Icons are supposed to be born on the Oscars red carpet, right? But all I could think watching the fashions from last night’s event was meh. But I knew the producers had supposedly reengineered the mechanics of the carpet, so I held out hope for what we might see from inside the Kodak. But instead of being surprised with an all-time best, I was shocked by an all-time worst, and from a truly surprising source: Reese Witherspoon.
The former Best Actress has delivered some of the most stunning looks to ever walk down a red carpet (remember her flawless Nina Ricci run of 2007, and that one canary yellow gem?) so when she walked onto the stage I was ready to gasp. And I did. But not in a good way.
The gown by Rodarte was, ahem, fashion forward enough with its black and blue color blocking, the swaths of toilet paper for straps, the randomly placed glitter, and the not quite invisible bra underneath — but then she decided to take the extra step and wear matching makeup. Two words: haute mess. So it’s with a heavy heart that I say move over Cameron and Gwyneth, and make room for Reese in the Oscar Fashion Catastrophe Hall of Fame.
What do you think, PopWatchers? Does Reese deserve a lump of coal in her spanx this year? Are there other looks from Oscars 2009 you think will go down in fashion history?
More Oscars coverage:
Fashion: The best and worst on the red carpet
Oscars ’09 Readers Poll: What did you think?
Dave Karger’s OscarWatch: The morning after
Missy Schwartz’s picks the night’s 13 best/worst moments
EW reports from the Kodak Theatre, parties… and bathrooms!
Ken Tucker’s take on the telecast
Adam B. Vary’s report from backstage
Whitney Pastorek on the scene at Prince’s Oscar night house party
Complete list of winners
EW live blogs the Oscars telecast
EW live blogs the red carpet shows
EW’s Oscars Central (Dave Karger’s video interviews, photo galleries, and more)
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