Everyone was very well-behaved on the red carpet last night. No swan dresses (alas!), no Bob Mackie/Cher/showgirl ensembles and no one designed her own dress after the great Kim Basinger Dress Debacle from years ago. The stylists, hairdressers and makeup artists were out in full force and everyone -- with a few notable exceptions -- looked lovely. We were sort of hoping that someone would throw caution to the wind -- sartorially speaking -- but no one did. Instead, most of the celebs looked the best they've looked all year.
Rachel Weisz, who won an Oscar last year for Best Supporting Actress, looked stunning in a platinum satin Vera Wang gown with a train and jeweled neckline. She wore a diamond vintage Cartier pendant.
New mom Maggie Gyllenhaal looked fabulous in a crystal-embroidered navy and black Proenza Schouler one-shoulder gown with a feather-trimmed hem. Her hair was a soft updo, with some face-framing tendrils. Her pale skin was accented with a deep burgundy lipstick and smoky eyes.
Penelope Cruz took the prize for best gown of the night with her blush Atelier Versace gown, which featured detailed ruching on the bodice, a sweeping ruffled fishtail train and Chopard diamonds. Her bag was laden with Swarovski crystals. Bucking the "messy bun with tendrils around the face" trend of the night, Penelope opted for a more formal updo which worked perfectly with the gown. Penelope opted for pale pink lipstick and smoky eyes, which worked perfectly with her olive skintone.
Most actresses either wore their hair in a messy, unstructured bun or elected for long, blond hair extensions. Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon all were working the long, blond straight hair thing: they all looked amazing. Nicole and Gwyneth spent the night making sure their hair fell over one shoulder only, so as to better show off the back of their gowns. Kudos to their hairdressers -- that's not an easy look to achieve, especially if your hair is naturally curly.
