"And the Award Goes To..." : Oscar Fashion

     I've been acting in community theater plays and independent films for several years now, so you'd think I'd watch the Oscars.  You'd be wrong.  I never gave them a second thought.  I didn't even give them a thought this year, but, out of boredom, I ended up watching them.  I'm glad I did.  They reminded me of how many great-looking movies I need to see, and I got to see Daniel Day-Lewis win his 3rd Oscar.  (I fell in love with his acting after seeing this: Milkshake.)
     I also got to see Hollywood stars in their finest attire (most of the time.)  Below are some of the fashion hits and misses from the 2013 Academy Awards.  (Thanks to Esquire for the pictures.)

Black lapels, black shirt, sparkly black bow tie?  Looked like a hole full of night time below Jamie Foxx's head.  No pocket square?  Another chink in the armor.  Both jacket buttons buttoned?!  Come on, man - you're killin' me!  You're too cool a guy to look that goofy.    

Christoph Waltz kept it simple and classic with this one-button number.  No embellishment or excess here (unless you count his jacket sleeve length, which doesn't allow any of his shirt cuff to show.)  A very clean, classy look. 

I'm not crazy about skinny lapels, but some people are more able to wear them than others.  Steven Spielberg is one of those people.  However, his peak lapels were so thin that you could barely see the "peak."

I was surpised by how much I liked Chris Pine's tux.  I'm wary of double-breasted jackets as they are tricky to pull off.  Mr. Pine certainly did it right.  The lapels were wide enough to make a dramatic statement, but not wide enough to land a fighter jet on; the sleeves allowed him to flash just enough shirt cuff; the jacket fit his body perfectly; and he left his bottom right button undone.  The bow tie seemed a little too wide, though. That breast pocket looked like it could've used a friend, too.  And what was with the scraggly neck?      

Hugh Jackman is a tall man (6'2", according to Google) and has a great build, but his unique shawl collar double-breasted tuxedo jacket made his torso look absolutely HUGE.  Perhaps that's an accurate image.  A nice touch: his satin lapels matched those of his wife's jacket. 

Congratulations on winning Best Picture for "Argo," Mr. Affleck.  Your tux won't be winning any awards, though.  The peak lapels looked great, but given their width, they made your vest look like overkill.  Your bowtie was a mess, too.  It looked like it was, somehow, crumpled into a rectangle.       

The Wild Card: Samuel L. Jackson threw the Academy a style curveball with this luscious crimson velvet jacket with gunmetal piping.  I loved the rich color, the lustre of the fabric and the subtle color of the trim.  Points off for: the lack of a pocket square, the cheesy metallic shirt, the exposed bowtie band and the outfit's jarring contrast with the sea of black tie.  Mr. Jackson was a cardinal in a colony of penguins.