Equally popular, white yielded an array of romantic styles. One of the night’s biggest winners, Felicity Huffman, bested the field in a Grecian goddess Marchesa gown with shirred bust and beaded straps. Equally luminous was Kate Beckinsale in an angelic floor-length Dior dress with ruffled neckline and dramatic tiered hem (although her oversize emerald drop earrings were widely criticized, we thought it added a funky edge to an ensemble that might have otherwise looked old-fashioned). In a sea of formfitting silhouettes, Sandra Oh was especially stunning in a sophisticated off-white Collette Dinnigan gown with draped back. Although we weren’t enamored with Keira Knightley’s tassled rope belt, she was a vision nonetheless in a crisp white Valentino with vintage Cartier jewelry (the baubles alone were reportedly worth an estimated $3 million). And while the very-pregnant Gwyneth Paltrow was condemned far and wide for her fashion choice, we thought she looked lovely in her creamy lace Balenciaga.

Just when the evening looked completely devoid of color, several stars pulled out all the stops in a rainbow of eye-catching hues, the most vibrant of which was Ziyi Zhang’s ethereal lime green Armani with floor-sweeping train. Evangeline Lilly looked fresh and radiant in an emerald-green Empire-waist Elie Saab, while Rachel Weisz glowed in a bronze Donna Karen, proving that pregnancy dresses needn't be boring. Desperate Houswives Eva Longoria and Nicolette Sheridan both redeemed themselves from past red-carpet transgressions in a red wrap Bob Mackie gown and elegant navy Armani dress, respectively. Kyra Sedgwick sported a surprisingly chic chocolate-brown Bottega Veneta, while Emmy Rossum, who rarely hits a wrong note, looked charming in a diaphanous mocha Dior number (we also adored the red Celine frock she wore a week earlier at the Critics’ Choice Awards).

Fire the Stylist
But like all good things, the sartorial splendor came to an end, and most of the evening’s worst missteps could be blamed on golden globes of a different sort. Perhaps most baffling was Pamela Anderson’s slingtastic Bill Blass, which emphasized, rather than minimized, the bombshell’s paranormal proportions. Perky in image but apparently not in décolletage, Drew “Born Free” Barrymore was a hot mess in jade Gucci sans much-needed support garment (a difficulty she shared with Lisa Rinna, who unwisely sported a crystal-encrusted gown cut to the waist). Apparently afflicted with the opposite dilemma, Scarlett Johansson was more bust than beauty in a gravity-defying red Valentino. Respectively poured into their second-skin Escada and Chanel gowns, Geena Davis’s and Mariah Carey’s bordello-licious bosoms looked as if they were on the verge of explosion. (Both might have followed the lead of Queen Latifah, a larger woman than either, who consistently chooses figure-flattering dresses—that evening, a lovely Carmen Marc Valvo in rich teal.)