Don’t cry for Amy Adams and her also-ran Best Actress awards campaign for Big Eyes. She’s not upset about it. If anything, she — like always — is a good sport. One of the best sports, even.

The five-time Oscar nominee (who earned three nods in four years!) didn’t get a…      

Rosamund Pike of course had the better Givenchy look last night, there’s pretty much no question. Rosamund’s crimson gown featured a fan-like bustline, layers of lace, seqyins and embroidery that somehow didn’t look busy and smooth fabric that gave the illusion of cinching her waist. This dress was beautiful, and she didn’t distract from it at all. Her styling was minimal and somehow just right. At yesterday’s Women in Film pre-Oscar party, Pike’s makeup was way underdone and I was worried she would make that mistake again. She didn’t, she just looked natural and fresh. Incredible. One minor complaint: the shoes could be less safe and matchy.

Also in Givenchy, with less success, we have Jessica Chastain. At least she’s wearing a bold color. Chastain’s dress draped down in both the front and back, giving it a kind of toga illusion. The front opened up to a sequin tank in a deeper navy than the rest of the dress. It looks like two different gowns layered on top of each other. The dress hugs Chastain perfectly, but it’s all too cookie cutter somehow. I also wish she would have done something different with her hair. Incredible necklace though, those are Piaget jewels.

photo credit: WENN.com and FameFlynet

Best Director is a major award. It comes near the end. And we all know how it works by now. Normally they ask the legends, the big time big name big deal stars to present.

Ben Affleck.

Has two Oscars: for writing and for producing Argo. NOT for directing Argo though. That was his snub yea…      

As the returning Best Actress winner, attending just to present Best Actor, Cate Blanchett was under no obligation to wow us. But still, she’s Cate Blanchett, a goddess walking among us. Of course we believed that she was going to look amazing. And I think she did! Cate wore this Maison Margiela by John Galliano. Galliano is one of her favorite designers, and she has a history of wearing Galliano’s designs to the Oscars in particular. Even after Galliano’s troubles several years ago, he’s kept the loyalty of several big-name fashionistas, and I have to say… this dress makes me miss Galliano’s designs. The gown is understated without being boring. It suits Cate perfectly. The details are interesting (the fringe at the shoulder!) and the cut is flawless.

Cate paired her simple black gown with a big turquoise statement necklace from Tiffany’s. That was it. That was her only piece of jewelry. I kind of like how undone it is, but I wouldn’t have minded seeing some earrings. The big necklace was a trend last night too, and I think Cate was one of the best examples of it. Also: she seemed almost tender and motherly with Eddie Redmayne. She gave him such a big hug when he won!

Meryl Streep wore this custom-made Lanvin which is kind of boring, but it’s Meryl and she’s done this literally fifty million times, so she probably just wanted to be comfortable. I’m sort of surprised that her husband Don came out!

This is going to sound rude but I honestly mean it as a compliment: I love Oprah when she’s bigger. Truly. I think she looks so beautiful these days. Oprah was one of the producers on Selma, so she got the Oscars invite and she came out in this petal-pink Vera Wang gown, custom-made. I think she looks great, right?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

It’s almost like you can write the script yourself by now, right? Kerry Washington will show up probably perfectly on time. Her dress will be in a shade of pink or purple or mauve. This time it was champagne blush that had her join ranks with Zoe Saldana and Viola Davis to create a co…      

Sort of.

There are some people who show up to the Vanity Fair Oscar party every year, doesn’t matter if they’ve been to the main show or now. Diane Kruger. If you can get an invitation, you go. Because then everyone knows you got an invitation and there’s always work to be d…      

I always hear of so-called fashion experts throwing shade at Elie Saab’s made-for-the-red-carpet designs, but I defend the Elie Saab fashion house most of the time. Do the dresses all seem rather frothy and same-y? Sure. But the gowns are usually flattering, wearable, pretty and the ladies who wear Elie Saab usually seem very happy with their choice. Not everyone should or can wear Dior, you know? And I have to think that Emma Stone – one of the brightest fashionista stars on the red carpet these days – choosing to wear Elie Saab will bring the fashion house some new respect.

