Top 7 Best Dressed at the 2013 Oscars
This year’s Oscars have been a parade of surprises—and not in the way you’d think. From minimal color to minimal volume to minimal jewelry, the red carpet was ruled by neutrals and bare shoulders. While there were certainly a few over-the-top gowns, the fashions erred more on the side of demure femininity. Here are our top six favorite looks—and we want to hear yours too!
- Jennifer Lawrence in Dior: We’re not ranking our picks, but if we had to vote for best dressed it would go hands down to the Silver Linings Playbook star. The pale pink, delightfully poofy gown set off her pale complexion perfectly. And can we talk about the delicate jewels draped down her back? Amazing.
- Naomi Watts in Armani: This memorable sparkler definitely has the coolest neckline we’ve seen in a while. We’re thrilled that Watts wore her hair up to show off the dress’ geometric lines.
- Charlize Theron in Dior Haute Couture: This fitted white peplum stunner highlights every single one of the actress’ features, especially her supershort haircut. You are a vision, Charlize.
- Amanda Seyfried in Alexander McQueen: Halters are hard to pull off but the Les Misérables star looked radiant in her beaded number.
- Jessica Chastain in Armani Prive: Redheads take note: Nude is definitely your color. Our jaws dropped when we saw the Zero Dark Thirty star hit the red carpet. Chastain’s retro waves and red lipstick made her look like the epitome of Hollywood glamour.
- Amy Adams in Oscar de la Renta: Uhhhh. Princess gowns at the Oscars are amazing. Princess gowns made by Oscar de la Renta are even better. This powder blue frock is beyond dreamy.
- Jennifer Hudson Roberto Cavalli Couture: Sleeves, baby!The singer stunned in form-fitting navy blue, proving that you can be sexy and covered up at the same time.
—Meredith
For more Oscars fun, check out our Pinterest board with all of the evening’s looks.
We fell hard for Natalie Alcala last fall, when the LA-based writer and blogger spent a week guest blogging for us. In fact, we loved her posts so much that we asked her to be a contributing editor. In addition to blogging for us once a week, she’ll also be writing for the Birchbox Magazine and keeping us up to speed on all things fashion, beauty, and fun.
Were you surprised by the 2013 Oscar nominations? Save for a few upsets (how is Ben Affleck not nominated for Best Director?), I was pretty pleased with this list, especially since a handful of my beauty muses are in the mix. To celebrate this year’s leading ladies, here’s a roundup of their best red carpet looks of all time.
(Photo: Getty Images)
Read more
It’s always fun to see celebs go overboard for the annual Met Gala. I love all the glamour and drama — it’s an irresistible combo. This year was no exception, with many a famous face going far beyond overboard and into the realm of just plain old bad. (I refuse to name names, and since everyone has seen the pictures by now, much of it goes without saying.) Instead, I’d rather focus on the good, and the truly stellar. There were several stars that fit that bill last night. Below are my favorite hair and makeup looks from the event — who do you think were the true standouts?
Best Long and Loose: Blake Lively and Gwyneth Paltrow both wore their hair down last night in soft, cascading waves. Everything from the shine to the soft curls to the long layers is captivating and enviable. Forget Goop and Gossip Girl, these two leading ladies should start a haircare line. It would sell through the roof.
Best Use of Color: Makeup is meant to be fun, so it’s great to see actresses experimenting vibrant colors. Ginnifer Goodwin single-handedly has me rethinking blue shadow—her eyes look incredible!—and Emma Stone reaffirms my obsession with fuchsia lipstick.
Best Updos: Updos on a major red carpet are a dime a dozen, but Ashley Greene and Amy Adams really stood out. Greene’s low-slung side bun is incredibly elegant and Adams’ forehead-skimming braid has me itching to experiment with romantic plaits.
Best Hollywood Retro Look: Leave it to A-lister Diane Kruger to perfectly pull-off Old Hollywood Glamour, from her sculpted tendrils to her bright red pucker. Up-and-comer Emma Roberts also sported the same retro hair, but chose to pair it with more natural makeup for a younger, sweeter look.
Best Short Hair: Brooklyn Decker’s lob (a.k.a. long bob) has been a recent obsession of mine, and could she have picked a better dress to highlight her new cut? (The answer, in case you were wondering, is no.) Even though Decker is still my hair crush of the moment, I give major props to Michelle Williams who yet again rocked a super-pretty pixie—that style soooo does not work on everyone.
—Meredith
If you’re in the mood to glam up your look, check out the Birchbox Shop for a well-curated selection of makeup and haircare.
Photo: Just Jared
Is it us or was last night’s show a snooze? Really, between James Franco’s dazed countenance (what on earth is he on?) and the lack of drama, we were almost wishing Kanye would show up to shake things up. As for the fashion, there were some definite wins (and fails), but all in all, it was a pretty low energy lot. Here, our completely subjective picks and pans:
Misplaced Accessories: A tie. First, there was Amy Adams, whose ’90s-style lariat necklace marred an otherwise inoffensive Starry Night-inspired dress. And then Gwyneth Paltrow, who looked positively stunning (is that what a vegan diet does for you?) and toned in a molten metallic Calvin Klein dress—except for that strange brooch anchoring her hip. Minus that, she was a major win.
Role Model: We know, we’re like Helen Mirren fan girls over here. But really, she is just an absolute stunner—and endlessly classy. We could all take a few lessons from her.
Lessons in Lace: Scarlett Johansson’s boho waves and simple makeup looked dreamy, but her eggplant Dolce & Gabbana lace dress reminded us too much of grandma’s curtains. Mila Kunis, on the other hand, was spot on in her frothy Elie Saab number. The lavender worked perfectly against her skin tone, and the peekaboo aspect of the lace kept it from being too froufrou.
Age Approps: True Grit star Hailee Steinfeld looked like a darling princess in her nude Marchesa gown, and held her own on the red carpet. We’re predicting big things from this mega-talented 14-year-old (here’s hoping she stars in the upcoming Hunger Games adaptation!).
A+ for Effort: Co-host Anne Hathaway clocked in a whopping eight costume changes — no small feat, considering the majority of the dresses were impressively form-fitting. What does it say about her choices that our favorite was her adorable tuxedo?
Try on your own party makeup with our guide.
Shop our favorite highlighters, glosses, and blushes.
