Last year, the singer's white tulle bird frock gave flight to plenty of Oscar fashion snickering. This time around, the fashion victim honors go to Cameron Diaz, who showed up in Nora Desmond's flowery satin bathrobe.

Maybe it was the new venue, maybe there wasn't room in the limo for the stylists or maybe no one cared what Joan Rivers thought.

Whatever the reason, the fashion parade along the red - make that cranberry, according to E! - carpet was "haute"-hum compared to January's glitzy Golden Globe Awards.

Best supporting actress winner Jennifer Connelly was a disappointment when you consider how fabulous she looked in basic black (with a white gardenia) at the Globes. Her flesh-tone "Thoroughly Modern Millie" chiffon dress by revived design house Balenciaga left her looking a bit wan and also in need of a support garment.

Nominee Nicole Kidman was another color victim, completely abandoning her flamboyant Satine image from "Moulin Rouge" by wearing a pale pink ruffly creation from Chanel.

Earlier in the day, E!'s fashion guru Leon Hall declared that this would not be an evening of "frumpy-dumpy" outfits because of the preponderance of beautiful, fashion-conscious nominees.

Hall must have been wincing as he watched the likes of Marisa Tomei and Sissy Spacek alight onto the red carpet, though the latter did opt for a skirt instead of her usual oversized tux.

The evening wasn't a total fashion fiasco. There were some best-dressed highlights in sight at the Kodak Theatre.

Winner Halle Berry's burgundy mesh bodice (with strategically placed flowers) and burgundy satin ballskirt could only have been pulled off by, uh, Halle Berry. The woman never disappoints.

Actress Reese Witherspoon, in a cap-sleeved, lacy Valentino with beaded skirt, and her actor husband, Ryan Phillippe, get the vote for cutest, best-dressed couple.

(Honorable mention couple kudos to Jada Pinkett Smith, in gold and white, the gold matching husband Will Smith's tie.)

Other fashion winners?

Jennifer Lopez held back this year but nevertheless looked truly Hollywood with oversized, hot-roller curls and a pink, strapless Versace.

Julia Roberts, despite sporting one of the night's many "messy" hairdos, wore a simple, cutout Giorgio Armani gown she described as "something I'm comfortable in and can get around in."

A slimmed-down Kate Winslett was one of the few stars to don red; hers a one-shouldered, fitted sheath.

Remember last year and actress Renee Zellweger's bold move to wear bright yellow? Zellweger can always be counted on to go strapless, but this year she played it safe in a sweeping black organza frock by American designer Carolina Herrera; a simple, yet well-kept chignon for her hair.

And hooray for San Francisco transplant Sharon Stone. She's been out of the limelight as of late, being a new mom and all, but what a way to re-emerge. Her backless black Versace prompted husband Phil Bronstein to comment, "I always appreciate an opportunity to go out with my wife."

From the vantage point of the armchair, it's easy to spot the truly garish amid the truly stylish.

For example, Sting's wife, Trudie Styler, did the unthinkable on the red carpet: an iron cross around her neck and the drawing-room curtains on her back.

And Paul McCartney's fiancee, Heather Mills, crossed into the forbidden bare-midriff zone in a two-piece beaded ensemble that exposed more middle than is legal - unless your first name is Britney.

One last uh-oh. And it's a biggie.

Gwyneth Paltrow. Remember the sweet, frothy pink Ralph Lauren confection she wore when she won the Oscar for "Shakespeare in Love" in 1998? Well, Gwyneth went goth this year round, opting for black-rimmed eyes and a see-through top, a la Lopez from 2001.

As for the men, winner Denzel Washington and nominee Russell Crowe were dapper in traditional tuxes while other familiar faces - Ron Howard, Tom Cruise, Tom Wilkinson and Samuel L. Jackson - chose ties, some black, several silver satin.

And what would the Academy Awards be without outrageous accessories. None was more "out there" than the million-dollar diamond-studded Stuart Weitzman stilettos and 77-carat, $27-million diamond necklace worn by actress Laura Elena Harring ("Mulholland Drive").

Her date for the evening? Three oversized bodyguards.