Rivers duo praise Oscar gowns

‘There was no worst’ says fashion critic Joan Rivers

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updated 2:52 p.m. ET Feb. 28, 2005

NEW YORK - Joan and Melissa Rivers are singing the praises of the Oscar fashions, saying the simple, colorful gowns hit the right note.

Usually, the mother-daughter duo come off the red carpet and dish about the best and worst dressed, “but there was no worst!” Joan Rivers said Monday on NBC’s “Today” show. They are the fashion commentators for the TV Guide Channel.

“The women were beautiful,” added Melissa Rivers.

Cate Blanchett’s yellow one-shoulder Valentino gown, which had a wide maroon sash, was a hard look to pull off, but she did it. “To wear maroon and yellow, and to look gorgeous ... that’s a fashionista!” Joan Rivers said.

Among their other favorites from Sunday’s Academy Awards show in Los Angeles were Catalina Sandino Moreno, who wore a white hourglass slip gown with thick beaded straps by Roberto Cavalli, Renee Zellweger in a red strapless Carolina Herrera gown and Salma Hayek in a blue Prada gown with black beading and bows.

Melissa Rivers also admired Hayek’s diamond and sapphire drop earrings by Harry Winston. The Rivers duo explained that most of the jewelry is borrowed and must be returned immediately after the show, but it’s common knowledge that Oprah Winfrey wears her own diamonds. “She buys,” Joan Rivers said.

Meanwhile, Oscar winner Hilary Swank, who is Calvin Klein’s underwear model and lately has worn his gowns to awards shows, chose a high-neck, sapphire-blue gown with long sleeves by Guy Laroche. (The New York Times said perhaps Swank was being superstitious, noting that she had made a last-minute change in designers when she won an Oscar for “Boys Don’t Cry” in 2000.)

The few fashion missteps were taken by men, critics said. Spike Lee wore a white suit paired with a black fez, black shirt, black tie and clear, oversized round eyeglasses. And Samuel L. Jackson’s stretch wool tuxedo with a covered placket and rolled collar looked — from a distance — like a rubber scuba suit.