“Only great minds can afford a simple style.” - Stendhal

I love the Academy Awards.

No, not because of the celebration of cinema blah blah and all that boring stuff, although I WAS quite miffed that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button didn't win anything big. But I guess it's all relative to its competition ... so I guess it had to concede that may the Best Picture win, hahaha.

Anyway, the reason why I LOVE the Academy Awards ... RED CARPET FASHION!

And my all-time numero uno uber favourite is :

Kate Winslet in Atelier Yves Saint Laurent

A close second is :

Marisa Tomei in Atelier Versace

And last but not least ... although I'm not a big fan of hers, those Lorraine Schwartz emerald earrings really are a brilliant touch to an otherwise slightly blah (I hate black for these occasions, SO boring) though well designed gown :

Angelina Jolie in Elie Saab

Others of note include the gorgeous gown on Anne Hathaway which looks so much better than the severe navy blue one she wore at the Golden Globes as well as Amy Adams in Caroline Herrera with a to-die-for Fred Leighton necklace ... although the dress kinda eminds me of a female Spidey, heh.

Anne Hathaway in Giorgio Armani Prive

Amy Adams in Caroline Herrera

Amanda Seyfried also look really good with her Veronica Lake inspired blond hair and brick red Valentino dress although I don't quite like the ginormous bow ribbon on it. Also, Reem Acra seemed to be a very popular choice for the award shows of late.

The nude Elie Saab on Evan Rachel Wood should have been on someone with slightly darker skin for a contrast ... and although I like the design on Natalie Portman's dress, the bubble pink is horribly offputting. I thought Jessica Biel's Prada dress could do without the excess frontal fabric which destroyed an otherwise lovely gown. I don't know why Miley Cyrus always manages to look decades older than her actual age on the red carpet, and I REALLY preferred Melissa George's gown at the Golden Globes, sigh.

And most importantly ... where in the world was the consistently elegant and luminous Cate Blanchett???

Overall, I still think the Golden Globes was a better showing fashion-wise.

“"Style" is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma. Fashion is something that comes after style.” - John Fairchild

Wow the 2009 Golden Globes are quite something, sartorially speaking.

It was an excellent showing and an awfully difficult decision to make as to which was my favourite dress ... on the one hand I really liked Eva Mendes's white Dior dress with her turquoise necklace but it didn't fit very well on her, whereas Eva Longoria's Reem Acra fitted her like a glove and was super red hot.

Well I'm gonna have to go with my favourite colour :

Eva Longoria in Reem Acra

Eva Mendes in Dior

Looking like she's in a female version of the tuxedo, Kate Winslet manages to look elegant and dignified at the same time :

Kate Winslet in YSL

And I really like this gorgeous gown on Melissa George ... very classy :

Melissa George in Giorgio Armani Prive

Also the stylishly dependable :

Kate Beckinsale in J. Mendel

I really like it when a bit of colour other than the de rigeur black and predictable red pops up on the red carpet, so I applaud this lovely shade of blue :

January Jones in Versace

And last but not least, a gratuitous picture of the gorgeous Simon Baker: