Blog: Red carpet action at the Oscars

The glitz, the glamour, the dazzling frocks and the fashion disasters. Blogger Tracey Bond takes in all the red carpet action at the Oscar Awards.

 

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1.40pm: Mickey Rourke bucked the tuxedo trend by wearing a layered off-white suit which he said was put together by Jean Paul Gautier "at the last minute".

The stars are now arriving en masse.

Brangelina have just arrived - and Angelina Jolie is wearing a predictably elegant, black strapless dress.

Darling of the fashion world Anne Hathaway wore a cream strapless fishtail dress. Other starlets who chose to go for lighter coloured dresses included Evan Rachel Wood, Jessica Biel and Penelope Cruz.

Front-runner for the best actress award Kate Winslet stood out on a red carpet filled with glamorous women with an unusual assymetrical two-tone dress.

"I'm extremely nervous," she said.

Also standing out was actress Natalie Portman in a vivid bubblegum pink strapless dress.

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1.17pm: Red seems to be a very popular choice this year.

Amy Adams looked stunning in a scarlet dress with massive collar necklace - another popular trend on the red carpet.

Heidi Klum turned up wearing an origami-inspired red-pink dress.

Sarah Jessica Parker may be the first fashion miss of the evening.

"That's a lot of dress," gasped one fashion commentator.

She was wearing a strapless Dior Haute Couture dress with a massive ballerina skirt.

She described the colour as "barely mint". Not to be left out, husband Matthew Broderick described his suit as "barely black".

"No, it's not. It's midnight blue," SJP admonished.

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12.58pm: The kids who starred in Slumdog Millionaire turned up on the red carpet looking super cute.

"No drinking champagne," advised E! host Ryan Seacrest.

The other stars of the film seemed in high spirits and Freida Pinto looked radiant in an electric blue John Galliano gown.

Dev Patel and Pinto denied rumours that the two were a couple in real life.

"He's a kid!" Pinto said.

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12.36pm: The stars are still trickling onto the red carpet and all the signs so far are that celebrities have opted for opulence over frugality.

This year the organisers have promised that the ceremony, hosted by Hugh Jackman will be filled with surprises (no doubt in a bid to boost lagging ratings).

Zac Efron hinted on the red carpet that he was involved in one such surprise, but wouldn't divulge any further information.

He and gilrfriend Vanessa Hudgens arrived minutes apart but walked the red carpet seperately.

Hudgens looked beautiful in a Marchesa gown and simple updo.

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12.12pm: And first down the red carpet is Miley Cyrus.

Lisa Rinna is nowhere to be seen - so that's my first prediction out the window.

Miley said she was just hanging out "star stalking" and added she was looking forward to seeing Angelina Jolie on the red carpet.

"Angelina can adopt me if she wants to," she said.

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11.45am: The question on everyone’s lips this year is, will celebrities ignore the recession and pull out all the stops style-wise, or will it be a downbeat, dreary red carpet?

Personally I’m hoping to see lots of razzle dazzle.

Here are a few things you can count on though.

First on the red carpet will be Lisa Rinna - let’s face it, she always is.

Cameron Diaz will look like she’s forgotten to brush her hair.

Kate Winslet will be worrying about tripping up as she walks down the red carpet (apparently it’s her worst nightmare).

Angelina Jolie will wear something that fashion commentators will describe as 'classic and elegant' which roughly translates as 'boring'.

* What do you think of the stars on the red carpet? Post your comments below.

- © Fairfax NZ News