The Oscars is unquestionably the biggest red carpet event of the entire year. With that in mind, it is arguably one of the most stressful award ceremonies for which to pick your outfit: it needs to be chic, stylish, stand-out and meet a certain level of class. Due to this, a lot of people seem to get overwhelmed before the big night resulting in a ridiculous number of blasé, yawn-inducing ensembles… Remember Anne Hathaway’s 2013 Oscar dress? Exactly. This year, the boring basics followed its usual trend with actors such as Jessica Chastain choosing extremely mundane looks. Thankfully, we always have those who try to push the envelope, thus ending on either end of the spectrum. So, to start things off, I’m going to being with my worst dressed attendees of the 87th Annual Oscars Ceremony.
Blanca Blanco:
I didn’t know who Blanca Blanco was until last night and my God do I wish I still didn’t know who she is now. What a horribly hideous dress this is. Usually one wears their hair up to let the dress do the talking, but in this case this dress needs to shut up. My only honest criticism is why didn’t somebody help her out by burning it before she put it on?
Gwyneth Paltrow in Ralph & Russo Couture:
What was Gwyneth thinking with this? I usually adore Ralph & Russo and as they are a very chic, elegant brand they would be a good choice for a ceremony such as the Oscars. This does not mean that they don’t make mistakes however, with this dress being one of them. The base of the dress is ugly in itself, but the addition of that flimsy rose shoulder detail is just horrendous. If you’re going to go for a boring silhouette with extremely unimaginative design then please Gwyneth, just leave it at that. Adding bells and whistles only makes the dress even worse.
Rachael Harris:
Is there any real excuse for this? I don’t think so! Get some God damn contacts Rachael and if not, at least buy a stylish pairs of specs like Meryl…
Diane Warren:
Last night being her seventh Oscar nomination, Diane Warren is clearly an immense talent. It’s just a pity that the same can’t be said for her stylist… The hair is what really kills me.
Will.i.am:
Bringing some men into the fold, last night was not a shining moment for the male Hollywood scene. Will.i.am is clear proof of that in this train-driver meets baseball team look. You’re at a black tie, red carpet event Will, throwing on a blazer does not take your look from music awards to classy. Give it up!
Chrissy Teigen in Zuhair Murad:
Another person who clearly thought that they were going to the Grammys is Chrissy Teigen. She undoubtedly looks gorgeous and the colour is perfect for spring, but she is showing off way too much skin for the Oscars. What I’m trying to say is, put the leg away,you’re not shooting for Sports Illustrated tonight…!
Nicole Kidman in Louis Vuitton:
I am so disappointed in Nicole Kidman’s Oscars dress. When the words Nicole Kidman and red carpet come to mind it’s automatically an exciting mix and something which I usually can’t wait for. At this year’s Oscars however, I was extremely let down. The dress, the hair, the make-up, the bag, the accessories – everything is so dull, so tedious and so tiresome. Where is the spark and where is the flare of style? I certainly can’t see them. Teamed up with her husband’s girly locks, they add up to my worst dressed couple of the 2015 Oscars ceremony!
Jared Leto in Givenchy with a Fred Leighton brooch and a Cartier watch:
Many people out there seemed to love this look, but I for one hated it. Firstly, we have the powder blue colour which might be in season right now, but doesn’t do it for me here. I also dislike the shirt. I think that the suit jacket and closed up shirt matched with his Jesus-style hair and full beard leads to a whole lot of problems. Basically, it completely swallows him, and suffocates his upper body – he has no neck in this whatsoever and it makes his upper half look squat. Finally, the biggest crime here is his shoes. The combination of the short pant and those optic white shoes is a catastrophe. All in all, it’s not going to go down in the hall of fame as one of the worst Oscar looks, but I am extremely disappointed in Jared.
Ansel Elgort in Prada:
Another man who failed to impress me was Ansel Egort and here’s why: I know that Ansel is young and that I always preach about dressing for your age, but in my opinion Ansel needs to grow up a little in his style. He is only 20, but he is still a man whereas here he looks like a little boy. The tux is not tailored properly to his body, his dickie bow is crooked and he’s still sporting a 15 year old boy haircut. I get that his fan base is quite young, but if Ansel wants to start getting some more mature, adult roles then he needs to begin by showing that he can look like one in person. Ansel, your first step is to ditch the oversized suit and get a fresh new haircut, I promise you that it will do you wonders!
Margot Robbie in Saint Laurent with Van Cleef & Arpels jewels:
This is a look that I have seen some bloggers rave about, but for me it does the exact opposite of Ansel’s look above. This is so ageing on the star. Let’s all remember that Margot is only 24. This dress could be easily be seen on someone 15 years older than her and still been seen as a bit mature. The only youthful part of it is the low cut in the front, but even that is ruined by the chain which also reads old to me. Perhaps if she had done a twist on the Jennifer Aniston chest-chain which Jen has been sporting recently it would have added some much need youth into the equation? I get that Margot is trying to become a style icon, but this heavy black gown is not the way to get there.
