Glamour Girl was very lucky to be invited to an Academy Awards soirée chez Marion Winik, who is not only a great host but a great cook. The spread was fantastic, as was the abundant bubbly. GG never passes up a chance to drink bubbly—he who doesn’t love champagne doesn’t love life, or something like that—and since hubby was driving she was free to indulge. And since Marion kept it small—only as many of us as could be comfortably seated before the TV to watch the proceedings—we all got to know each other as we laughed and clapped and booed and cheered and snarked.
Of course, les belles dames wanted to see les autres belles dames in all their fashion finery, so at the stroke of 7, we huddled in our places and balanced our groaning plates on our laps and set to. Herewith GG’s opinions of the gowns.
The indisputable stunner of the evening was Naomi Watts in a silver sculptural gown by Giorgio Armani. Wow:
“Isn’t it a little Barbarella?” asked hubby. Well, yeah, but only in the sense that there’s a futuristic element. More power to it. It was modern and feminine and bold and unexpected all at once. It’s very hard to stand out on the red carpet, with so much beauty and glamour and bling in one place, yet stand out Watts did.
Also in a knock-out modern gown (though with awful hair, a problem with a lot of the gals—more about that later) was the ever fashion-conscious Nicole Kidman, in a spectacular sequined column of black and gold by L’Wren Scott with these gorgeous curlicues at the bottom. Another wow:
Jennifer Lawrence has a look that’s both earthy and ethereal, and she emphasized the latter last night. Wearing a different kind of sculptural extravaganza, she tripped on the steps going up to collect her award for Best Actress; but actually it gave us a chance to see the back of this glorious confection by Dior Haute Couture. Here she is on the red carpet:
Jennifer Hudson provided a different kind of sculpture not via her gown, which was gorgeous, but by her dazzling figure. She was wearing a clingy blue long-sleeved gown with lace overlay by Roberto Cavalli:
Halle Berry had apparently told Versace that she wanted to look like a Bond Girl, and did she ever. This woman’s figure is so perfect that everything looks good on her. Love this gown:
Jessica Chastain was pure Old Hollywood Glamour in this coppery Armani Privé:
There was a lot of buzz about the pale, pale, palest pink satin gown worn by Anne Hathaway. By Prada, it was, in one sense, sheer simplicity. But the expert placement of the darts still has people claiming that we could see her nipples all night. Maybe, but that’s not how I read it. Daughter of a tailor that I am, I appreciate the skill it takes to create custom-made garments, and I think this was custom personified. The back was open, and the slightest hint of side cleavage, which is all the rage now, was visible. Hathaway has, like Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett, a finely honed fashion sense. And like Jennifer Lawrence, she accessorized with one long jeweled necklace worn dangling down the back, a great look. Though I liked this dress overall, I thought the shade of pink was too pale and cold. I was longing for a warmer blush:
Kerry Washington wore a gown by Miu Miu with an ornately detailed bodice and bright coral-red bottom. This picture doesn’t do it justice:
Also in red, though a different shade, was Australian actress Jacki Weaver, who played opposite Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro in “Silver Linings Playbook” (great movie—see it if you haven’t):
I loved the gold embroidered gown by Zuhair Murad worn by Catherine Zeta-Jones (and yes, folks, it’s pronounced “zeeta,” not “zayta”) and don’t understand why Eric Wilson of the New York Times called it “campy.” I think it’s luscious:
But then he also liked Jane Fonda’s screaming yellow number by Versace. I thought it was awful. It looked like the worst of the ‘80s to me, like something out of “Dallas” or “Dynasty”:
Amanda Seyfried’s pale-almost-ivory lavender gown by Alexander McQueen was elaborately embroidered and had a train:
One train that didn’t work for me, nor the entire gown, was the red chiffon worn by Sally Field. Sorry, but I think this thing is channeling just a little too much Mrs. Lincoln. I’m surprised it was designed by Valentino:
Here’s a red Valentino that worked perfectly; it’s the hair that didn’t: Jennifer Aniston. She’s wearing a black-tie gown with beach hair. Why??
But at least it wasn’t as bad as the bed-head of Helena Bonham Carter. She was a hot mess. She’s such a beautiful woman, but ever since she started hanging out with Tim Burton, it’s like she’s trying to look like him:
Kristen Stewart was also a mess. The gown (Reem Acra) was fine, but the hair . . . . Come on, gals, you’re at the Academy Awards—a formal event! Formal. Get it?
She was hobbling because she had cut the ball of her foot on glass a few days before, and had arrived at the red carpet on crutches. She ditched them for her presentation duties.
I should’ve mentioned Fan Bingbing earlier in this post. OMG, as the kids say. She wore a fuchsia satin ball gown by Marchesa that was positively royal. Magnificent:
Here’s another satin fuchsia gown; alas, the boobage is just too much. It looks like it doesn’t fit. It looks too small. Maria Menounos, who looked like a Greek goddess at the Academy Awards last year, struck out this time:
And hey, who needs fancy designers when you can just buy your gown from hoi polloi retail giant H&M? That’s what Helen Hunt did. Well, I doubt she just walked in and pulled it off the rack. I’m sure she was courted. But this navy blue number is lovely:
Also in brilliant blue was Robin Roberts. I don’t think anybody else was wearing velvet:
As for ingenues, we have to cut them some slack. Their fashion sense, with rare exceptions, isn’t fully developed yet, which is why they wear stuff like this:
That’s somebody named Samantha Barks. Sorry, never heard of her. But that dress is all plunging neckline and no finesse.
Oh, I just realized I haven’t talked about any of the white gowns. They were aplenty. Queen Latifah, as usual, lives up to her name, in a beautiful Badgley Mischka:
And Charlize Theron, another reliable fashion queen, sported a Jean Seberg haircut and wore a supremely elegant Christian Dior white column with a delicately blinged peplum. Glamour Girl does love a peplum:
Sandra Bullock—great gown (Elie Saab), but again with the hair. Get your hair done, people!
Octavia Spencer looked radiant in a chiffon, almost-peach Tadashi Shoji gown:
I’ve taken far too long to mention local gal Stacy Keibler, who always, always looks superb. Last night was no exception. She was wearing Naeem Khan:
I don’t think the Oscar de la Renta worn by Amy Adams worked, even though I think it’s the same gown that was shown to great effect by Penelope Cruz a few years ago. First, this grey is just blah—Cruz wore this (or something similar) in pink; and second, Amy Adams has a more modern look. I don’t think she can carry off a princess look:
Big gals have a harder time of it, obviously, but that doesn’t mean they can’t shine. I thought Melissa McCarthy in this David Meister hit it out of the park:
And I can’t leave out the guys. There were a few who didn’t do the standard rent-a-tux look but who had some pizzazz. Chris Pine was one:
Channing Tatum was another:
Mark Wahlberg’s jacket didn’t fit. It was too tight; it was bunching around the chest and upper arms. No pic; sorry, I’m pooped.
There are more gowns I haven’t mentioned, and you can get a look at them in this slideshow at the New York Times.
Tell me what you think! Leave your comments below.