While the Oscar show failed to live up to the hype, the red carpet did not disappoint. And while there were far fewer celebrities the ones that were there shone! How great to see the return of fashion. Our dear friend, NYC fashion designer, Gabrielle Carlson recently wrote a piece, called “Why Dress?”   Read her inspiring messsage and below that you’ll find our favorite Oscar red carpet picks and the not so favorites.

“Why I Dress”

By Gabrielle Carlson, NYC Fashion Designer, gabriellecarlson.com

Women have been asking recently: ‘why dress; where am I going?’ I dress because each new day is just that. I believe we are our most alive when we vibrate: Energy ignites.  

Living in NYC, where Spring has beautifully transformed the streets, is mesmerizing. Walking among trees dressed in blossoms, I’m present for the budding, the bloom – becoming jubilant green. Life abounds, a dynamic force at play. 

Walking wet pavements, blossoming beauty heightened for the wet trunks and branches, I think my city golden. I love what I’m wearing: A tee, jeans and sneakers. A tee of own design: the cut moves on the body and the bamboo knit breathes. Sometimes, I wear the cropped tee over a sheer layer for extra swing as I move about, and because I like the silk caressing my body. Occasionally, I really change it up: A new color, or a blouse – with jeans and sneakers!

I dress because I am.  It is the expression of self and I revel in it.   As humans, we get to choose our skin: dressing to be, or to hide out, be invisible: ‘who is going to see us?’  

I see me: I count.  On good days, I’m joyous, grateful to be in the world.  When sad, I dress, reaching for higher ground.  Our choice – stance is reflected in our dress.

Dressing as a present, accountable person is paramount: My insistence on being, especially when I feel fragmented, that I don’t matter – or feel less than. In those moments,  dressing  is how I forge forward beyond doubt. 

Oscar Night’s Red Carpet

Best of the Night

These dazzling gowns were our favorites and so glad to see glamour and fashion back!

What were they thinking?

But, just because fashion returns, it doesn’t always mean the celebrities and their stylists get it right. Here are few of the “what were they thinking?”