Did you see what she was wearing? Oscar fashion faux-pas

Post-Oscar water cooler talk – or wherever you gather with like-minded co-workers to sift over the weekend’s pop culture debris – usually touches on two topics: the winners on the podium and the losers on the red carpet. Gossiping about the biggest fashion missteps is as good an excuse as any to indulge your inner Heather and the world’s biggest awards show never disappoints when it comes to frightful frocks, ill-advised hats or a grown woman wearing dancing apparel.

Here is a hand-picked selection of the biggest Oscar fashion faux-pas from the past 20 years.

1987

Cher’s Bob Mackie creation had a distinct Priscilla Queen of the Desert-meets-Vegas-showgirl vibe and even with a body that defies age, it’s mostly a bad thing. A gargantuan, feathered head-piece, a bare midriff, and a half-top that bears a spider web pattern do not an Oscar gown make. On her award-winning night – she picked up Best Actress honours for her work in Moonstruck– she should have taken a cue from her modest on-screen character Loretta, since a more toned-down, venue-appropriate look would have had her looking like a winner, too.

1990

Oh, Kim Basinger, quintessential ‘90s babe and erstwhile object of Garth’s affection – what happened here? This horrid one-sleeved dress suffers from a bad case of fashion schizophrenia and can’t decide what it wants to be – except hideous. Let’s start from the top, which marries half a blazer jacket with half a sweetheart neckline, and takes a stab at balance with a single elbow-grazing white satin glove. Things don’t get much better when we consider that the second-half of this gaudy combo is a puffy skirt so obscenely voluminous it would make Glinda the Good Witch blush. Add in the harsh contrast of her alabaster skin against blood-red lips and the results are garish and costume-y at best. Did we mention that she designed it herself?

1995

Costume designer Lizzy Gardiner won an Oscar for designing the elaborate drag queen costumes in Priscilla Queen of the Desert and predictably wore a dress of her own design on the big night. While mostly a gimmicky number, her Oscar dress did get one thing right: its golden sheen matched the statue’s regal hue as it was made entirely of American Express cards bearing her name. Sure, she gets points for originality and an attempt to make a statement about conspicuous wealthiness while at a lavish ceremony, but wearing a dress made of plastic cards at arguably the year’s fanciest ‘do says nothing as loudly as “Look at me.” Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that a woman who makes costumes for a living decided to make an ambitious one for herself but, in the end, it will be remembered for its vulgarity and, unfortunately, not for its style.

1999

Our very own French songbird Celine Dion decided to go with John Galliano, a respected, bold-name, risk-taking British designer, for the 1999 Academy Awards. Sporting a rather non-traditional white tuxedo jacket –it was worn backwards – complete with an oversized, droopy fedora, Dion looked like she was one gilded chalice away from being in a Snoop Dogg video. This outfit was a miss from the start and it’s likely no one could have pulled it off but with wide-leg pants – she does have feet, right? – masking her petite frame, Dion was swimming in fabric and there was no one to throw her a life preserver.

2001

Two words: Swan dress. We all saw it and we all balked. Time has not dulled the shock of seeing the talented Icelandic singer wrapped in what appears to be the love-child of a stuffed animal and figure skating costume. Yes, Bjork is definitely an individual but she should stick to making a name for herself with her ingeniously quirky music and not her fashion choices. A worst-dressed list staple, to be sure.

2003

Supremely slender actress Lara Flynn Boyle channelled her inner ballerina with this David Cardona creation that saw the tiny thesp wear a pink bodysuit and tutu, though she did trade in pointe shoes for strappy heels, with silken ribbon winding up her slender legs like something straight out of Swan Lake. Though reminiscent of a garment Sarah Jessica Parker wore in a long-ago “Sex and the City” episode, the Oscars certainly isn’t shopping in NYC and tutus aren’t appropriate for any non-dancers over the age of 10.

2007

Jennifer Hudson usually looks put-together and makes the most of her voluptuous frame, taking risks when she needs to or easing into a classic look when it suits her fancy. That’s why it was extra heart-breaking when she took a perfectly pretty, if not a touch tight, chocolate brown Oscar de la Renta gown and junked it up with a silver bolero jacket that wouldn’t look out of place at a line-dancing retreat. Apparently Andre Leon Talley, Vogue’s editor-at-large, was the man behind the, ahem, distinct look, and Hudson has since revealed that it wasn’t her first choice – obviously. We hope, next time she goes with her instincts.

Make sure to check back with cineplex.com on February 22 when I will be LIVE BLOGGING the Oscar Red Carpet!

--

Who do YOU think has made the biggest fashion misstep at the Oscars? Share your favourite red carpet disasters below!