Frederick's of Hollywood Blog

Last night the Billboard Music Awards took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. As expected the award show blue carpet brought out the very best from the attendees–and the very worst. Our top picks for best-dressed both took their looks out-of-the-box and straight to shiny. See our favorites, below!

Taylor Swift moves away from her safety zone (neutral, sparkling column gowns) and into electric blue glitz! Looking like a real-life doll, Taylor’s bold pink lip, bump-it ‘do and ice-skater mesh all work together–creating one our favorite looks of the night.

Unexpectedly, the best-dressed last night was Miley Cyrus. On paper a sparkling-harlequin-crochet jumpsuit doesn’t work, but Balmain managed to make one that’s incredibly stunning and Miley pulls it off perfectly. Also, her lipstick is inspiring major envy around the office.

Unfortunately not all the risk-takers last night were able to enjoy the successes of Swift and Cyrus. Somebody named Z LaLa wore a tinfoil explosion–though we will say her hair looked amazing.

Nayer wore a one-piece hooded number, brought her dog and forgot her shirt. (It happens to the best of us.) And finally we finish with Jenny McCarthy who apparently takes the less-is-more approach when dressing. Who had your favorite look of the night and who fell flat? Tell us in the comments below!

Born today in 1932, Elizabeth Taylor remains one of the most legendary stars of the silver screen. She was renowned for her beauty, iconic films and incredible charitable acts–even her tempestuous love affair with Richard Burton (and all eight marriages) couldn’t dampen the fervor.

We here at Frederick’s of Hollywood are a part of the crowd that adore her (and her legendary style). She loved to flaunt diamonds, dazzle in sequins and her costumes were some of the most intricate and beautiful we’ve ever seen. You can imagine our excitement when we found her hoop skirt from the 1957 film Raintree County in our archives!

Part of the nomination for an Academy Award, the hoop skirt is a piece of history and some of the most iconic stills were shot while she was wearing it–and we couldn’t be more thrilled to share a piece of the legacy with you. The violet-eyed Oscar-winning actress was, and is still an inspiration to us all! Happy birthday, Elizabeth Taylor.

Last night was the culmination of awards season–and while we can’t say it was the most awe-inspiring Academy Awards we’ve ever seen, we still loved it in all of its tiered, shiny and strangely-placed-darts glory. We watched, we winced, we cheered and we fell in love with look after look.

Whether it was styled in ’20s art deco fashion or goddess-like columns, metallic shone brightly last night. From Naomi Watts in futuristic-Hollywood glam (Armani Privé) to Nicole Kidman’s cesarean-chic sequins (sorry, L’Wren Scott), those who chose to wear it did so with varying degrees of success.

Halle Berry was incredible in Versace, and Jennifer Hudson got everything absolutely right in a long-sleeved Roberto Cavalli.

Taking styling cues from Chris de Burgh–not always a great idea. However last night’s ladies in red looked incredible–with Jennifer Anniston finally moving away from body-hugging silhouettes and into a sweeping Valentino (though we wish she would’ve had an hairstyle to match–the long, tousled hair made it look like she got ready in the limo). Olivia Munn looked incredible in a deep red Marchesa gown. And can we all just take a moment to appreciate that Sally Field is 66 and absolutely killing it in her Valentino?

Keeping the basics alive seemed to be a sub-theme of last night. Blue (in various shades of cobalt, navy and midnight) and white were the two other big color trends on the red-carpet. Quevenzhané Wallis is stunning, age appropriate and her dog purse is beyond adorable. Helen Hunt’s H&M dress looks exactly like an H&M dress and though Reese Witherspoon was going for a Veronica Lake look, she missed it by a large margin thanks to an unflattering neckline.

Jennifer Lawrence and Charlize Theron (both in Dior Haute Cotoure) are a tie for best-dressed. Though the two gowns are on opposite ends of the sartorial spectrum, the clean lines, elegant silhouettes and impeccable styling make each look pop. Meanwhile, Queen Latifah was downright regal in Badgley Mischka. Who was your best-dressed of the night? Leave your picks in the comments, below!

Photos via Getty Images. 

Yesterday we featured the timeless, the ethereal and the downright swoon-worthy Academy Award looks from 1975 on. Today, we’re doing a 180 and bringing you the worst (or most daring, depending on who you ask) Oscar dresses of the last 20 years. These are the looks you talked about, puzzled over and winced at–the “What were they thinking?!” ensembles that haunt top stars to this day!

