Red Carpet Lineup Time as we struggle to wrap up Oscar night! It's time to say goodbye to the Supporting Actress Class of 2014 and it occurs to me that though I know you favored Arquette to a very wide margin in the race, I have no idea who y'all think was best dressed of this annual rotating quintet? So please do vote!
NATHANIEL: In the meantime please welcome back our LA beauties Margaret and Anne Marie to the fashion panel. In the spirit of the times, when red carpet press have been encouraged to #AskHerMore, let's do that. We've never cared "who" people are wearing anyway... just that they're giving us glamour for our favorite International Holiday, Oscar Night. What questions immediately come to mind when you see this lineup?
MARGARET: What I'm desperate to know is, who are these ladies going to work with next? With perhaps the exception of California-law-mandated nominee Meryl Streep, they all have fresh momentum that should give them their pick of projects..
ANNE MARIE: Maybe they can all work in a movie together. They certainly make a great lineup standing next to each other.
NATHANIEL: Actresses are not allowed to work together! They must choose which man they'd like to mother, inspire or longsuffer for.
MARGARET: In my very vivid head-world where I am a massively wealthy movie producer, I would definitely finance the heck out of some Empire-style movie about which ambitious and capable protege of Meryl's should take up the torch of some high-powered business.
NATHANIEL: I think it wisest we keep Laura Dern away from big corporations.
But I'd like to think Patricia Arquette would be up for the job. This is the most old Hollywood glam she's looked all season but it also screams ALL BUSINESS. And Patty was telling it like it is on Oscar night so I'm happy to see the fierce side.
MARGARET: I'd go so far as to say that all five of these nominees pulled off season-best looks on Oscar night. I confess that I was hoping for something rather more kooky from Miss Stone, but she is killing in that Elie Saab and her orange-red lippy is excquisitely paired with it.
ANNE MARIE: I love the back of Emma Stone's dress. I was occasionally terrified she'd pop out of it, but as a bonus she ended up matching her new Lego Oscar!
NATHANIEL: I'm glad you brought that up because I wanted to do a huge post on how brilliant those LEGO Oscars were as both marketing and middle finger and visual takeaway (basically MVP of the night) but as y'all know I'm super sick right now and barely making it through each day's Oscar wrap posts. Soooo in the spirit of needing comfort I just want to say I love love love Keira Knightley's soft romanticism here with its scribbled eccentricities.
MARGARET: A nice sort of conceptual counterpoint for La Dern's chainmail-esque look.
ANNE MARIE: Laura Dern is going to conquer dragons in that dress. And I am here for that.
MARGARET: I'll add that to my eccentric-producer vision board!
NATHANIEL: Game of Oscar Thrones.
ANNE MARIE: In the Game of Oscars, you win, or you take home a $120,000 gift bag.
VIOLAAAA, ScarJo, Lupita, Jes, Daughter Of Melanie
MARGARET: I know what Anne Marie is thinking...
ANNE MARIE & MARGARET: [in unison] VIOLAAAAAAA
NATHANIEL: I run out of things to say about her after joining in the chant. But like what I really want to know is is Lupita secretly an evil genius who is out to make everyone forget about the actual nominees and just think of this as the Annual Lupita Nyong'o Variety Hour(s).
MARGARET: She has really cast a spell upon the viewing public. And that pearl-scupture dress is a major wow.
ANNE MARIE: I'd be lying if I said Lupita wasn't a major draw for me to watch this year. She continues to pull off these amazing dresses that I don't think anyone else could do with half so much panache.
MARGARET: Am I the only one reminded a bit by the pearl ensemble of Josephine Baker?
ANNE MARIE: YES! Campaign for Lupita to play Josephine Baker in 2016. When I finally turn my eye to the rest of the ladies who aren't Lupita or Viola, it's nice to see some ladies bringing a bright palette back to the red carpet. This Oscars largely shied away from color (and after I worked so hard on Rainbow Red Carpet, too).
NATHANIEL: The Best Actress lineup gave a whole new meaning to #OscarsSoWhite but we'll get to them tomorrow.
MARGARET: 2014 MVP Scarlett Johnansson and basically-every-year MVP Jessica Chastain blessed us with some serious jewel tones.
NATHANIEL: These looks are a bit severe in some ways for me - I don't understand the wideness of the two strap look on Jes. ScarJo is terrifying here. She's like 'Tread Carefully!' And yet John Travolta still managed to get too close to her (sigh). I included Dakota Johnson not because I'm a fan but because I love simplicity that still really pops and I think the silver ropey shoulder thing is a the slightest hint of 'tie me up, baby'. Which in turn makes me think Dakota was purposefully slyly reminding everyone that she just headlined a massive hit so they better remember her name.
MARGARET: Smart choice, and she looks great! I'm afraid though that after Sunday night I will never be able to unsee that Dakota and Richard Linklater have the exact same bangs.
ANNE MARIE & NATHANIEL [In unison] Great. Now (we) can't unsee that either.
MARGARET: I didn't want to suffer alone!