It’s Oscar time again! The 95th Annual Academy Awards was broadcasted on Sunday, March 12th, 2023. Tons of viewers tune into this awards program each year for a variety of reasons…great live performances, fun celebrity appearances, and true movie fans who are excited to see all the nominees who take home a golden statue. For me, the highlight of the night is the red carpet fashion, or in this year’s case, the champagne carpet. I love seeing the glamorous dresses and sleek suits my favorite stars wear. From Lady Gaga to Nicole Kidman, the stars showed up dressed to impress. I am going to rank, in my opinion, the five best and the five worst of the evening.

Worst Looks

5. Dwayne Johnson
Johnson usually nails all of his red carpets looks with bold and risky color choices, but this time the risk didn’t pay out. I felt that the peach color of his Dolce and Gabanna suit gave the overall look a cheap and tacky feel, and the flower on the jacket added to the overall tackiness. Making an appearance on a list of the worst looks is a rare occasion for the Rock, but for this champagne carpet, it wasn’t his best.

4. Kate Hudson
I may be in the minority here, but Kate is an example of how one feature can ruin a whole look. There are so many great things about her dress. I love the strappy neckline and the train on the skirt, but the sleeves absolutely ruin it. The flowy, off-the-shoulder sleeves are too over the top and take away from the clean lines and overall elegance of the dress. If the sleeves weren’t there, she may have made my best-dressed list, but they throw off the balance of the dress and ruin an otherwise stunning look.

3. Elizabeth Banks
I usually love a good, clean black-and-white look, but this one just wasn’t working for me. I wasn’t a huge fan of the asymmetrical style of the gown. For some dresses it works, but for this Vivienne Westwood creation, it just makes it look lopsided. It sort of looked like the designers just threw a bunch of unnecessary fabric on the dress and called it a day. Banks is usually spot-on with her style, but this red carpet look just made her look frumpy.

2. Ashley Graham
Extra works sometimes, but sometimes it doesn’t, and Graham’s dress was unnecessarily extra. The skirt had a train, the cape had a train, and even the sleeves had a train! It looked like the designers at Alberta Ferretti forgot to cut off all the fabric they were using when they were making the dress. The chain metal skirt covering the granny panties was a look more appropriate for the MTV Video Music Awards or a night at the club, not a high-class event like the Academy Awards. Overall, this look was definitely a misfire for this supermodel.

1. Jessie Buckley
All of the above looks had at least one redeeming factor about them, but Buckley’s ensemble absolutely did not. The over-the-top puffed sleeves, high neck, and heavily beaded fabric were absolutely overwhelming and looked straight out of a vampire movie. While this look may work for some people, I just can’t seem to understand it. It was way too dark and moody for such a glamorous and exclusive event.

Best Looks

5. Michael B. Jordan
Out of all the suits at the Oscars, this was at the top of the list. The handsome actor soared above the rest in his custom Louis Vuitton tux. It wasn’t simply a classic black and white tux but it wasn’t too flashy either. The double-breasted jacket with black satin lapels looked perfect on him, but what made the look for me were the two Tiffany brooches he wore on the left lapel. They added a pop of color to make the look less basic, but were not so over the top to make it ridiculous.

4. Rihanna
Rihanna has made huge waves this year in more ways than one, the first being the iconic singer’s return to the music industry after five long years. The superstar took it a step further by using her Superbowl performance to announce her pregnancy. A subtle announcement at the halftime show turned into a major celebration at the Oscars. She stunned in a gorgeous black Alaia leather dress with a mesh panel in the middle to show off her growing baby bump. She looked glowing and elegant as she proudly posed to showcase her pregnancy on the champagne carpet, and the statement she made earned her fourth place on this list.

3. Janelle Monae
This is a way to be bold on the red carpet! The singer and actress looked absolutely stunning in her custom 2-piece Vera Wang dress. There were so many amazing things about this look. I loved the plunging sweetheart neckline of the bustier top and the cutout in the middle, but my favorite part was the color combination. The black top paired with the bright orange skirt made her among the rest and earned her third place on my list of best dressed.

2. Salma Hayek
Many stars make bold Oscar fashion choices and fail, but Hayek thrived. She wore a red Gucci dress featuring fringe and sequins for days and wore it perfectly. The cross-strap neckline was spot on, and I loved the keyhole detail. Dwayne Johnson’s bold color choice ruined his look, but I feel the complete opposite about Salma’s fiery red, which looked incredible on her. All these factors combined made her the second-best outfit at the Oscars this year.

1. Vanessa Hudgens
For me, this is what an Oscars look is all about. The actress stunned in her strapless, vintage Chanel gown. The classic black and white style was simple yet elegant, and the button detail on each hip added the perfect amount of interest. My favorite part of the look was not the dress, however, it was how her nails and jewelry perfectly complemented the dress right down to the buttons on each hip. When discussing top Oscar outfits, this probably wouldn’t make most people’s lists due to its simplicity, but for me, it is perfection.

Overall, the Oscar looks were amazing this year. The stars definitely brought their A-game with stunning, elegant, and some daring ensembles, which made it nearly impossible for me to narrow down to a top five. Even the worst five looks had some redeeming qualities! Now it’s on to the next red carpet. See you next year to review the 2024 Oscars!