful.
For starters the color! This delicate mix of lavender, violet and white makes for a warm look that's also aggressively imposing.
Next, that flowered frame is a thing of real beauty. It's sexy withou being vulgar (like ScarJo's back window) and reminds us that we are indeed watching a lady.
The yellow details on the shoulders accentuate her tasteful earrings and the simple bracelet completes the look. Also, Cate's hair has grown into something absolutely stunning. If this was a better world it would be her and not Jennifer Aniston who'd inspire fashion choices the world over.
Some have complained that the dress is a bit too weird and pastoral, when it's actually evoking and utterly magical.

So Luke, agree or disagree? Who would you add or remove? And the rest of you guys, get out your inner fashionista and let's discuss this! After all we know the clothes are usually better than the Oscars themselves right?

16 comments:

Candice Frederick said...

JHud, Mila Kunis, and Natalie Portman take the cake. these situations that bullock, blanchett, and paltrow have on i cannot condone. at all.

Castor said...

Ahaha trust it to Jose for being the complete opposite from my take for Best/Worst Dressed! ;)

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

Candice: situations LOL you're mean.

Castor: you saw it coming didn't ya?

Robert said...

Good for you for sticking up for Cate Blanchett! I LOVED Jennifer Hudson's dress and Anne Hathaway looked beautiful in all of her looks. And let us all take a moment to thank Jennifer Lawrence for being freaking amazing and gorgeous on the red carpet. I hope she gets more good roles JUST so we can see her dress up more. haha

Yong said...

I thought Jennifer Lawrence was the most beautiful on the red carpet.

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

Robert: *hi5*
Glad to hear you liked Cate or are you just saying I'm doing good by liking her despite the fact that nobody else does? Haha.
God yes, Jennifer Lawrence is a goddess!

Yong: she's beautiful indeed!

Amir said...

can't argue with your picks.
but i'm kinda bummed that my favourite of the night didn't make your list.
i thought Hailee Steinfeld was quite fantastic and SO appropriate for her age, which is quite tricky in these kind of shows.
i loved her. the girl's gonna go far.

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

Amir: I thought she looked gorgeous too but she didn't really linger in my mind too long.

Lucas Dantas said...

HA!! i loved jennifer lawrence too! but i was at 1st glance... her curves are stunning!

i absolutely adored anne's blue armani privé. that's the kind of thing i would wear if i were a girl. her body is gorgeous too... and her face is perfect. rachel zoe did an amazing job in my opinion.

and cate blanchett is god! i was in love with that givenchy the instant she appeared. it felt so fairy but way ahead of that lord of the rings bore. lol she was perfect!

oh god and gwyn!! i simply adore her! her boobs were fantastic in that cleavage! i would wear this too if i had the boobs. she's god too!

hoo did u see madge's look for the vanity fair party?

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

Hosie: I know, JL haunts our fashion dreams...those curves man!

Cate is fairy-esque done with class! Remember the Dior she wore in 1999 with the flowers and hummingbird? She's so romantic and does romance so well unlike Florence who looked like one of the dead people from "The Others".

I did not see Madge! Will google her ASAP!

PS: you have the boobs for the Gwyn look ;)

Anonymous said...

I think fabric is also a big star in this year's red carpet. The structures looks so simple. But if you look closely at JLaw's dress or Gwyneth's to a lesser extent, you know why they might have shelled out a thousand bucks for it. Or rented it.

Lucas Dantas said...

i agree okinawaassault, the fabrics this year, at some examples or expectacular [i'm saying gwyn, jlaw, anne's armani privé and atelier versace].

but at the same time the colors and styling were all the same. everything was nude/transparent with swarovski, like classy versions of britney spears toxic diamond body - but in a very boring way.

that's why my favorite looks are so specific. i loved jennifer lawrence's, for example, because her curves made a simple long red dress look hot and temptress-like, plus her laid-down hair was simple but beyond classy. if it were hillary swank, it could be beyond boring due to her more masculine body.

btw, i hated this year's oscars as well! i hated the king's speech won everything - i fell asleep in the middle of the movie! and the hype totally destroid my love for colin firth. james franco was kinda weird with his stoned attitude - but at the same time i didn't pay much attention since i was drinking and dissing the fashion with my friends.

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

Paolo: I had never heard anyone refer to her as JLaw and it's a struck of genius. The antithesis to the terrible actress from the Bronx?
With that said, yes, fabrics were awesome and the details too! I'm still salivating about the pearls in Cate's dress.

Ho: I imagined Hilary and LOLed my ass off.
Anyway yeah, forget about TKS, keep up the clothes talk, I'm sure 5 years from now everyone will have forgotten that movie and will still be talking about Cate's Givenchy.

Luke said...

First of all, thank for that shout-out. You know your blog's the first one I go to for the fashion lineup! :)

I've kind of got to go with J-Hud on this one. It was like a coming out party in that stellar get-up. And I love that you stand by Cate through thick and thing. She basically had an actual target across her chest for the critics to bash her, but your love is undying! (My jury's still out on it, though she had the best moment of the night, imo.)

El pillo said...

WTF? You left queen-italwaysworkswhenIironmyhair-Gwyneth out of the top position???

She ROCKED it, she showed EVERYONE how its done .... and then JHud .. that color is MEANT to be worn with people with dark skin and its maaahvelous dahhhling (the problem is that her boobs are still too big for that type of cleavage).

Now about Cate, it was expected, it was good, but I woudve preferred the OTHER Givenchy couture dress with the crane, thank you!

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

Luke: Cate does wear that bullseye with dignity doesn't she?
I think she pushes the bar so much when it comes to fashion as art that it makes no difference if people "get" her or not.

M:after your love for SaBu last year I think you have a thing for shiny metallic fabrics...
Leave Cate alone!