81st Academy Awards: Favorites in Fashion & Beauty

Natalie Portman


The 81st Academy Awards, or Oscar ceremony as they are known, boasted old hollywood glamour and goddess beauty. Even the format of the show was sweetly reminiscent of years gone by. Hugh Jackman hosted and shared his stage presence engaging in many song and dance diddies, drawing in the stars and viewing audience.

I'm not going to go into an elaborate recapping of the event as many of my blogging bellas (and beaux) have featured a wonderful variety of showcasing, beauty recaps and highlights already. See my blogroll for fantastic blogs full of Oscar coverage.

So here, I'd just like to give you a few tidbits of those I enjoyed most last evening.

Alicia Keys - in a strapless, orchid Armani Privé gown with Fred Leighton jewels and a Zufi Alexander clutch; I thought her makeup was too much, too harsh against the softness of the dress, but the gown itself was exquisite.

Amanda Seyfried - wore her shiny blonde locks down and wavy, reminiscent of Old Hollywood beauty Veronica Lake. She rocked a Valentino gown in the designer's signature tomato red shade. Amanda wore a nineteenth-century diamond flower necklace and nineteenth-century old mine-cut diamond stud earrings from Fred Leighton.

Angelia Jolie - the brunette stunner opted for a half-updo with cascading curls in the back that highlighted her bold emerald Lorraine Schwartz drop earrings (omg those earings were to die for!). Hair was styled by David Babaii using his line of products. Jolie drew all eyes in an Elie Saab gown with a low-dipping bodice.

Anne Hathaway - selected an Armani Privé design, accented with champagne-hued paillettes and Swarovski crystals. Anne wore Cartier white-gold and diamond teardrop swirl earrings, platinum and diamond pavé ring, platinum and princess-cut diamond ring with pavé detail, and vintage platinum and diamond bracelet. Yum!

Evan Rachel Wood - highlighted her porcelain complexion with an ivory gown from Elie Saab Haute Couture wearing Neil Lane jewels. She looked gorgeous!

Heidi Klum - bared a solo stem in a red, custom design from RM by Roland Mouret and diamond and coral earrings, bracelets, and rings from Lorraine Schwartz. Oddly, this was one of my favorite dresses of the evening. I'm not usually much on Heidi's fashions for these events, but she looked fabulous here.

Jennifer Aniston - looked stunning in her strapless Valentino Couture gown, with Bulgari jewels. The delicate braid along Jenn's hairline added a playful element to fabulously healthy, shiny, famous hair.

Jessica Biel - wrapped her curves in a platinum Prada column gown enhanced with Louis Vuitton jewels and a Prada clutch. Her half up, half down hair played off the femininity of the outfit beautifully.

Kate Winslet - looked lovely in her embroidered one-shoulder design from Yves Saint Laurent highlighted by Chopard jewels. Stylist Renato Campora's inspiration was Grace Kelly: "I wanted it to be elegant, classy and work with her Yves Saint Laurent dress," says Campora. To get the faux bob style, he rolled the hair under and secured it with an extra-long bobby pin and plenty of Fekkai hairspray.

Marion Cotillard - in Christian Dior Haute Couture. Marion wore Chopard's blue sapphire sautoir necklace and blue sapphire ring with an emerald cabochon. Ah, simply beautiful!

Marisa Tomei - did not shy away from sartorial drama; the second-time nominee selected a sweeping, single-strap design from Atelier Versace, with Van Cleef & Arpels jewels. Frederic Fekkai hairstylist Adir Abergel wanted Tomei's hair to complement the movement of her origami-like dress, but with added softness. He pinned her hair to the side with clips to see how it looked, and then committed to the style by removing the clips and securing with bobby pins.

Natalie Portman - in another of my three favorites of the evening, Natalie wore an intricately draped Rodarte design that played up her golden skin. She enhanced her gown with Kwiat's vintage diamond studs, Deco diamond cuff, and stackable diamond rings.

Nicole Kidman - in a gorgeous cream colored L'Wren Scott dress. The look here is all about glamorizing the bob. David Babaii used his line of haircare products to produce the look.

Penelope Cruz - wore a vintage Balmain gown with bridal appeal. Chopard jewels and a Leiber clutch finished the look.

Taraji P. Henson - simmered in a layered buttercream confection from Roberto Cavalli. Henson wore a nineteenth-century diamond flower necklace, old mine-cut diamond pendant earrings, and a nineteenth-century pink topaz and diamond ring, all from Fred Leighton.

source/photos: InStyle, style.com