Oscars 2022 Favorite Outfits

As much as I love watching the actual show and finding out who won what, most of the fun of award shows for me lies on the red carpet! The Met Gala is still my absolute favorite, but the Oscars are my second favorite with all of their elegance and aplomb. Below I have rounded my favorite looks from the Oscars this year. I don’t like to pick best and worst dressed since usually it’s just women who end up on those lists and we do not need any more of pitting women against each other!

Not gonna lie, there wasn’t a ton of gowns that I loved this year. Like with the Met, I am not looking to see small and simple; I am looking to see big and elegant and fairytale-like. I want to see big swings and big gowns! I got all of the photos and designer attributions from Harpers Bazaar, where you can see the other looks I didn’t include as well as some of the suits the men wore that weren’t all black. Right or wrong, the men’s style just doesn’t interest me nearly as much.

Lily James in Versace. This may be my favorite look of the whole night. I love her dark hair and dark makeup to compliment the bright and feminine pattern and silhouette. The color is gorgeous and not a color we saw anyone else wearing on the carpet last night, especially with the shoes that match the coloring perfectly. It’s fairly simple when you see some of the other looks, but it just looks so elegant and ethereal almost. She kept it simple with the jewelry which was also perfect and really let the gown and the shoes stand for themselves.

Zendaya in Valentino. Everyone has been talking about this look, and it is easy to see why! Not only is she a stunning person all on her own, but she constantly takes risks with her award sow fashion. She also kept it pretty simple, opting for the ease of the two-piece look. She added flair to her ensemble with the all glitter, floor-length skirt, and lovely silver jewelry. But what most have been talking about is her almost casual, cropped button-up shirt on top. It’s still Valentino and it’s still silk, but the fact that you could toss on a pair of high-waisted pants and roll up to happy hour in that top seems to be what most people love. She also teeters right on the line of potentially breaking the Oscars dress code, but still manages to make it somehow. She kept it fancy and functional and she pulls it off making it one of the best looks of the night. People will be talking about it for years to come.

Alana Haim in Louis Vuitton. Mermaid scales on a sequin dress? Need I say more? As soon as I saw this look I knew it was love. While this is an incredibly simple look, especially for the Oscars, I am such a sucker for anything that looks like scales and shimmers. Simple seemed to be the name of the game for many celebrities this year, the addition of sequins and glitter and all-over sparkle helps to make the simple a little more glamorous. Her hair, makeup, and jewelry are all very mild and really let the dress be its own moment. Plus the end of the gown is finished unevenly with the scales and not perfectly hemmed which I love.

Nicole Kidman in Versace. When dos Nicole Kidman ever look bad? The answer is never. This isn’t the most over-the-top gown we have seen from her at an awards show, but again the simplicity wins out. The color is perfect on her, and I love the simple column construction with the bow/peplum detailing in the middle. She is a very tall and slim woman so the poof in the middle and the angles at the top really add a nice shape to the gown. I also love that the back is like a ribbon tail trailing behind her and is crusted in crystals; such a lovely detail to add. A lot of women played with shapes and angles in their gowns this year and it has really paid off!

Demi Singleton in Miu Miu. We have yet another moment where the dress really speaks for itself and stands on its own! Hair, makeup, and jewelry are once again kept very minimal and really let the gown be the main event. This lilac color is so gorgeous on her, and the beading detailing on this dress is truly perfect. I especially love the way the beading is grouped; the cluster of crystals at the tops and bottoms of the gown with the more sporadic ones in the middle keep her from being overwhelmed. We have another column style dress here, which isn’t a typical style on the red carpets so it’s been enjoyable to see more of them this year!

Renate Reinsve in Louis Vuitton. This. Dress. My. God! I am going to start off by saying I wouldn’t have thought that this was a dress worn to the Oscars unless I was seeing this photo and knew where it came from. This looks more like a Grammy’s or something style, but nevertheless, I am OBSESSED! It is very edgy and different than most of the looks this year, or just at the Oscars in general, and the personality comes through in a way that it doesn’t always when a gown is at play. This is a much more simple dress that I would not call a gown, but either way, it is still gorgeous. Yet again we have very minimal makeup, hair, and jewelry and this dress makes up for all of that with all of the intricate details. It's gothic in nature which I love, and it follows in the footsteps of Zendaya’s ensemble in the sense that you could wear this in other settings than at the Oscars.

Saniyya Sideny in Armani Priveé. This is one of the most Oscar-esque gowns we saw this year. A tight, fitted bodice that spills out into a full skirt complete with the bejeweled detailing. Out of all of my favorites, this was probably my least favorite. And really not for any reason other than it doesn’t do anything different or exciting. The colors are gorgeous and the dress is very flattering on her but it dosnt’t do anything new or exciting. This is a moment I feel like she should have leaned into the makeup and jewelry and really leaned into the entire aesthetic of the princess moment.

