Oscar Dresses 2010: The Standouts

Vera Farmiga has landed herself on several worst dressed lists for this Marchesa ruffle tribute. I find it troublesome that fashion journalists have become so lazy that the write up any interesting dress as bad and any "Old Hollywood Glam" dress as good. This has created a sea of boring dresses on the red carpet. Vera earns a best dressed award from FMF for being interesting and colorful and for not caring what list she ends up on.

We see lots of pretty dresses on the Red Carpet. It can be difficult for stars to stand out in a good way and not get ridiculed for an interesting choice. This is why I'm shocked more stylists don't put their stars in print gowns. Rachel McAdams stunned in this Elie Saab Couture gown. The classic shape balanced out the watercolor print and interesting hem. More prints in the future please.

Sarah Jessica Parker is the kind of style star that can wear almost anything she wants, which is why it irks me that people complain so much about her choices. No, this gown did not create an hour glass figure. No, this gown is not classic Hollywood. But this Chanel Couture Gown is interesting. She wore it well. She has the kind of tiny figure that works with unique shapes. Brava for wearing something unique.

Gabourey Sidibe glowed the entire night at the Oscars. She also allowed Marchesa to show its true design chops. Every time I see a Project Runway contestant complain about dressing a non-sample-sized model I throw popcorn at the screen and yell, "If you can't dress her, you're not a real designer." This gown was perfect for Gabourey. It was fun, bright, and fit like a dream.

Molly Ringwald made a surprising return to the red carpet in this Todd Thomas royal purple dress and stunning jewelry. I hadn't expected to see you and was very pleased with her overall look including her stunning hair. She's grown up to look pretty in more than just pink.

Jael Paris talks about why she didn't pick that dress for Zoe Saldana:
My goal with "Dress the Nominee" isn't to guess what people will wear or even imagine how I would get them on the so-called best dressed list. (Most of my picks, no doubt, would get them on the other list.) Rather, my goal is to put each person in something more memorable than the standard Grecian column dress or old Hollywood glam gown while still picking something that would suit her personality and style proclivities.

I saved one dress from Givenchy's haute couture show, a multi-tone, many textured purple gown with ruffles so tight on the skirt they looked like shower loofahs. Gorgeous color. Sexy yet classy cut. Beyond over-the-top. I couldn't figure out if Zoe Saldana, with her usual taste leaning toward classic with a slight quirk, would really wear a purple loofah dress. After looking through various red carpet photos, I noticed she almost never wore something truly odd unless it was a neutral color. So I settled on one retro frock in ocher and a modern one in white, determined to dress someone in that gown for the Emmys. Was I ever thrilled to see it on my television set Sunday night.

Rate this and other Red Carpet choices here.