Throughout the years, the Oscars has been a place for elegant and classy looks where people have their chance to impress—as of 2023—18.7 million viewers. With this opportunity, celebrities tend to go all out on their outfits with expensive luxury brands and bold statement pieces. However, in some of the past years, some looks have been described as downright horrendous, the Oscars may be a chance to shine for many, but some stand out for the wrong reasons. Whether the looks are done gracefully or horrendously, they all stand out and set precedents for the coming years. 

One star who walked onto the red carpet gracefully, looking stunning, was Jennifer Connelly. She had a simpler design with a black off-the-shoulder dress that was form-fitting in just the right places. While this may typically be considered plain for an event as formal as the Oscars, Connelly’s dress had a jeweled halter-neck piece under the black dress that made her stand out from the others. 

Of course, the dresses aren’t the only factor that contributes to the outfits. Jewelry, makeup, hairstyles, and accessories make all the difference in determining the best and worst dressed. That being said, while Connelly’s dress was perfect for the occasion, her accessories were lacking, and her outfit could’ve been improved if styled better.

Contrary to Jennifer Connelly, no accessorizing and styling could’ve saved actress Salma Hayek’s outfit. She seemed to be going for a chic and bold look in bright orange, but the outfit came across as cheap with little effort. The dress had a twist knot halter style with a cut-out, but not only was the shape of the dress generally boring, the materials just looked low-quality. Sequins cascade down it with tassel-like pieces on the bottom half, but the attempt for a posh and bright look ended up coming off like something you could buy at Party City. The tassels reminded me of the shiny streamers I would see as birthday party decorations as a kid, and the overall theme of the dress wasn’t suited for the Oscars. As for the accessorizing, she had a bronze color clutch and an aqua-blue ring, both colors that led to a mismatched mess of an outfit. We can only hope for better next year.

For another bright color gone wrong, we have Barry Keoghan in an indigo tuxedo. You may notice there aren’t many men on this list because almost all of them just wear a black tuxedo with a few accessories, if even. When they stray from the typical black suit, the looks end up with minimal changes and remain boring, or they wear a statement piece that often seems to come across as sloppy and low-effort or just outright ugly. In the case of Keoghan, the suit color wasn’t a huge aspect; however, every single other part of the outfit was. From the weird sun suit buttons to his disproportionately large shoes, nothing he has on seems to work together or have any rhyme or reason to it. While I don’t expect much from the men of the Oscars when they do decide to deviate from the plain tuxedo, they should at least try to make their outfits worthy of gracing the red carpet.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is actress Shohreh Aghdashloo. Her dress and entire ensemble were not only tasteful and refined but also had a deeper meaning and important message behind them. The dress style was inspired by Audrey Hepburn, but the embroidered words on the side are what truly make this outfit shine amongst the others. On one side is “Women, Life, Freedom,” a popular slogan in Iran, where Aghdashloo grew up. On the other side, listed are the names of three women who were engaged in protest and were murdered last September; Mahsa Amini (22), Hajar Abbasi (70), and Nika Shakarami (16). The dress flawlessly incorporates the symbolism and significance behind it while also stunning everyone with a stylish design and overall coordinated accessories. 

Now, in my opinion of worst-dressed, it was a close call. There were quite a few outfits from this year I wasn’t fond of, but the worst dressed this year had to be Jessie Buckley. Her dress has 16th-century sleeves with a touch of vampire to it. The dress is decorated in lacey floral designs that look like they were cut out of an old lady’s curtains and dyed black. While this may seem a bit harsh, I truly believe nothing could’ve saved this dress or this look. Aside from the dress, her hairstyle makes it look like she just woke up and didn’t bother to brush her hair. Although effortless is a look to strive for in some scenarios, this was not one of them. The outfit looked like it had a clear lack of effort put into it, and everything could’ve been done tremendously better to avoid the disappointment it brought upon me.

After the drab mess that is Jessie Buckley’s outfit, it wouldn’t seem like it can get better, but it can. My personal favorite for the best dressed at the 2023 Oscars is Cara Delevinge. Her outfit has everything needed to meet the guidelines of the perfect Oscars attire; it has both flowy and form-fitting aspects, a necklace that suits the neckline she’s wearing, and matching accessories and make-up. Her dress has all the flairs, dramatics, and more, and everything about her look is perfection. Her hair, albeit simply styled, matches perfectly with the dress, and everything fits together in a way that many of the others don’t. Many other outfits from this year’s Oscars may have fallen short of my expectations, but Delevinge’s surpassed all of them and has given me more confidence for the following years to come. More disappointments may be bound to ensue, but the truly special outfits will remain shining among the rest.