Oscars Red Carpet 2019

While I thought the show was super boring without a host to add some pizzaz to the night, the fashions were anything but boring! Which is not always the case, so I was super excited! I loved the ruffle trend, even though it wasn't always used well. And who knew that capes would ever be a thing at the Oscars?! It was pretty amazing! I loved that there were many dresses that were extremely daring (not just a token Bjork and that was it). So, without further ado, I will start my list:

MY FAVORITE SAFE DRESSES

This was the perfect color and the perfect dress for Constance Wu! I loved the asymmetry of the flowing sleeve, and how it drooped elegantly over one shoulder! And that little bit of sparkle at the neckline gave it that little bit of sharpness to edge out such a soft and dreamy look. A+++

This is the perfect dress for a warrior queen! The gold evokes metal, strength and power and the black gives it a hard edge. And yet, this was definitely one of the most sophisticated and feminine dresses of the night! Danai Gurira chose exactly the right dress! For some reason for me it has subtle historic costume notes, and that might be why it's one of my favorites!

This dress on Marina de Tavira is all about the details! The pleating and detailed fabric arrangement on the bodice was breathtaking! And the subtle use of the ruffles, teamed with the perfect red, give it both a soft and hard edge. It's perfect!

I loved this dress soo much! That creamy, periwinkle looked so good on Charlise Theron, especially with the dark bob! The slightly raised shoulders and clean lines gave this dress an architectural feel. And that diamond snake necklace was sublime! I really didn't think the wide open back was necessary. It seems to me it would have been much more shocking if she had been fully covered, as it looks from the front. I also feel long sleeves are hard to pull off on the Red Carpet. and she did it effortlessly!

This dress was all about the fit! It fit Lady Gaga so perfectly that it almost looked like a second skin! And that simple, almost sporty bodice, teamed with that elegant, huge, Cinderella skirt was extraordinary! It was the perfect accompaniment to one of the best moments of the night.

MY FAVORITE CRAZY DRESSES

As soon as I saw this at the beginning of the Red Carpet, I said it was going to be hard to beat. And I'm 90% sure no one was quite able to beat Michelle Yeoh in this flawless gown! (Don't make me choose a #1 favorite! I can't.)  It really has everything! A perfect neckline, a dreamy, flowing skirt, and shining, twinkly, sparklyness! She really was a goddess!

Hannah Beachler is rocking these ruffles so hard! There is no way just anyone could pull this dress off, but she sure as heck did! Also, her awesome face jewelry was to die for. And also her hair! Yup, I loved it!

I loved Melissa McCarthy in this look!  She was impeccably styled, starting with her hair and going all the way down to the end of her cape. That's right. I said cape. I love the teaming of the trousers with the fitted cape! It is so sophisticated in it's simplicity. 

Kasey Musgraves must have a lot of guts. I was undecided on this dress for a long time, but then every time I caught a glimpse of her in the crowd, she took my breath away. She was an almost absurd, floating pink cloud, and I loved every bit of it! The giant sleeves, the tiered skirt, the wrist ruffles and even that waistline is hard to pull off! But she did it!

This was Lady Gaga's Red Carpet dress, and it was much more extreme and daring than the stage one. Those shapes at the hip made it look almost statuesque, and I love how the skirt cascades down after the smooth surface of her torso. I also adored the gloves and the necklace (which she wore with both dresses) was the best bling of the whole night! Apparently, this was a nod to Audrey Hepburn's iconic Breakfast at Tiffany's look. And that giant, yellow diamond is the same one Audrey wore as well! I love how classy Laday Gaga has become! She pulls it off while still maintaining her brilliant edge.

As I've said before, I don't think this dress photographs well. You really need to see Emma Stone moving around in it in order to appreciate it's unique beauty and shining sparkles. I love everything about it, from the dark, copper, metallic color, to the subtle wing sleeves. Plus it fit her perfectly in size and in style.

I thought that this dress was really daring, mostly because of the unusual length and horizontal lines. Not everyone could pull this off, but I think it looks perfect on Tessa Thompson.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

I liked this dress, but I didn't love it. What I did love was Amandla Stenberg's hair!  It was unbelievably beautiful and intricate without being overdone! She looked absolutely stunning!

I'm pretty sure Gemma Chan could wear a tablecloth and look amazing. Wait a minute, this dress does kind of look like a tablecloth! So, I'm not sure why I like it. I feel like I shouldn't, but it's such an interesting silhouette, the way it fits her nicely in the bodice and then flows out like a parachute behind her. It's just so daring and I will not apologize for liking it!

This was such a delightful marriage of the two big colors of the evening. I have no idea who Laura Marano is, but this was definitely one of my favorite dresses! The colors were absolutely perfect, and she was super gutsy with one of the biggest bows ever seen on the Red Carpet!

RED CARPET FAIL

I cannot believe that a dress that involved millions of golden beads could end up on my worst list! I desperately wanted to love it, but everything about it was awkward and wrong. The top of the neckline looked like it was pinned together as an afterthought. And the long sleeves combined with the long skirt, high neckline and long train was just too, too much! Glenn Close looked like she was drowning! Apparently it was a very heavy dress, and it sure looked like it. It really needed some editing and perhaps a little whimsy thrown in as well.

This was another dress I really wanted to like, but I felt like it was completely the wrong choice for Maya Rudolph. First of all, the Pepto pink was a big mistake! A soft yellow or blue of this would have been WAY better. But even then, despite its flowing fabric, it was just too heavy, there was too much of everything. Also, that waistline is a downright tragedy! And her severely slicked back bob with the super weird earrings didn't help either. 

I'm not sure I actually have to explain why this is on my worst list. I mean, Linda Cardellini still looks beautiful, if you try to look at just her face. But it really just looks like a dress I might have tried to make for my Barbie's when I was 10 years old. It was just too many risks thrown together in one hot mess. 

I am normally a sucker for one shoulder dresses, and also for ruffles. And Jennifer Hudson looked very beautiful, but the dress just looked like a two-dress collision to me. It was somehow disjointed and super distracting (not in a good way). 

Unlike Emma Stone's dress, I feel like the photo of Laura Dren's dress looks better than it did at the show. It definitely looked like a sad brown color (although here it looks more purple). And the weird draping that falls below the waistline felt very awkward and unfortunate. Such a missed opportunity! 

LETS NOT FORGET THE MEN

I loved that many men this year stepped outside the typical tux box. A few may have taken it a bit too far, but I still love that they're trying to be different. Women shouldn't be the only one's who get to have fun on the red carpet! I wasn't crazy about Chadwick Boseman's boots (far left), but the rest of his outfit was fantastic! I loved Stephan James' (center) red and white, although it did seem a half size too small. And, if you're going to go classic, I say give it 110% like Henry Golding (far right - who is also known as that guy from Crazy Rich Asians who is really, really, ridiculously good looking). He looked incredibly sharp!

So, when I first saw Billy Porter, he was wearing extremely wide legged pants with a sort of 40's feel. I'm assuming he arrived in the skirt and then changed to the trousers. Perhaps this incredibly wide skirt is a bit much, but you've got to give him points for doing it. I definitely liked the wide leg trousers better (which were still pretty extreme), but I kind of think he pulled them both off excellently!

I love, love, love this look on Nicholas Hoult! It's  immaculate and completely original without being ostentatious. I think this was my favorite of the men's looks which may be partially due to who is wearing it. 

OK. How cute are these two? First of all, Lisa Bonet looks stunning!  I loved the details on her dress and the beautiful, soft pink was such a lovely choice for the two of them! Jason Momoa even had a matching pink scrunchy around his wrist! Some might say that's too much matching, I say they took the prize for the cutest couple!

In closing, I would just like to thank the Academy for holding the best awards show of the season. And please, pretty please, make sure you have a host next year!