My Best Dressed at the 2021 Oscars Is …

I’ve written before my lifelong love for DayGlo colors. Photos prove that I favor neon-pink for special occasions, like the first day of my last year of high school. Seriously! Check out my 1984 first-day-of-school top by Guess, peeking out from under my popped-collar denim jacket.

Twenty-nine years later, I wore a fancy version of that blue-and-pink color scheme to the Vanity Fair after-Oscars party.

In between, I startled the guests at a friend’s 2003 wedding with this electric-pink Versace suit.

So, yes, I’m partial to DayGlo pink. But even if you don’t have my track record with neon, I expect Colman Domingo’s pink Versace Couture suit caught your eye at tonight’s scaled-down Oscars. Behold, the winner of my prestigious Best Dressed/Wear What You Want combo award!

I’ve been handing out my top style award to men with great frequency ever since Pharrell Williams and Jared Leto shook up the dependence on the traditional tuxedo in 2014. It seems a little unfair, to be honest. The bar was set so low for the fellas for so long that they have an unfair red-carpet advantage now. Women who wanted to make a fashion splash have had to push the envelope forever — and the most distinctive lewks often come in for a lot of mockery before the “Never Is the Next New Thing™” phenomenon kicks in and everyone is wearing the once-reviled style. All the dudes have had to do is put on a well-cut colorful suit or a big brooch, and we all go gaga. That said, Domingo does look spectacular. He killed in Louis Vuitton at last week’s Independent Spirt Awards too.

My runner-up for my 2021 Oscars Best Dressed/Wear What You Want combo award is Dana Murray, for the shape of her Christopher John Rogers dress. I’m obsessed with the structure of this design.

I would have preferred to see the dress in a different color …

… or with edgier styling, like so.

I have no such “notes” for my winner of the accessories division. I wholeheartedly (ahem!) approve of Celeste Waite’s anatomically-correct heart purse. Her gown was custom-made by Gucci; I’m not certain about the provenance of the purse; it does look like a Judith Leiber.

The purse has been singled out by some worst-dressed lists, which makes me like it even more. Nothing like a worst-dressed list to let you know you’ve made an impression!