Gemma Chan in Valentino
I cannot rightly say I like this dress. She looks GREAT in it, somehow? But it's basically a duvet with a collar. Dylan, one of the beans who walked in as I was writing this, shrugged and said he wasn't terribly interested in it. So there you go.
Angela Bassett in Reem Acra
This dress didn't travel well. It also looks snug, slightly off-center maybe, and a BIT like someone forgot to inflate the other side (however, Dylan just said, "I like THAT because of the shade over her one shoulder," so what do I know). Although I actually appreciate that big drama; I just don't know if this, on the whole, was executed in a way that works perfectly.
Julia Roberts in custom Elie Saab
Julia presented Best Picture in an unpublicized appearance, and did so in The Color of the Evening, looking really rather fab. She is very good at looking like she was planning a chill night, and that it has only just occurred to her that she is Julia Roberts.
Helen Mirren in Schiaparelli
This is GREAT, though. The orange backing with the pink overlay really, really works. Orange is Dylan's favorite color, so I showed him this and he said, "Wow. AWESOME dress. I think she should get nominated."
Sarah Paulson in Brandon Maxwell
On the runway you could tell more clearly that this has string around the bare parts of the waist. It's styled well, and she can carry it off, but it's not a gown I respond to -- and it's genetic. Dylan said, "NAH. It doesn't have sleeves and it looks so uncomfortable!." Then he paused and asked, worried, "Will that hurt her feelings?" Aw. He's a better egg than I am. No, Dylan. She's going to be okay. She has a strong sense of self and she knows disliking a dress isn't disliking her essence.
Linda Cardellini in Schiaparelli
Her styling has been so boring, and then BOOM, she dropped this like a hot mic. This honestly feels like a Globes or SAGs dress to me, more than the Oscars, and I think it might be eating her alive. I had called it for Jaime King at an Oscar party, and I think that might've been the place for it.
Dylan frowned and said, "It looks so HEAVY."
Frances McDormand
"I don't THINK SO," Dylan said. I tend to agree. (Those Birkenstocks are apparently custom, if you're curious.)
Kacey Musgraves in Giambattista Valli
Here we diverge. Dylan was enchanted with "the designs on her shoulders," but this feels like standard-issue Kacey Musgraves poof to me, where I think it's all too much for her.
KiKi Layne in Versace
I forgot to show Dylan this one. Let's assume he liked it. Because I do! She's been EXTREMELY varied, but things did not start well at the Globes AT ALL, so I'm delighted that this is so crisp.
But still with a little fun in the back. This looked better on TV (they shot her from above and slightly behind while she was handing an Oscar to whoever won it) than it does posing here.
Maya Rudolph in Giambattista Valli
She is really taking to this Cult Robes trend, and I'm here for it on her. I would be disappointed now in she didn't show up in something ideal for sweeping angrily out of an expensively furnished room. (Dylan: "PREEEETTTTYYYYYY.")
Marie Kondo in Jenny Packham
Dylan issued a hearty, "NO," for this one, so I guess he would advise her to go KonMari herself. Or, since she IS basically the KonMari method, is that Go Self Yourself? I think she looks perfectly nice, though the silver pattern does look a bit like a sea fungus.
Meagan Good in Georges Chakra
This is the closest thing to sheer we got on the red carpet, and that feels like a miracle. There is a better dress lurking within this concept somewhere. Dylan covered his eyes and said, "I don't like this because it shows a bit of... you know, those things you have." He seemed to want to be respectful of her privacy.
Laura Marano in Celia Kritharioti
This line got a few placements on the red carpet among the TV hosts (Elaine Welteroth and Maria Menounos both wore something from this show too, and Laura here was doing some interviews at some point for... someone). It looks a bit baggy in the chest.
But it did come with built-in back support for when she's stuck sitting for three hours.
