It’s less than three weeks until Oscar night.
Female nominees: Do you know where your gowns are?
If you’re lucky (or, rather, if you’ve hired a smart stylist) they would have been seen coming down one of the catwalks yesterday during the fourth day of the New York Fashion Week fall 2004 shows.
It was Glamour Central yesterday morning at the Bryant Park tents, where three red-carpet heavy-hitters debuted their new evening creations, beginning with Monique Lhuillier, who made the lovely petal-pink dress “21” actress Elisha Cuthbert wore to the Golden Globes.
For day, there were some great coats (take a note: those with neck ties are going to be big this year) as well as some super pantsuits.
Best for the after-six crowd were Lhuillier’s chiffon blouses worn with fluffy A-line skirts and cinched with sexy bustiers and satin cocktail dresses with clever pockets that might be perfect for a cell phone or lipstick if one didn’t want to carry a purse.
There were many more red-carpet options at Carolina Herrera, who has what almost amounts to a second job dressing Renée Zellweger.
Some looks were brilliant (the silk ski vests will be a big hit in Aspen), but this wasn’t Carolina’s best show ever. Many of her dresses looked like they weren’t quite done.
But there were some winners, including a celery-colored silk gown with large pockets shown with a long fur stole.
Fur, feathers and beading galore was the order of the day at Oscar de la Renta.
Like his colleague Carolina, Oscar didn’t turn in his most inspired show this season. Still, there were still plenty of Oscar-worthy gowns that would dazzle even Joan Rivers on Feb. 29.
Nicole Kidman should consider ditching Tom Ford this season in favor of one of de la Renta’s delicate frocks. She’d look phenomenal in the short pink chiffon dress with silver embellishments.
Elsewhere, Jill Stuart looked to her famously extensive vintage collection for inspiration. Pieces like the rhinestone-flecked slip dresses and fur jackets stuck with huge jeweled pins looked great.
Also tops were Cynthia Steffe’s tweed and houndstooth pieces (loved the strapless dress!). And DKNY looked lively with its flippy pleated skirts and dreamy chiffon dresses.