Los Angeles — Stars aimed for classy, old-Hollywood glamour at the Academy Awards on Sunday, showing lots of black and not a lot of skin.
"I just wanted to feel and look like a movie star," said Marcia Gay Harden, who won the best supporting actress award for "Pollock." She arrived on the red carpet in a strapless, dark-red dress with matching wrap.
Julia Roberts wears vintage Valentino in black with a white V front, accessorized with her megawatt smile and boyfriend Benjamin Bratt on her arm.
Julia Roberts, whom many designers were hoping to dress, ended up opting for a vintage Valentino a black gown with white straps forming a "Y" down the front. She matched beau Benjamin Bratt, who wore a black tux and white-on-white tie and shirt.
Along with Roberts, others wearing black were Catherine Zeta-Jones, Penelope Cruz and Annette Bening. Many dresses had long trains.
Being seen in the "right" gown or tux draws more than just oohs and ahs from the celebrity watchers gathered outside the Shrine Auditorium. It can be worth millions in free publicity for a designer and a star whose outfit is pictured, again and again, in newspapers and magazines.
Joan Allen, nominated for best actress for "The Contender," wore a sequined coral turtleneck halter gown designed by Michael Kors.
Allen, whose hair was in a bob, said it took "about five hours" to achieve her simple yet elegant look.
"I wanted a dress that is fun and elegant," said CoCo Lee, there to sing the best original song nominee "A Love Before Time."
She chose a Chanel gown constructed of panels of multicolored sequins down the front, with blocked, pleated and gathered material in the back.
"Very vibrant," she described it.
Many of the men opted for traditional black tie, including Sting, nominated for best original song for "My Funny Friend and Me" from the "The Emperor's New Groove." He and his son arrived in matching Gucci tuxedos.
Sting's wife, Trudie Styler, wore a strapless floral gown and the musician quipped, "She grew it from a seed. It took six months."
Samuel L. Jackson arrived in a floor-length, black-buttoned Armani jacket.
"I like how it makes me look tall and thinner," he said.
Throwing out tradition altogether was Joaquin Phoenix, nominated for best supporting actor for "Gladiator." Phoenix walked down the red carpet chewing gum and clutching a bottle of water. With his white shirt untucked and his hair uncombed, he seemed to have a lock on the most-unkempt award.
Seeing that the evening was not entirely without a dramatic fashion statement was Bjork, nominated for best original song for "I've Seen It All," from "Dancer in the Dark." She wore a white, feathered, knee-length dress tailored to look like a swan complete with a swan's head that she wrapped around her neck.
"My friend made it for me," she said shyly.
Jennifer Lopez, known for eye-catching awards-show apparel, arrived in a one-shoulder, two-tone gown by Chanel with a gray, see-through top and billowing skirt.
"I always choose at the last minute, which is bad. This is what I feel good in at the time," she said.
Director Cameron Crowe also chose Armani, as did his wife, Nancy Wilson. Her long black, satin gown was seeded at the top with rhinestones and she accessorized it with elbow-length, black satin gloves. Wilson, of the rock group Heart, said she sought a "classic yet slightly rocking" look.
Her husband, who has been filming "Vanilla Sky" with Tom Cruise, arrived with a hairstyle that might be described as newly shorn.
"Tom had to cut his hair for his new movie and he dared Cameron to do it with him," Wilson explained. "It looks like he's 12 years old."
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