Mandy Moore was a shining example of elegant glamour, wearing and beautiful Monique L’Huillier gown from the Spirng 2011 RTW collection. Mila Kunis was the evening’s best dressed femme fatale in her Elie Saab, Spring 2011 Couture gown. Young actress Hailee Steinfeld was perfectly princessed and age-appropriate (save a pair of extremely high heels). Honorable mentions include (above, L to R) Annette Benning, Michelle Williams, Celine Dion, and Rhea Durham.

Photos: Zimbio.com

Elton John AIDS Foundation
There’s a new “it” party in town on Oscar night. Arrivals for this party were packs with stars and style, including high points from Victoria Beckham (wearing a dress from the Fall 2010 of her namesake line), and Alan Cumming – showing that, yes, men CAN participate in fashion.
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Vanity Fair
The Vanity Fair party is almost as big as the Oscars ceremony itself – at least the red carpet is. Many attendees even do a wardrobe change for the party, which seems to have more fashion relevance these days than the sponsoring magazine.
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Click here to see red carpet fashion from the Academy Awards ceremony.

The nominees for best dressed include women that didn’t play it safe in pretty, but managed to be gorgeous and forward with their fashion. They are

Zoe Kravitz
It’s too bad Zoe Kravitz isn’t a bigger “name” because her amount of coverage was nil compared to many of her more famous red carpet counterparts. Zoe was on trend and very chic in a red velvet-trimmed cream gown. With more pap attention we might have gotten better views of that dramatic bow in the back, with really makes the dress extra special. Another reason to love Zoe: her dad is hot.

Maggie Gyllenhaal
Maggie has the kind of style that looks like the result of authentically good taste, rather than a high profile stylist and access to the best dress. Her silhouette is elegant, but the dress is keep fun by beautiful blues and a paint-stroke print. She tops it off to perfect with jewelry pieces that don’t rely on bling for their appeal.

Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan has been a standout on the red carpet all (awards) season. She always takes it a step or two farther than pretty and is willing to take risks. Tonight she doesn’t disappoint wearing a mid-length dress with a train. From a distrance the bodice looks like it has your average beading. A closer inspection, however, show tiny forks and scisser intersperse among more tradition floral shapes. Mulligan, though she’s nominated for a best supporting Oscar, is a relative unknown for her acting until now, but her style has gotten her plenty of attention. Anna Kendrick take note! Just a touch of quirky can go a long way.

Zoe Saldana
Zoe Saldana looked beautiful wearing Givenchy couture. Her tiny frame is able to carry off the massive volume of the skirt, which is topped with a shimmery bodice. Unfortunately, she chose to wear the clunky shoes worn with this dress on the runway. A more delicate or streamlined shoe would have been in order considering all the weight of the dress. She still looks amazing!

Honorable mentions include Kate Winslet, Rachel McAdams, Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Richie, Meryl Streep, Virginia Madsen, and Susan Downey. See them and more stars in the gallery below.
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WINNER: Maggie Gyllenhaal

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards are just days away, and as per usual the main event for the Cult will be the red carpet (especially since there’s no music this year!). Here a little of what we hope to see nominated actresses wearing.

The following. is excerpted from the Pinkertons Shoppe Blog.

That’s a touch of what we’d like to see, but what about what we’re likely to see. According to Sharon Graubard, SVP Trend Analysis for Stylesight:

“After years of playing it safe with draped goddess gowns and subtle tints of color or black, we think the stars are ready for a little bit of boldness. Expect to see more rich, jewel tones, with wines, purples, blues, deep emeralds, and ruby reds.

Lamé is making a big comeback, in expected silver and gold, as well burnished shades of deep gold, copper and bronze.

Couture dressmaker techniques are explored to the max with ruffles, placed drapery, and spectacular beading. The newest will be pieced collages that mix lace, satins, velvets, and sheer insets, often intricately ruched.”

Above: Looks by Roksana Ilincic, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Rodarte

I’ve never been a big movie buff, but just as it is with good music, if a film as good fashion or costuming it stands a chance of holding my attention. The following are in the running to win the Best Costumes Oscar in tonight’s Academy Awards ceremony.

* “Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky

The Cult, though, doesn’t get excited about plain ol’ historical accuracy. We want to see chic inspiration! Accordingly, if it were up to us, “Australia” would be the runaway winner.

More pics in store:

I always did have a thing for cowboys…