I'm watching you, Oscar.

Listening To: Tim Gunn's red carpet reporting. And Nina Garcia! Project Runway, FTW!

via tumblr

If you've read Paperdoll, you might recall that I happen to love watching the Oscars. Dad and I usually fill out ballots. Winner gets a Blizzard from Dairy Queen. So does the loser. The stakes are high, obviously.


In Pdoll, I wrote about how I usually get inspired to give my own speech before the night is over. I stand up, clear my throat, and clutch my Pringles can (or empty Diet Dr. Pepper bottle) tightly against my heart, as though I'm clutching my very own sparkly gold statue. I proceed to thank everybody I have ever known. Starting with my dog.

I thank Biscuit for being snuggly and playful and for pooping on the pavement when she goes for walks, because I have to pick up the poop. And that keeps me humble. I thank The Avett Brothers for their music. I thank iHop for their Chocolate Chip Pancakes. I thank my Kindergarten teacher for casting me in the role of "Pilgrim Girl Holding Cardboard Cake" because that's when The Acting took hold of me and never turned me loose. I thank Target  Erdem for making the yoga pants that I'm wearing, that I've never done yoga in my beautiful dress. I thank Chris Thile for being beautiful. And for attending the ceremony with me, obviously. I thank my parents. I thank the Academy. I thank Ravenclaw. I thank District Twelve. And then I look into the camera and I thank you. Whoever you are.

Did I tell you that I had an Oscar party one year and gave out little laminated Oscar the Grouches to people who correctly predicted the most winners?

... have you stopped reading yet? Because I feel I may have divulged too much ...


Seriously though, are you watching the red carpet arrivals? 

Admittedly, I get most excited about what people are wearing. Despite my affinity for jeans (and my firm belief that women look prettier in their favorite jeans and t-shirts than they do all dolled up for big events), I definitely have some favorite Oscar dresses. Here are some of my forever and always favorites:


The lace dress Audrey wore (when she won for Roman Holiday?):

Because it's simple and elegant and a little bit ethereal. My favorite thing about it, by far, is that she's wearing the dress. The dress is not wearing her. The first thing I notice about that picture is Audrey - her expressive eyes and her impish smile and then - oh - that's a really pretty dress, too. She makes the dress special, not vice-versa. Love that she's not wearing much jewelry. Her smile was her best accessory and she knew it.


My next favorite: the white dress Taraji P. Henson wore for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

I came [-----] that close to getting this same haircut when I saw her on the red carpet. Thankfully, I saw the light and did not go that short. Because that haircut would not look good on me. So many cute haircuts overwhelm me in the moment. I've decided on some bad spontaneous haircuts over the years.

I love that she wore her hair down. So many women wear the same updo to the Oscars. I've never liked that particular hairstyle as much as lots of women seem to love it. It's so check-list glamour, you know? I think T's hair looks way more modern and pretty. I thing big statement necklaces can look especially cool with strapless gowns too. ONE statement piece. I think one piece of jewelry that's cool, or has some personal significance, is much prettier than stacks and stacks of sparkle.


My next favorite is Gweneth Paltrow's dress, for Shakespare in Love.

This dress probably made my bffSarah dry heave. Because it is very, very girly. And very pink. And I know way more girls who dislike pink than like it.

But I am not one of the haters. I love pink. I don't love the dress as much now as I did back when I first saw it. But back then it won me over.

I was a senior in high school when Gwen wore this dress to the Oscars. I remember this because, when I saw Gweneth's dress ... I decided that I wanted my prom dress to be pink. And I did wear a pink dress to prom.

I did not look like Gweneth. (But my prom dress was still totally adorable.) (And I didn't wear my hair up. I wore my hair down and wavy and I tied tiny, pink-silk roses into it ... which probably looked silly. But I thought it was cute.) I think Gwen looks like a grown-up Disney Princess here. Shakespeare in Love was a great movie, wasn't it?


I liked the dress Reese wore when she won for Walk the Line. But I loved the purple dress she wore after that.

I think statement pieces can look great with a strapless dress. But I think strapless dresses look even prettier when women don't wear a necklace. But she could have worn a wall clock around her neck, and I would still love this dress. I don't know how she walked in it ... but I love it.

My next favorite dress ended up on lots of "No, Thanks" lists, but it is forever on my "Heck, Yes!"list. Do you remember Sandra Bullock's dress for The Blind Side?

That fit is perfect. And that pattern! And she wore her hair down! And bright lipstick was her main accessory. I really, really love bright lipstick. Not all trends can look sophisticated, but that one most definitely can. (And I think it looks cute on normal people - not just red carpet types.)


Probably my favorite Oscar look of all time was the knit dress Cate Blanchett wore back in ... the 90's? Here's the thing: in the years since she's worn this, I've seen prettier dresses at the Academy Awards. But I haven't had the same visceral reaction/high pitched squeal to those dresses, that I had when I saw this one. I don't know why I loved it so much. I read some commentary that said this dress resonated with lots of women because they could see themselves in it. That was not my reason. I don't ever see myself in a backless dress. And the back of the dress was what I loved most of all:

The first time I saw it, I thought the bird was painted onto her back. Because I remember thinking about how, if that was me, I would probably be nervous, and I would sweat, and the bird would smear.  Cate probably doesn't sweat. Also, I'm pretty sure it's just an embroidered piece. Love that her hair is down and unfussy.


There's another red carpet dress I love and adore, but it wan't an Oscar dress. It was the vintage Ossie Clark dress that Emma Watson wore to one of the Harry Potter premiers. Pretty print, deep-v, tied at the waist. Her hair was up, twisted with thin, red chords. She looked so bohemian and sophisticated. That kind of updo rocks my face off - the updo that's braidy or messy or twisty, like you just tied it back to paint or play guitar. Or go to a movie premier. Whatever.

So! I'm excited to see what people are wearing tonight. My best dressed will go to:

He always wins by default. Just because. 

But I am confident Viola Davis will be my other favorite. She has such a regal look, regardless of what she's wearing. I can't wait to see what she wears tonight, when she wins. (Here's an awesome interview Holly Wagoner, pastor at Oasis Church, did with Viola Davis.)

I still think Viola will edge out Michelle for Best Actress. And I think Gary Oldman will win over George C. and the guy in The Artist. Padfoot is my pick for upset tonight. I hope I'm right. I have a Dairy Queen Blizzard riding on this. I actually forgot to print out the ballots so dad and I are calling the winners as the nominees are announced. It's like Lightening Round Oscars. Intense! 

I wish I could record my dad's red carpet commentary. He just described a dress like this: "That's a total mess. Look at that. That's like a tree trunk on the bottom. That's like something in one of those hobbit movies. Hobbits are going to crawl out of that dress in a minute. Watch and see."


Do you have any Oscar predictions? Do you have a favorite Oscar dress of all time and always? If you'd rather just give an acceptance speech, I will happily be your standing ovation!