Carolina Gaitán in Tony Ward. I don’t even know where to start with this masterpiece! This was yet another one of the gowns that had so many shapes and pieces to it that it really stood all on its own. She was the perfect person to be able to wear this because so many people could have easily gotten swallowed up in this gown and have it be wearing them, but miss Carolina Gaitán really wears and commands this dress. As we have seen so much in other looks, everything is kept very minimal and the dresses really speak for themselves as their own moment. I love the non-traditional color of this dress and the asymmetrical hemline. But instead of it being a high-low kind of moment with the front and back, we get a little something different with it on the sides. The train is perfect, and so are the sleeves that are constructed more like a shawl. Truly gorgeous!

Lupita Nyong’o in Prada. This woman never ceases to amaze me whenever she is on a red carpet. She stunned in her blue Cinderella dress moment years ago and has been upstaging most ever since. I will say I am not the biggest fan of the bottom of this dress because the fraying looks kind of like party streamers, but the rest of the dress is gorgeous and makes up greatly for that one weird bit. Her hair is up and once again we see simple makeup and almost no jewelry to be seen. The rose gold/crystal-like detailing on the bodice adds a little extra something even though the rest of the dress isn’t subtle by any means. She looks so radiant and glowing in this gown, it will definitely be one of my favorites for her from here on out.

Sofia Carson in Giambattista Valli. Most went slightly more simple this Oscars, but Sofia Carson said “go big or go home”! She took the basic idea of the tule ball gown and went up a level by making the majority of her dress of tule, and I am 100% here for it! Ballet style is kind of having a moment in fashion right now and this plays right into that and takes it over the top in a way that couldn’t have gone any better. It looks like it is either two pieces or there is a strip of tule connecting the two, but I love the idea that it could be a two-piece. It feels a little like old Hollywood glamour, but in the best way possible. I just really love this moment and Sofia Carson looks so beautiful and regal. Absolutely love.

Jada Pinkett Smith in Jean Paul Gaultier Couture. Because of all the Will Smith drama, Jada Pinkett Smith did not get the accolades and adoration that this gown deserves. She also missed the memo that people were going with the simple moment, but this was another one where the over top was so beautiful. I love the high neck and long sleeves of the bodice, especially the fact that the waistline is non-traditional and goes much lower. It’s almost a mermaid cut but the skirt of the gown is so much more than that. The entire gown almost looks like it has been constructed out of foil; the sheen and the crinkled nature of the fabric lend to all of that, especially at the end of the gown where it collects in a poof and then goes out to the back in the train. She looks lovely and this truly is a moment.

Megan Thee Stallion in Gaurav Gupta. Not only does this dress play with shape and angles, but it has a lot more appeal than many of the other dresses. When it comes to the Oscars, many women opt for a more modest take, but Megan and Carolina Gaitán took things up a notch by being both incredibly sexy, and elegant at the same time. Megan shows some skin and puts her famous curves on display, but also looks as radiant and ethereal as any other woman there. She is constantly talking about and showing how you can be sexy and have sex appeal while also being feminine and lovely, and this dress does all of that. The small train and the delicate pieces of shimmering fabric woven into the dress make it the focal point of the look as she also opted for a very minimal beauty and jewelry look. Absolutely flawless.

Tiffany Haddish in Dolce and Gabbana. This gown is one of many to opt for the column style. She kicks it up a notch by also having the train and the crystals decking out the entire length of the gown. This color is so perfect too because it plays with the eyes a little where in certain places it looks black but in the majority it’s green. She has gorgeous jewelry that matches the decadence of the gown and even though it is also very extravagant, it only adds to the beauty and doesn’t take away from it. I typically like either very flashy jewelry or gown, but Tiffany Haddish pulls off both in one look! I also really love her hair in contrast with this outfit and the short hair honestly just look so great on her. It also gives her an old Hollywood glam look that is just gorgeous.

Maggie Gyllenhaal in Schiaparelli. We are ending this round up with this very unique dress. I have mixed feelings about this one, but also kind of love it? I definitely love the construction and angles on this dress; we have another column dress moment and the neckline extending out into these insane, sharp shoulders is so cool. We do not see many dresses like this, especially at the Oscars, but I love it. The part that feels a little off to me is the golden embellishments that are on the dress. They kind of look like knobs you would find on a vintage dresser. I also saw on Tik Tok that people are comparing them to Forero Roche chocolates which I also kind of agree with. But it would look so boring if it was just a plain black dress with nothing else going on. Maggie Gyllenhaal can pull off anything so of course, she looks stunning, but I have some serious questions I would like to ask Schiaparelli.

I know this came out a bit late, and I definitely wanted it up much sooner than today, but it’s up and sometimes that’s all that matters! Leave me a comment down below on what your favorite look from the Oscars was and if I didn’t include one of your favorites! Have a lovely weekend friends!

Madey