In Black and White on the Red Carpet

Miss Sandra Bullock on the red carpet at the 2012 Academy Awards.
I didn't think the Oscar program was half-bad last night – what did you think? It seemed cleaned up and spiffed up, not so cheesy. And the Cirque de Soleil performance was truly breathtaking. Part of the fun of the Oscars of course is the fashion parade on the red carpet, and my favorite was Sandra Bullock in Marchesa, though the girls in my office were giving me a hard time about this today. Still, I thought she and the dress were beautiful, and I was tired of the pretty strapless gowns that look the same.
Here is another shot at the Vanity Fair party.

I like the dress because of its simplicity – it almost looks like a white tee shirt and and black skirt – but of course it's a very structured and expensive gown with ornate silver beading at the waist and a back that is actually...backless. She wore her hair in a sleek ponytail which complemented the clean, modern look of the dress. I thought it had a lot of style.
She seems like a fun girl, Sandra Bullock – America's sweetheart. And we know about the rough time she had with her ex-husband after she herself won an Oscar. On the red carpet before the ceremony last night Sandra talked to an ABC newscaster who had such a thick British accent that Nick Nolte could not understand a word she said to him. Sandra said, "I'm having a good time tonight. It's called sexy time. We're having sexy time tonight. Everything we're doing is going to be sexy."
Here she is pictured after the ceremony later inside the Vanity Fair party with Chris Evans

who is Captain America.

Hope she had fun!
But I digress.
A lot of people named Gwyneth Paltrow in Tom Ford as their favorite best-dressed star.

She certainly did look strikingly, timelessly beautiful in the white gown and cape, kind of like Katherine Hepburn in Hollywood, no? Gwyneth's hair was also pulled back in a ponytail. The look was so very simple though, almost monastic. I would have liked perhaps to see her golden hair flying around, or some diamond chandelier earrings to dazzle the eye. What can I say, I'm like a magpie that is attracted to shine. But obviously, Gwnyeth wanted to look unadorned, and that's what personal style is about.
In general, one yearns to see more personal style on the red carpet, and not another strapless dress. Maria Tomei wore one of my favorite red carpet outfits at the Golden Globes a few years ago. The white blouse and black skirt by Oscar de la Renta echo Sandra Bullock's color scheme. This outfit is elegant and sophisticated but relaxed and easy at the same time, and that to me is chic.

It's like when Sharon Stone wore to the Oscars in 1998 a lavender silk skirt by Vera Wang topped off by a white oxford cloth shirt from the Gap out of her husband's closet. It takes a lot of style and confidence to pull of something like that, but that mix of refined luxury and casual nonchalance is to me very American.
(photos from Vanityfair.com and Us.com)