Notebook pages

This week’s Notebook pages are entirely dedicated to the Oscars.

I looked and looked for a photo of Gwyneth not on the red carpet (for a different visual impact) and without the cape (those sleeves must be shown, they make the dress!) and here it is, at the Vanity Fair party.

Maybe it was not the most spectacular Oscars show — the gowns certainly weren’t, but I’ve already gotten used to being sistematically disappointed by the red carpet dresses over the past years; and to be completely honest, when I saw Gwyneth Paltrow in her Tom Ford gown I knew there was no other dress that could compete with hers, not according to my standards of glamour at least.

But I was determined to enjoy everything the night had to offer. And this 84th edition of the Academy Awards was certainly more than I had expected. Live glamour, good jokes, great show, the feeling that with Billy Crystal you were in good hands and most importantly, I was happy that a film like The Artist received the recognition it deserved from the Academy as well (I had my doubts). And that other important awards went to Hugo, another film that pays an homage to the era of silent movies in our times.

Here are the Oscar 2012 Highlights (some of you may already have seen part of it on my Facebook page):

• Christopher Plummer’s acceptance speech (I haven’t found the entire version unfortunately)
• Woody Allen’s award for Original Screenplay for Midnight in Paris
• Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo winning for Art Direction. I am so happy that Martin Scorsese, this talented man who breaths film and who has given so much to cinema and to us, not only through his films, but also through his untiring efforts in the restoration, preservation and promoting of old movies, is still working with the artists and artisans of Cinecittà (maybe you remember my article about Handmade Cinema?)
• Emma Stone’s moment with Ben Stiller. She was hilarious and she looked beautiful in her Giambattista Valli dress
• Kirk and Michael Douglas at the Vanity Fair Oscar party. Don’t you love them?
• I’m glad about The Artist‘s 5 academy awards, but if only Jean Dujardin had shared the award with Gary Oldman. How come this incredible actor has been left out for so many years and decades?
• Meryl Streep at her 3rd Oscar. She has broken all records with the most Academy Awards nominations ever, seventeen, but will she equal Katharine Hepburn’s performance of 4 wins?

photos: by Billy Farrell, Vanity Fair

14 Responses to Notebook pages

Not Just A Pretty Dress wrote on
--> 29 February 2012 at 11:14 am

Gwyneth in Tom Ford was my absolute favourite as well. She (and the dress/in that dress) was simply stunning! Ada, thank you for sharing your Oscar notes! I haven’t seen many videos but I always like to watch the acceptance speeches: not sure why but whoever receives the Oscar, whatever they say, they make me sort of crying…
design elements wrote on
--> 29 February 2012 at 12:13 pm

Gwyneth looks so beautiful! less is more

big hugs to you, Ada
Odessa wrote on
--> 29 February 2012 at 12:29 pm

I totally agree, I think Gwyneth’s dress was the one that stood out during the Oscars….without the cape! I just bought Midnight in Paris, so hopefully I have some time soon to watch a winner. Happy Wednesday xoxo
LatteLisa wrote on
--> 29 February 2012 at 1:05 pm

Ada, how I love this post.

The photos you found of Gwyneth are beautiful. I loved that Tom Ford dress! I loved the cape too. The links are just wonderful. I hadn’t seen that beautiful photo of Kirk and Michael Douglas. It somehow seemed obvious that Jean Dujardin would win but I was hoping for Gary Oldman or simply a tie between those two. One day he’ll get an Oscar; just like Jeff Bridges finally did, I’m sure of that.

PS. Congratulations again for winning my Marie Antoinette inspired giveaway 😉
Rachel {Little Bits of Lovely} wrote on
--> 29 February 2012 at 1:48 pm

Beautiful post Ada; I’m so glad to see the photos of Gwyneth + her amazing dress without the cape – looks incredible. Her simple, pulled back hair lets allows all focus on the utterly stunning dress. I’m so glad Meryl Streep won + its amazing she is so close to matching Katherine Hepburn’s record! xx
Clochet wrote on
--> 29 February 2012 at 4:24 pm

Gwyneth is my absolute favourite!! She is perfection in that dress!
xo,Clochet
Priscilla Joy wrote on
--> 29 February 2012 at 4:47 pm

I loved this dress. So incredibly chic.

Have a splendid day. xx
Christine (Fash n Chips) wrote on
--> 29 February 2012 at 5:23 pm

Lovely post Ada 🙂
I agree with the red carpet disappointment! But after the last few years (and knowing neither Diane or Cate would be there) I didn’t have high expectations to start with. Gwyneth was my fave as well, but I MUCH prefered the look with the cape – she blew me away when she first arrived!
The show itself was good, not great. I was happy with most of the wins though, especially for The Artist, Jean Dujardin and Christopher Plummer! But overall it wasn’t too exciting – still better than last year of course – but I’d expected more (especially from Billy Crystal!)
Still my favourite night of the year though – always hate when it’s over 🙂 x
Aubrey wrote on
--> 29 February 2012 at 6:36 pm

She got it *SO* right this time! She is absolutely stunning…it was so fabulous with the cape! (c:
Alexa wrote on
--> 29 February 2012 at 8:49 pm

She really looks so stunning. And effortlessly classic.
LittleRus wrote on
--> 29 February 2012 at 9:21 pm

Gwyneth was absolutely stunning and unforgettable. Everyone else looked almost old-fashioned and boring next to her. x
Captivated by image wrote on
--> 29 February 2012 at 10:12 pm

I can only talk about the dresses for I did not watched the show, and Gwyneth was the absolute show stopper. That dress, on her and her simple hairstyle, it lookede so perfect and grand. You already know I loved the red carpet appearances more years ago (they seemd to make much more impact then), but I must say this time I was very pleased with the beautiful dresses. The Vanity Fair photo’s were absolutely gorgeous!
Congrats on winning Lisa’s give-away, that is fabulous! And new black pumps as a gift, really really nice;)
Sofie wrote on
--> 1 March 2012 at 7:55 pm

How could it come that the most simple dress made it to our No1? Thanks for this beautiful posting and for sharing your highlights of this night (ok, ok… apart from “SCORSESE!”… 😉 ) Gwyneth’s dress reminds me so much of this glorious, most stunning collection by Tom Ford for Gucci FW 1996 – with those clean white dresses and golden metal belts. He’s the master of clean chic. I had a (small) feeling Gwyneth would wear something clean + simple yet stunning to the Oscars after her latest appearance in that black Stella McCartney dress with metal belt.
It was great fun watching the show – and even more special by spending it with more sleepless Twitteraties from all over Europe 🙂
Meta Musings wrote on
--> 2 March 2012 at 1:54 am

STUNNING!!! xx