Oscars best and worst dressed- Expert panel weighs in

02/27/2011 by Carollyn Nguyen

Some hot fashion trends at the 83rd Academy Awards included shimmering gowns and one-shoulder dresses. Several celebrities hit the mark, while others fell short. On The Red Carpet's fashion expert panel, which included Randolph Duke, Roshumba Williams, Mondo Guerra and Michelle Tuzee, weighed in on this year's fashion hits, risks and misses.

Related News

Photos:

Kim Kardashian, 15 Fun Facts

Stories:

Best dressed:

For best dressed, fashion designer and expert Randolph Duke chose actress Hilary Swank, who wore a silver, strapless Gucci gown.

"It's just that moment, when you look at it, and it's like the moment you will remember- kind of the shining moment of the night. For me, it epitomized everything that a movie star looks like- light as a feather, shining like a goddess, timeless, elegant," he said. "I just think she was polished and perfect."

Model and actress Roshumba Williams' pick was Amy Adams, who sparkled in a blue L'Wren Scott dress. Williams said the color of the dress complemented Adams' red hair.

"You can tell that she thought about this look, from the hair to the emeralds to that beautiful L'Wren Scott dress, the navy- it just was so beautiful. She looked like a star on the rise," said Williams. "You can tell she is plotting her way through Hollywood. She's planning to be around for a very long time."

Mondo Guerra's pick for best dressed was Hailee Steinfeld, who shined in a light pink, tea-length Marchesa dress.

"My Belle of the ball was actually a princess. My favorite goes to Hailee Steinfeld. It was so cute. She looks so proper for what she's doing. That tea length was just perfect for her. It wasn't too young. Through the whole awards season, she really hit it on the head."

According to OnTheRedCarpet.com's poll, viewers voted Mila Kunis as best dressed. The "Black Swan" actress wore a low-cut, lavender Elie Saab gown.

Fashion misses:

One of the top fashion misses for the experts was Melissa Leo's Marc Bouwer gown.

"I know you were a big winner tonight, Melissa Leo, but what were you thinking?" asked Duke. "The shoulders out to here, the collar out to here, the tin foil lining- this was "Star Wars" on acid. All you needed was a samurai sword."

Guerra agreed, saying, "For me, it was just a marriage of two bad dresses. She couldn't decide if she wanted to wear one bad dress, so she wore two."

Duke also didn't like Jennifer Lawrence's red Calvin Klein dress, saying it was too casual and "just too much for the beach."

Williams chose Cate Blanchett as her worst dressed celebrity. "I just didn't get it. There were too many elements together. It was geometric, futuristic and it was flowing," she said.

Another celeb who didn't make the experts' favorite list was Helena Bonham Carter, who Guerra said "always pulls something wacky out of her closet."

Red carpet risks:

Some celebrities took risks that weren't necessarily good or bad, so they fell under the experts' "Red Carpet Risks" category.

Guerra called Cate Blanchett's Givenchy dress "unexpected."

"It's one of my favorite looks of the evening. It's so unexpected. The beading work is amazing, just the structure of the dress is beautiful."

Duke said actress Marisa Tomei took a risk with her deep blue vintage dress.

"It is a risk because it's a very vintage look. And it's a lot of dress to wear. She pulled it off. It's Charles James from the 1950s," said Duke. "I thought it was a stunning risk, and it paid off."

Williams said Jackie Weaver's gown was finally something "Academy Award-acceptable, because she's been pulling things out of her closet up until now."