Pristine frocks stood out on the Oscar red carpet with Best Actress Jennifer Lawrence and Charlize Theron in Dior, Kristen Stewart in Reem Acra, Queen Latifah in Badgley Mischka, and Zoe Saldana in Alex Mabille.
White dresses: Pristine frocks stood out on the Oscar red carpet with Best Actress Jennifer Lawrence and Charlize Theron in Dior, Kristen Stewart in Reem Acra, Queen Latifah in Badgley Mischka, and Zoe Saldana in Alex Mabille.
Red dresses: If you're going to wear Valentino, make it red. Jennifer Aniston and Best Supporting Actress nominee Sally Field did. Olivia Munn wore Marchesa and Marcia Gay Harden wore David Meister.
Blue dresses: Sapphire blue was the colour of choice for Reese Witherspoon in Louis Vuitton, Best Supporting Actress nominee Helen Hunt in H&M, Jennifer Hudson in Roberto Cavalli, and nine-year-old Best Actress nominee Quvenzhane Wallis in Armani.
Black dresses: The red carpet's most durable colour made an appearance on Les Miserables star Samantha Barks in Valentino, Sandra Bullock in Elie Saab and black dress devotee Adele in Jenny Packham.
Black and gold: Some chose black but upped the glam factor with bling. Nicole Kidman wore her favourite designer L'Wren Scott, while Salma Hayek chose Alexander McQueen.
Pink and purple: Possibly even harder to pull off than fire engine red, the fearless few included Jennifer Garner in Gucci, Fan Bingbing in Marchesa and Kerry Washington in Miu Miu.
Pale dresses: Some alabaster skinned actresses made a striking contrast to the red carpet. Amy Adams wore Oscar de la Renta, Amanda Seyfried wore Alexander McQueen and Best Supporting Actress Anne Hathaway wore Prada.
Silver dresses: There was a big silver moment this year with surprise special guest Michelle Obama and George Clooney's girl Stacy Keibler in Naeem Khan, Naomi Watts in futuristic Armani Prive, and Halle Berry in Versace.
Gold dresses: Ooh, shiny! Catherine Zeta Jones wore Zuhair Murad (somebody had to, in the absence of Jennifer Lopez!), Best Actress nominee Jessica Chastain wore copper Armani Prive, Renee Zellweger wore old favourite Carolina Herrera and Bond girl Naomie Harris wore Michael Badger, winner of the Red Carpet Green Dress Challenge.
