Last night’s Oscars were a study in not preemptively falling asleep and/or not throwing crap at the TV screen for all the cheap-shot jokes, but at least we had the spectacle of gowns and tuxes, sparkles and luxe fabrics, to distract us from the absolute shitshow. Providing some small consolation for having spent several hours of our lives on this broadcast was the promise that there would be afterparties, and attendees (or not attendees!) would change into different gowns to further dazzle our faces off with the luxury. Let’s assess.
Lisa Bonet brought daughter Zoë Kravitz as her date to the Vanity Fair shindig, and wow, what a study in gorgeous boho formalwear. Bonet is the bird of your dreams with ostrich feather epaulettes and fringe to fly when she’s whirling around on the dancefloor, while Kravitz’s glittery crocheted gown is like, contemporary hippie black-tie beach bonfire (Balenciaga). Bless them both, amen.
Not gonna lie, been lightweight hoping/waiting for the cutout dress thing to die a quick and painless death, but these looks on Toni Braxton and Gigi Hadid are making me reconsider. A lot of times, cut-outs look really mall to me, even on the red carpet; not so here, where Braxton’s peepholes break up/even out the blinding glitter of her Shady Zeineldine gown, and Hadid’s swirly velvet snakes give a contemporary art quality to basic black, and also no doubt make her/us appreciate the utility of double-sided tape.
Would that we could bottle the luminescence of Lupita Nyong’o? For the afters, she shed her stunning pearl Calvin Klein from the ceremony and wore a less fussy party interpretation of the theme, glowing like luminarias in the night. Rashida Jones‘ poppy gown from Andrew Gn seems like it was made purely with her in mind—her personal style is a little bit vintage and very feminine, so an almost-neon floral formal jammer is perfect.
Post-“Runaway” video it’s hard to shake the vision of Selita Ebanks as elegant fowl, but here she gives more ballerina than bird, and shows up in a legit party dress—a super fun, party-appropriate look that’s one of the rare leg-flossing looks we saw last night. Solange Knowles was going full court press for the mock turtleneck last night—her ceremony look had the same—but with the beadwork it’s just totally stunning. People would no doubt riot if a Mahogany remake was even suggested, but should it happen eventually, Solange should be up for the lead, aesthetically anyway.
Will never not be excited to see this style from Spring 2015 Dolce & Gabbana put to good use, hence this Emily Mortimer look (with husband Alessandro Nivola). I would have wanted an updo and more dramatic shoes, but the thrill of that dress is almost enough. Keke Palmer has just been murking out every red carpet as of late, and this is no exception: sleek and elegant, but she projects a palpable sense of power that’s just riveting.
Speaking of power! Monica Lewinsky in a boss red that is conservative but ensures she won’t go unnoticed. Thandie Newton went for power shoulders, was not obvious in her choice of gown, did the damn thing.
Everyone, I present to you the goddess Joan Collins, wearing the platonic ideal of what Joan Collins would wear to an Oscars after. Hallelu, hallelu.
Never thought I’d say this in life’s entire but I am somewhat bored by these basic black/navy looks? Courtney Love seems to be taking her Elle Dallas character from Empire a little too seriously, giving a very ’70s keyhole neckline and tiered peplum that seems off-brand for the rock diva. This was 20 years ago, same party, and I miss it (sartorially; not the horse). Mindy Kaling usually goes for bright hues so I get wanting to switch it up on Your Big Day, but even though it fits her well and gives her a Bangin’ Boobline, it’s a little safe. Also coming terms to the fact that Karlie Kloss‘s off-duty looks are just… not my faves. This dress is fine.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
