Well I tried watching the Oscar’s live in my bedroom, but that was in a different room than my husband and my dog would have none of that. He came in the room and cried at me until we were all in the same room together. Oh well, that’s what TiVo is for ;)

Even though every year I’ve seen maybe 1 of the movies nominated, of course I love to watch to see who’s wearing what. I can’t imagine the pressure that goes into choosing a dress for this thing. Can’t. Imagine. Especially since the very next day you’re going to be scrutinized by the likes of Kathy Griffin…or people like me.

But instead of just saying which dresses I liked and disliked the most, I prefer to give you something to walk away with. So here are my picks for this year and the style cues we can take away from them….

(All of these images, by the way, are courtesy of eonline)

I’m not even going to include Aniston and Lopez in this list. They brought it. They woke it up, worked it out, covered it in jewels. Done. Check. The ladies I chose for my best dressed are ones that caused me to look up from my phone. These gals really captured attention with their choices.

Anna Kendrick looks just floaty, glowy gorgeous in this coral gown. As the camera panned down to the bottom, the outer layers were billowing in the breeze as if on cue. The diamond neckline is the perfect amount of sparkle and notice how she pairs that with simple diamond clusters. This proves that when the neckline is high, you don’t need earrings fighting over your face. Go with something gorgeous and simple. Also, coral looks good on pale skin.

It looks as if Naomi Watts may make some “worst dressed” lists, but I think her dress is fresh and unexpected. She always makes an edgier choice, and in this case I love the fact that it’s the playful black sparkly band. It’s just something different and that’s nice to see (without going overboard, Lady Gaga). Again, her jewelry is subdued and I love how her hair is half back. We’ve seen A LOT of this style in the past two award shows, but I really really like it. You get to wear your hair down comfortably, but you’re still showing off your earrings and giving your look a modern edge by tucking it behind one ear. Try that next time, it’s definitely not the kind of style that requires a team of hair experts which is nice.

Finally on my best dressed, is Meryl Streep. Seems like every year someone does some version of a female suit. I think Ms. Streep nailed it this year. It’s feminine, very age appropriate yet still glamorous enough to work. Sure it’s safe and not as sparkly, but it’s a great take on a classic. Don’t be afraid to work a blazer into your formal look, especially if you’re looking for something that’s more flattering. I’d rather be simple and flattering than sparkly and slightly unflattering.

I didn’t want to use the phrase “worst dressed” because it sounds so harsh. But I would have loved to seen a few simple tweaks on these gals.

Marion Cotillard is such a beautiful woman, and I really love her hair with that deep side part and the earrings which compliment her hair style just perfectly. But the dress…girl, the dress is just meh. What would be really cool is if the bottom layer was nude and the overlay was black. That would have added some visual interest. I’m just not at all a fan of white formals, especially ones that take over your shape and make you think of paper towels.

This next gal is Adam Levine’s wife, Behati Prinsloo. I think the dress is pretty neat. It’s something different and interesting. And her accessorizing is spot on – the necklace is the right amount of pizzazz. What I’m so not a big fan of is completely slicked back hair. All I see when I look at her is her part and the unusual shape of her head (which is a phrase I don’t want passing through people’s heads when I’m all dressed up). I think this look would have been 1,000 times prettier if she would have worn her hair down, half way, or even back a little looser. Really gals, only J-Lo can pull off the sleek back look.

Finally, Rosamund Pike. Love this dress, I really do. My favorite part is how it darts in at her waste. HOWEVER, I feel like she could have taken the “less is more” rule a little less seriously. To me, her tiny earrings make it look like she just walked in off the street and tried this dress on and those are the earrings she happened to be running errands in. I just would have loved some larger maybe gold accented numbers dangling down a little bit.

Of course it’s easy to say all these things from the comfort of my couch. If I ever make it to the red carpet you’re going to love everything about what I have on, ok? Ok. ;)

Happy Monday!