The Best (and Worst) Dressed List: The 2011 Academy Awards

Gowns with  sleeves made their mark at the Golden Globes this year. High necklines made their mark at the Academy Awards.

Gwyneth Paltrow in Calvin Klein Collection

Minimalism at its best. Notice how the slice in the high neckline creates an almost sculptural effect and eliminates the need for a necklace. Also notice how the horizontal seam at the hem creates another level of complexity that balances the vertical cut at the neckline. This is the same designer–Fransisco Costa– responsible for the best dress at The Golden Globes worn by Emma Stone.

Cate Blanchett in Givenchy Haute Couture

Couture at its best. Again notice how the embellishment at the neckline, done with a sprinkle of color , brings the eye up toward the face, without the need for jewelry.  The dress is quite gorgeous from the back, which is open and has the same sprinkle of color as the neckline.

This is the same designer–Riccardo Tisci– who created Zoe Saldana’s  exquisite dress last year.

Mila Kunis in Elie Saab Haute Couture

Gorgeous color, gorgeous dress, great hair and makeup–but she looked sullen all nite long. Why?

HONORABLE MENTION:  Anne Hathaway (onstage in  Atelier Versace and Armani Prive), Sandra Bullock, Helen Mirren, Hale Berry, Hilary Swank andSusan Bridges.

THE WORST DRESSED

Penelope Cruz in LWren Scott

Looks like a tacky second rate copy of a Bob Mackie gown. Perhaps one of the worst Oscar gowns ever!

Scarlet Johansen in Dolce and Gabbana

Was she steamrolled over by a lace machine?

Jennifer Hudson in Atelier Versace

Yes, it’s a gorgeous color but she looks like a drag queen. She lost weight, yes, but she also lost her mind–though she seems to have found her breasts.

I know this sounds particularly harsh, but  I put it this way because she is either a victim of spectacularly bad advice or she’s using her weight loss as an excuse to wear something that she might have wanted to wear when she was unable to. She should be looking forward and not backward. (The two gentlemen behind her were in charge of hauling around the dress’ train.)

Imagine for a moment how smoking hot–yet classy–she would have looked wearing the Gucci gown worn by Hillary Swank!

She’s a class act and she should dress the part.

Yahoo picture gallery

*The Best Dressed Women at The Academy Awards 2010

These were the women who I thought got the total package–the dress, the hair and the makeup—-absolutely right.

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Zoe Saldana in Givenchy Couture. This is a “statement” dress for the new decade. A young starlet, especially one that’s not nominated, can get lost in the shuffle at the Oscars. So it’s no small feat to wear an essentially avant garde couture dress and make it work. It was fashion forward, brave and spectacular on her. Made me think back to what the Elie Saab dress did for Halle Berry in 2002.

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Maggie Gyllenhaal in Dries Van Noten. She’s the indie film queen and she stepped out on a limb with this printed gown. She loves taking risks and many of them just don’t work (see last year’s Lanvin disaster). This worked beautifully for her. Again, it ups the ante on an otherwise retro/cookie cutter red carpet.

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Elizabeth Banks in Atelier Versace. The fit of the bodice of this dress is perfection and it is beautifully integrated into the design of the skirt. It looked spectacular in motion. She showed everyone how to wear a neutral and make it work. (Note to Kate Winslet and Miley Cyrus.)

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Diane Kruger in Chanel Couture. The essence of Chanel. Game, set and match against Sarah Jessica Parker and the giant cinnamon roll of a hair extension that ruined her Chanel dress.

Finally, and because someone has to be honest, no, Sandra Bullock did not look great. The hair and makeup looked great but the dress looked like something Nancy Kerrigan would wear to skate in. (I was worried that Tonya Harding might whack that Oscar out of her hand.) Everyone always says the winner looks great, and that is usually because it seems like the polite thing to say. She looked perfect at the SAG awards in Alexander McQueen. This Marchesa illusion effect gown could have been worn by Hellen Miren (it was that aging) and it bore no relation to the hair and makeup.

(Marchesa proved a poor choice, as well,  for Vera Farmiga and Gaby Sibide, two of the worst dressed women of the night.)

TheBestDressedList.com