Academy Awards 2012 Fashion

It happened! At last! Did you watch?

What did you think of the winners? I haven’t seen The Artist but everyone I know who has has reported back to me that it’s amazing, so it makes sense that it swept the night (it won Best Picture, Best Actor – Jean Dujardin, Best Director – Michel Hazanavicius, Best Original Score and Best Costume Design).

I love Viola Davis but I didn’t think The Help was her best film (don’t get me wrong, she was GREAT in it but she is a phenomenal actress and will have other movies that she will blow us away in) so I was okay with the Best Actress trophy going to Meryl Streep. I saw The Iron Lady and while parts of the film weren’t great, her performance was note-perfect.

Of course, the best part of the night was checking out all the dresses, right? I’ve enjoyed this all season long. Here’s a round-up of my fashion posts this entire awards season:

• Golden Globes 2012 Fashion
• SAG Awards 2012 Fashion
• Grammy Awards 2012 Fashion
• BAFTA Awards 2012 Fashion
• BRIT Awards 2012 Fashion

My favourite picks of the night:

Best Supporting Actress nominee Berenice Bejo looked stunning in Elie Saab Couture.

The comic genius that is Maya Rudolph looked amazing in a Johanna Johnson gown – and freely admitted to wearing shapewear on the red carpet, and carrying snacks in her purse so she didn’t get hungry. Fist pump!

Michelle Williams, nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn, looked amazing in Louis Vuitton.

I wish this had been a different colour so it was more interesting, but Kristen Wiig looked beautiful in J. Mendel and wearing Neil Lane jewellery – as I’ve said before, I’m biased; I love her!

Rooney Mara – nominated for the Best Actress Oscar – looked AMAZING in this Givenchy – I love the harshness of her hairstyle contrasted with the delicate detail of the dress.

I thought Gwyneth Paltrow looked great in sleek white Tom Ford – with a cape! I loved the cape, I thought it was different enough that it prevented her dress from looking boring.

Best Supporting Actress winner Octavia Spencer stunned in Tadashi Shoji. I would guess that this gown was custom-made, it’s so stunning and fits her to perfection. Plus the sparkle is completely appropriate for the biggest awards ceremony of the year!

I was on the fence about but ultimately think it’s a hit:

Shailene Woodley can basically wear anything because she’s so young, tall and fresh! The fact that she chose to cover up was an interesting choice, but the ill-fitting sleeves (they look too big?) nearly made this a miss. In the end though I just loved how different this Valentino gown is.

And…my ABSOLUTE favourite:

From her hair to this GORGEOUS Alexander McQueen gown, Best Supporting Actress nominee Jessica Chastain definitely wins my Best Dressed for the night!

My least favourites:

Emma Stone can usually do no wrong stylewise in my book, but I just wasn’t feeling this Giambattista Valli dress as much. I think if someone else was wearing it I would have liked it but I expect so much more from her in terms of keeping it interesting!

I’m not sure if it’s the off-the-shoulder neckline or the lavender colour, but I do not like this Armani Prive gown on Penelope Cruz.

I thought Stacy Kiebler‘s Marchesa gown just looked cheap and wasn’t very flattering!

Livia Firth wore an organic Valentino gown but I just thought it looked awful. The colour, the shape, everything. Plus it’s creased!

Meryl Streep was totally deserving of her Best Actress win, but I with the matching gold shoes, this gold Lanvin dress was just too much and too gaudy.

It pains me to make the Best Actress nominee a miss, but there was something about this Vera Wang that I couldn’t get with on Viola Davis – it looks cheap, because it looks kinda like plastic? The green was stunning though. I’m pretty sure I was the only one that didn’t like this!

I was on the fence about but ultimately think it’s a miss:

Not sure why Jennifer Lopez was at the Oscars, and I actually LOVED this Zuhair Murad dress, but with the tightness, and the low-cut front, it was just too much…I would have liked to see something classier.

My VERY least favourite:

Look, I LOVE Melissa McCarthy, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. But this custom Marina Rinaldi gown did not flatter her at all, and I think the colour was too pale for her skin tone and just washed her out.

QUESTIONS:

• Did you watch? I had a mini Oscar party and I had some friends over – I made some fun food and will be posting the recipes this week!
• What were your favourites and least favourites?
• Did any of the winners surprise you?