Pretty Dresses!

White was the favorite on this year's red carpet. So how to make your white dress stand out from the pack? Penelope Cruz wore it best, in a full princess skirt with grey filigree details. Her vintage dress was 60 years old and she bought it eight years ago, saving it for a special occasion. (Good call!) Jennifer Aniston and Anne Hathaway went for silver sparkle. Taraji P. Henson looked lovely in delicate pleats that resembled a column of white rose petals. Nicole Kidman had a soft, ethereal texture with feathers. Marisa Tomei's dress looked like spilled stacks of paper, and yet it was so artfully designed, it was exciting instead of sloppy. Evan Rachel Wood had a nice sheen to her gown. The only dud here is Jessica Biel's dress, with a limp, awkward drape on the front that obscured her pretty figure.



















Black is usually the most common choice, and therefore the most boring. Halle Berry brought some interest to basic black with regal (but tasteful) gold patterning. Beyonce Knowles would have looked nice in black and gold too, if it wasn't for the awful cut of her gown; it was too tight and too big in all the wrong places, working against her awesome curves instead of with them. Performer Vanessa Hudgens had an interesting (if a little incoherent) gown. Diane Lane and Robin Wright had plain dresses, and so did Angelina Jolie, though hers was a wise choice given the opulence of her earrings. (See close-up below.)



















Amy Adams rocked her raspberry gown and AMAZING necklace. (See close-up below.) Virginia Madsen also sizzled in a killer shade and cut. I know Bridget Fonda is getting ripped on for her print dress, but I love it. The red and black pattern is spooky, but small and controlled, and balanced by a simple and elegant dress shape. Phoebe Cates looked nice in a breezy gown. The worst is definitely performer Amanda Seyfried, attacked by a giant bow. I'll never understand designers' fondness for the giant bow; I've never seen a single one that flatters the wearer.
















Blue was another favorite choice. None was more beautiful than Frieda Pinto's exquisite, flowing gown. Asymmetrical straps/sleeves/necklines were everywhere, and none was more daring or more successful than the elegant lace sleeve, in danger of looking frumpy if overdone, but saved by the simple strap and bare shoulder on the other side. The skirt was dreamy and the cobalt color magnificent. Sarah Jessica Parker also wore a heavenly skirt, hers in a pale seafoam shade. Queen Latifah wore her best Oscar dress yet; in the past she wore either plain black or too much glitz; here is the perfect balance with navy fabric adorned with a tasteful shower of blue jewels at the bust. Marion Cotillard's giant poof of black and blue should have been horrible, but somehow she rocks the look. Miley Cyrus's frosted petal dress also should have been a disaster, but the sweet neckline and careful distribution of color made it a funky success. Reese Witherspoon had the worst of the blues, because it had way too many motifs; just two or three and it would have been great. And yet the biggest disappointment was Kate Winslet. She wore such perfect gowns for her last five nominations, so it was a shame she finally won while wearing a slate blue dress ruined by lumpy black netting. Black lace overlay would have looked great, but the blobs on her shoulder and skirt did not. (But even in a bad dress, she is still beautiful.)





















Viola Davis, Tina Fey, and Leslie Mann all look fantastic in metallics.






















Alicia Keys and Natalie Portman wore almost the same shade of pink. Both looked fabulous.
















And the most troubling color family of all: Earthtones. Melissa Leo was sooo close; I love the brave choice of burnt orange, love the cap sleeves, love the jeweled sleeve clips, love the emerald earrings. Unfortunately the cut of the dress minimized her bust and maximized her waist, which is just cruel. (Shame on you, dress!) Her pendant was also an unsettlingly realistic-looking spider. Sophia Loren drowned in mustard ruffles. Meryl Streep had shapeless gray working against her beauty. Whoopi Goldberg looked terrible, but it's her job to bring the The Crazy. With bewildering gowns two years in a row, Tilda Swinton now has a special niche at the Oscars, so I've decided to embrace her comically bad style. Besides, I'm sure it's her fun way of thumbing her nose at Hollywood glamour, as a talented but fiercely independent spirit.

The jewels I covet: The dizzying necklace on Amy Adams. It appears to be cabochon-cut emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. (Keira Knightly sported all three of those stones in another astonishing necklace at the Oscars three years ago.) Marion Cotillard's glittering coin necklace also has me confused -- are they blue topaz? aquamarine? blue opals? -- and envious. And Angelina Jolie's monster-huge emerald earrings are spectacular.















Rarely do the gents have notable fashion choices, but here are my favorites. Mickey Rourke looked wonderfully crazy (wouldn't you have been disappointed if he didn't?), but his photo pendant of his dog Loki (who died six days earlier) was very sweet. Philip Seymour Hoffman made me laugh with his bizarre knit cap; "schlub" is his signature style, so I can dig it. Winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy had some kind of beaded thing under his tux and crossing his tie, so kudos to him for wearing something interesting.











The best accessory of all? The gay marriage ribbon sported by the Milk men -- Dustin Lance Black, Cleve Jones, Emile Hirsch, and Josh Brolin -- and other celebrities like Richard Jenkins.