It’s always easy to pick on the ’80s, the decade when all fashion bets were off, but that’s a little too easy–oh, sure we’ll include a few but there are plenty to choose from every decade. Read on to see our picks for the most sartorially challenged, who wore it worst and those who took Oscar a little too far.

Many critics have made a turn back time joke about Cher’s Bob Mackie look from the 1998 Oscars. We’ll refrain, if only because she is an inspiration to us–just know we were very, very tempted.

Before vampires were a red-carpet staple, and long before she was a glamorous A-List-Goodwill-Ambassador-mother-to-6-children and one half of the duo known as Brangelina there was: Angelina, Interrupted. Undeterred by her dress and creepy affection for her brother, the Academy awarded her an Oscar shortly after this picture was taken, and an international superstar was born.

Tilda Swinton exists in a time and space so far removed from our boring mortal existence that she can do no wrong. Sure this dress is included in every worst dressed list from Marie Claire to the Hollywood Reporter, but we kind of don’t care. We just added it in because it gave us yet another reason to fawn over her. Also, it’s Lanvin, 2008 and she looks comfortable *shrugs*.

Faith Hill can and does reign as a country queen (and one of music’s most beautiful women), but this shimmering rainbow number is better suited to a cereal box, where it’s sickly sweet appearance would go relatively unnoticed.

We admire Helena Bonham Carter’s dedication to a look–even if said look started in 1987. That is all.

When Whoopi Goldberg presented in 1993, she wowed the crowd in a shimmering, patterned number with matching shoes and all was almost right in the world–then she pulled back her skirt to reveal matchy-matchy pants and here we are.

It wouldn’t be the Academy Awards without someone taking Oscar literally. It doesn’t matter is you’re the esteemed Meryl Streep (in 2012, no less), the stunning Cate Blanchett (wearing Valentino, circa 2005) or Mid-nineties Lizzy Gardiner, wearing American Express–sometimes you have have to go for the gold. Do you have an Oscar look you love to hate? Leave it in the comments, below!

Photos via Getty Images. 

For those of you who don’t live in Los Angeles, the Academy Award buzz might not be that loud, but with less than week to go, it’s downright deafening here in Tinseltown. From red-carpet beauty secrets to perfect party planning, everyone here has Oscar on the brain–including us!

It’s no secret we live for awards season, and with the biggest yet to come, we thought we’d focus on the best of the best–a no holds barred, love fest of fashion!  After countless google searches and trips down memory lane, here are our favorites (in no particular order):

2008 saw Marion Cotillard make a daring entrance in a mermaid-inspired Jean-Paul Gaultier. Covered in varied fish-scales (there really isn’t a better way to say it), and veering away from garish thanks to its pale hue, it gave off a radiant glow that we’re still basking in.

Traditionally trendy and twee don’t make for red-carpet worthy ensembles and combined together, it’s generally a sartorial death knell. Michelle Williams pulled off the impossible at last year’s award show in a strapless peplum gown by Louis Vuitton, in Tangerine Tango and made it look effortless with a gamine hair cut!

Somebody tell Zooey Deschanel that the indie darling gauntlet has been thrown down. 2012 also the saw the emergence of Marchesa and Sandra Bullock make cap sleeves sexy–if you’d asked a year earlier, we’d have sworn it wasn’t possible!

Charlize Theron has a history  of wowing at award shows–take this slinky Gucci look from 2004! Her hair, the silhouette–everything about this look is timeless. Lauren Hutton gets a nod from us in her grecian-inspired gown, simple belt (you know how we feel about belts) and her fresh faced beauty. 1975 has never looked this good.

And love or hate GOOP–Gwyneth Paltrow knows what works and isn’t afraid to take risks–proving once again at the 84th Academy Awards that she’s a star through and through in Tom Ford. Yes, we know we raved about it last year too, but it’s simplicity and striking cape created a statuesque silhouette to rival that of Oscar himself.

What have been your favorite Oscar looks throughout the years? Leave them in the comments below! Also, stay tuned for tomorrow when we cover the worst (or most daring, depending on who you ask) dresses of the last 20 years!

Photos via Getty Images.