Karolina Kurkova in Marchesa:
Gwyneth Paltrow 2.0, Karolina dons another tight, wrinkly pale pink gown which misses the mark. Let’s face it, this dress is as bland as a tray of hospital food. The dress is boring, her hair is boring and her make-up is boring. To add to the casualties, the fabric is wrinkly, it puckers in places and her toes sneaking out at the bottom are really creepy. This dress is one for the bin.
Felicity Jones in Alexander McQueen:
I am so disappointed in this look. In fact, I have been hugely disappointed in Felicity’s overall style for the red carpet season. An undoubted talent, Felicity finally had her break-out role this year and this was her time to seize her moment. Instead however, she has faded into the background of every carpet that she has walked thus far. On top of that, the bottom part of the dress is hideous. I almost wish that she wore her Vanity Fair afterparty dress to the actual event, it had much more drama and was actually something interesting – I think that it would have been a far better choice:
Rita Ora in Marchesa:
This isn’t the worst dress of the night, but there is also nothing that I like about it. The gold appliqué doesn’t do anything for me and without it the dress is yawn-inducing. Another bore.
Lorelei Linklater in Gabriela Cadena:
Saving you one of the worst for last, Lorelei Linklater sunk her Oscars red carpet debut. The mash-up of three different dresses into one is just not a good idea and what’s even worse is that, I wouldn’t have liked one of those dresses even by themselves! Tragic.
That’s it for my worst of the night (thank God), but have a look at some of my not quite there looks below:
Looks Which Failed To Hit The Nail On The Head:
Julianne Moore in Custom Chanel:
This is so difficult for me. I love Julianne and I love her style, I just don’t love this dress. Honestly, I don’t think that the background helps as it denies her body definition, but the nail in the coffin for this look is the band of embellishment below her waist. Do yourself a favour and just pace your thumb over the middle embellishment on the screen… infinitely better!
Josh Hutcherson in Ermenegildo Zegna Couture with Christian Louboutin shoes:
Josh naturally has a somewhat squat physique. What I think would have helped him to make the best of his body would be if he pulled in both his sleeves and pants just that little bit more. If both were a slight bit tighter and the pants were a little shorter then I think that he would look a lot better on the carpet. I do like that he went for a classic look however.
Anna Faris in Zuhair Murad Couture with Judith Leiber clutch:
OK, so this look was never going to be a best dressed winner, but I do genuinely think that if Anna had slicked her hair back into a simple up-do that it could be really pretty. It is a beautiful dress, I just think that if she slicked back her hair and deleted some of the train it would elevate the look to a whole new level.
Jennifer Lopez in Elie Saab with Neil Lane jewels:
Another princess gown which hit the carpet. This dress is beautiful. It has whimsy, it has elegance and I love the nude tone with Jennifer’s skin. What I don’t love is the deep plunging neckline. We get it, you’re gorgeous and you have great boobs, we don’t need to see them at every red carpet. Personally, I just think that if you’re going to put in the effort to finally wear some clothes and go for a full ballgown look, then you need to commit, not be half slutty, half princess. Also, it’s not like she was planning on being demure later in the night, she wore a completely sheer Zuhair Murad to the afterparty! Just once, try and keep the girls tucked away a bit Jen.
Emma Stone in Elie Saab with Christian Louboutin shoes and Tiffany & Co. jewels:
This is another look which is tough for me. Emma is one of my ultimate style crushes and she definitely looks beautiful. What I’m not sure about here though is the colour. Normally Emma’s porcelain skin can pull off even the more daring of colours, but this one just doesn’t sit right. I think that maybe if the colour was stronger it would be nicer? It’s just a bit too similar to her own tone for me and because of that it doesn’t work. Also, it may be sacrilege to say this about Louboutins, but I hate the shoes.
Jamie Chung in Yanina Couture:
This dress shows promise, but also has some issues. The first is that the bottom half is too full. I think that if she took off one layer of mesh or just lowered the volume of the final layer then it would be much more effortless. Also, the pattern is a bit too literal ‘4th of July’ for me. The little firework explosions are all a bit carnival. I do think that the top half of the dress is gorgeous on her though and is something unique which could definitely work in a different context.
Marion Cotillard in Dior Couture:
Another ‘close, but no cigar’ ensemble. This is fresh, different and something which nobody else could have pulled off. What’s in question here is: did Marion actually pull it off? Although interesting, I think that the back might be a bit too odd and as it was in the same colour as the front, when you looked at her straight on she had no shape. One thing that is so important on the red carpet is highlighting your body and that’s something which Marion did not quite manage, thus hers is an iffy look for me.
So there you have all of my commentary for the worst and oh so close looks of the 2015 Oscars Red Carpet! Please let me know if you agree or disagree by liking, commenting on or sharing the post and make sure to keep your eye on my facebook and twitter for updates on my Best Dressed which WILL be up later this evening.
Thanks for reading guys.
Author: Pádraig Power.
Photos from: huffingtonpost.com
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