Who got it right, or wrong, on the red carpet

The do's and don't from the red carpet

The total legend

It's easy to pick a young slip of a thing in a sparkly gown as the best-dressed person at the Academy Awards, but Meryl Streep wore her Lanvin gown with the confidence of a woman who has nothing to prove. Hats off to her.

The nude squad

Call them what you will - beige, blush, barely there - but the ultra-feminine, nude gown, embellished with silver beading, was so popular this year that it almost deserved an Oscar of its own. Best actress Cate Blanchett wore an Armani Privé version, Angelina Jolie one from Elie Saab.

The pastel princesses

Could Penelope Cruz and Lupita Nyong'o have looked any prettier? Their delicate pastel dresses had us sighing and wishing we, too, were Hollywood princesses.

Liza with an omg

Liza Minnelli had it all going on - a colour so bright it seared your retinas, a coordinating hair streak, and extremely ill-advised flower-shaped nipple shields. There is a time and a place for wearing a good bra. This was it.

Knights in white satin

Now for something different. With the women playing it safe, the men seized the chance to experiment, none to better effect than Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. Did the Dallas Buyer's Club duo discuss their coordinating white tuxedos before the ceremony? It certainly made for some lovely shots later after they picked up their Oscars.

Get shorty!

Singer Pharrell Williams is possibly the first man in the history of the Oscars to work the red carpet in shorts. Later he changed into jeans, a tracksuit top, trainers and his signature tall hat to treat the crowd to a performance of his ridiculously catchy song Happy.

Get a room

Bradley Cooper and British model Suki Waterhouse, seated in the front row, could barely keep their hands or eyes off each other all night.