High Notes

Lea Michele of Glee looked stunning in a shimmering white Oscar de la Renta gown, belted in gold at the waist. The best part of her look was her bed-head Goldie-Hawn-esque hair.  Very sex kitten. Lea’s cast mate, Heather Morris, looked sweet and innocent in a nude Romona Keveza princess-styled dress with jeweled accents on the bodice and a jeweled belt. Fellow Glee cast mate Jenna Ushkowitz opted for a gold-toned mermaid-shaped Badgley Mischa dress and rocked out her curves. The vertical ruffles were a little junior, but it was wonderful to see her out of character and in something with some sex appeal. Diana Agron (swoon) in a belted navy and black couture Chanel tea-length dress looked exquisite.  She is way hotter in real life than she is on the show – that cheerleader outfit does not do her justice. Amber Riley looked hip in an Old Hollywood throwback Anne Barge gown.

The women of Black Swan also didn't disappoint. Natalie Portman, proudly displaying her baby bump, was wearing an ivory Azzaro gown with jeweled embellishments at the collar. She doesn’t get a full 10 from me – her hair was gelled and stiff and with her high hairline she needs softness around her face. Her co-star, newly single Mila Kunis, outdid her with flowing locks and a flowing red and black Alexander McQueen gown.  Despite her recent weight loss and gain, her figure still is amazing and she reigned it in with – what else – a belt.  

Julie Bowen, of Modern Family, was my favorite look of the night. She took a huge risk in a black Malandrino jumpsuit and it paid off. The naysayers need to leave this woman alone and the heat she is taking for this outfit is decidedly undeserved. With sparkling embellishments at the neck and a deep "V" (for va-va-voom) to show off her décolletage, she looked smoking hot. And come on, who doesn’t love a disco diva?  Her Modern Family co-star, Sofia Vergara, looked ridiculously sexy in a cobalt-blue Roberto Cavalli gown, but really, with those breasts, could she ever look bad? 

Other women of note: Hilary Swank’s nude, one-shouldered Versace gown and loose curls gets five stars.  Claire Danes needed a blotting sheet or some pressed powder, but in a sweeping green Louis Vuitton gown covered in hand-stitched silk flower appliqués she looked lovely. Her 11-karat diamond earrings certainly lended her a bit of je nais-se-qua. Presenter Rosario Dawson looked ready for spring in a lemony J. Mendel gown and bright green earrings. Tina Fey would have us forget that she is a hot mom, but she let the cat out of the bag last night a floral red Oscar de la Renta. 

Low Notes

Angie Harmon, in a sad case of a bad marriage, tops my worst-dressed list. Here, a beautiful woman plus a beautiful dress did not make beautiful music. Her Monique Lhuillier gown was soft and light but with her angular frame and surfer tan she needed a more sportswear-inspired dress. The low ponytail didn’t help her case, either. She should have swapped dresses with Winter's Bone actress Jennifer Lawrence whose magenta and velvety black Oscar de la Renta gown clashed terribly with her complexion. (Angie most definitely would have pulled off the hot pink.) 

January Jones of Madmen sported Carolina Herrera – badly. The gold lace of her dress competed with, instead of complimented, her blonde hair. Christina Hendricks, also of Madmen, tried to go old school in L'Wren Scott and failed out of class. Gunmetal gray didn't suit her and the slit in the front of the dress made her calves look wide. Amy Adams also bombed – her white ruched Herve Leroux column gown looked like an elastic rubber band noose and her slicked back hair did her no favors. 

Kim Kardashian pulled a Li’l Kim with one bedazzled boob in an eggplant purple Marchesa gown. Winona Ryder (what was she doing there again?) looked like a bride about to run screaming from a church in white Alberta Ferretti. Quite a fuss was made over Eva Longoria’s Georges Hobeika couture gown, but it looked like she wounded her left breast on the way to the show and just wore bandages to the awards show.

All in all, it was a great night for fashion – and, let's be honest – a great dress rehearsal for the Academy Awards.