Emma’s gown has some elements that I would hate in other dresses – it’s deceptively simple, it’s a weird yellow-green celery color that reminds me of bile, and it’s the overdone beading-on-sheer style. But you know what? I actually really like this on Emma in particular. It’s different on her, the bile color actually works (likely because her hair is darker), and the sleeves are done really well. I think the look would have been stronger without the leg slit though.

Also: Emma jumped on Jennifer Aniston on the red carpet. Who knew they were tight?

So, now that I defended the house of Elie Saab, I have to show you the worst example of it on the Oscars red carpet. Here’s Jennifer Lopez in Elie Saab. This looks like a dozen other dresses she’s worn in her life. It’s too princess-y and it’s too BIG. It takes up too much space. It’s sort of a blah color on J.Lo too. And while I think Jennifer is a beautiful, glamorous woman, I get tired of her always bringing out her ladies.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

This is ridiculous.

It looks like what I can only refer to as ‘cyberwear’. The kind of thing you would get at the mall from Le Chateau, in pleathers and PVCs, as popularized by Angelina Jolie in Hackers and ideally worn with cobalt blue eyeliner.

So why do I love it so much?
…      

One of my favorite looks last night, and one that bucked the trend of off white and washed out pale colors was Laura Dern. Dern was on point in an incredible bronze strapless Alberta Ferretti gown featuring beading and sequins in a kind of intricate art deco pattern. It was interesting, it was lovely and she struck the perfect balance in a showstopper of a dress which didn’t overwhelm her at all.

Nominee Dern attended with her son Ellery, 13, daughter Jaya, 10, and father, Bruce, who was nominated for Best Actor for his role in Nebraska last year. Last year, Laura came out to support her dad and this year he was there for her. He sounded very proud on the red carpet when he spoke of how many Oscar nominations they had in their family. (He said they had seven, so he’s counting his ex wife, Laura’s mom Diane Ladd, in there too. Laura has two nominations, Bruce has two and Diane has three.) Laura of course lost out on the Best Actress statue to Patricia Arquette, but everyone saw that coming and she looked proud just to be there.

Also not following the trends we have Naomi Watts in Armani. From the front, I thought this dress looked cool, modern and different. I really like the beading and offset stripes on this gown, which give it a kind of snakeskin look. (We know that Watts loves snakes.) From the side, though, it cuts away to a sequin bandeau top which cheapens an otherwise high fashion avant garde gown. Also, Watts gets points taken off for not bringing Liev Schreiber. I always like to see him.

Watts was of course in Birdman, which won a bunch of awards last night including Best Director and Best Picture. I was really hoping Boyhood would win Best Picture, but Birdman was clever and had some killer performances, I’ll give it that.

Moving on to one of the ladies in pale colors we have Faith Hill in a v-neck white J. Mendel gown. I love the beading on this dress, if you look at the top of the skirt and the bottom of the sleeves there are abstract swirls which are reminiscent of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. I also like how the tiny beads kind of fade down on the skirt in lines that look like rain. That’s why I love to consider the Oscar gowns, there’s such craftsmanship, planning and thought that go into the dresses. Many of us dream of someday being able to wear something like this, if only pale imitations of these gowns. There’s no shame in delighting in beautiful fashion, and #AskHerMore seems to make it sound superficial to talk about. These gowns are works of art.

Here’s Faith’s husband, performer Tim McGraw, looking like he’s about to eat her ear.

Oscar winner Octavia Spencer was in a pale blue Tadashi Shoji boat neck gown featuring a pleated v-neck overlay and feather-like beading at the waist. Spencer was called on throughout the show as host Neil Patrick Harris kept checking in with her to see if she was keeping on an eye on a locked box on the corner of the stage, which he claimed held his Oscar predictions. It was a stupid bit that went on too long and was arguably rude to Spencer, particularly when Harris told her not to neglect her duties by snacking. (Really?) The written “predictions” turned out to be a dumb parlor trick that went on too long and referenced many of the moments of the night, only a fraction of which were interesting. The Oscars need to cut out many of the secondary awards and hire new writers, but that’s the story every year. At least we have the fashion. Don’t try to take away our fashion.

Photo credit: WENN.com

Lainey liked this dress and I didn’t, when we saw it initially, because I felt like such a bright and cheerful dress necessitates someone being bright and gregarious in it, and I felt like Rashida was so muted before she went in.

After she went in, on the other hand, she decided to con…