Allison Williams in Armani
Allison was, unusually, one of the first on the red carpet (usually that's a slot seized by lesser-known celebs). I wonder if it's because she got jittery about whether she'd be the only one using a slice of the color wheel? Regardless, this is actually one of my faves of the night. I love it AND love that it looks kind of like it was inspired by a bathmat.
Mandy Moore in Rosie Assoulin
This dress was originally pink, but clearly custom-remade for this event. I have to say, I actually like it BETTER black-and-red, and I think Mandy looks super in it. Just a TOUCH of heat to go with the non-color of the night.
Alison Sudol
Alison is in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (a movie I hated; sorry, Alison), in case you're wondering why you might recognize her. I also just learned that in addition to being a singer/songwriter, for a long time she performed as A Fine Frenzy, and I have some of her music. People contain multitudes, y'all. HOWEVER: That's a no on her dress.
Barbara Meier
Barbara, a German model, is so thoroughly not in black that I REALLY hope it WAS a choice, and not a case of her having been in a work hole for the past two weeks where nobody told her about the dress code plan. This also feels like something best saved for the Met Gala.
Keala Settle in Siriano
Galen Materazzo of Stranger Things was super excited to see her, because they'd done Broadway together, and I found that incredibly sweet. I think she looks wonderful in this. We saw her in Waitress and I very much want to experience her in The Greatest Showman -- her song won -- even though I've seen mixed reviews of that movie. HEY! OSCARS! Can she sing at the telecast?