The Red Carpet Oscar goes… to the white shirt (or not).

The ballgown is gone. The simple white shirt will live on. A crisp white shirt will be the Oscar ceremony’s iconic look. Not only were Chris Rock and Will Smith wearing them, but also because most of the best dressed red carpet guests chose white shirts over fairytale frocks.

Zendaya, the star of six-statuette winning Dune, wore an ivory silk shirt with a deep collar and pearl-buttoned sleeves. The sweater was cropped in the middle, above a sequined-silver maxi skirt. Valentino Haute Couture created the look for Zendaya. Law Roach, a long-time stylist at Hollywood Fashion, has been a formidable force in Hollywood fashion and dressed Venus Williams.

Uma Thurman wore a Bottega Veneta white shirt in a more traditional proportion, paired with a floor-length black satin skirt. This look references the white shirt she wore almost three decades ago in her breakthrough role as Mia Wallace in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.

Dylan Meyer and Kristen Stewart arrive at the Dolby theatre. Photograph: Jim Ruymen/UPI/Rex/Shutterstock

Kristen Stewart wore a Chanel sheer white shirt with crystal buttons, paired with black hotpants. Stewart didn’t have a gown in mind. The last-minute decision was to wear the jacket and shirt with shorts or trousers. “Kristen was like, “Let’s make it. Tara Swennen, Stewart’s stylist, told Harper’s Bazaar. Stewart’s fiancée, actor, and screenwriter Dylan Meyer wore a pin-tucked, untucked white shirt on the red carpet.

Wanda Sykes was one of the co-hosts and wore a white shirt, with rhinestone buttons, under a Pamela Roland shawl-collared white tuxedo suit. Alex Sykes wore a more Oscar-style sparkly dress. Lady Gaga presented the best picture award with Liza Minnelli in a wing-tip white shirt and bow tie.

There were many stunning outfits on the red-carpet – Maggie Gyllenhaal wore a bizarre Schiaparelli dress dotted with gold rosettes that looked like they were growing elephant’s trunks or rabbit ears; Kirsten Duncan opted for vintage Christian Lacroix; Billie Eilish wore a huge stormcloud of gothic Gucci; Chloe Bailey wore a purple-beaded gown with a thigh-split that reached her armpit, and Kodi Chala Veneta Tega Veneta shirtless.

At the Oscars, the usual dress rules are reversed, and the white shirt is a striking choice. You won’t be noticed if you arrive dressed in feathers or sequins. Instead, wear a plain white shirt and enjoy the gasps.

A reference to Mia Wallace? … Uma Thurman. Photograph: Valérie Macon/AFP/Getty Images

A white shirt can be a great way for celebrities to attend the Oscars while also distancing them from the toxic elements of the Academy Awards history. As the Academy Awards struggle to address diversity in representation and celebrate female creativity, the traditional ballgown is tainted with patriarchal femininity and redolent high-society elite elitism.

Sharon Stone and then-husband, Phil Bronstein, at the Oscars in 1998. Photograph: Featureflash Archive/Alamy

A white shirt on a woman and a black shirt on a man in Chalamet’s case speaks to a departure from the hubris that the Oscars want to end and a modern approach to gender. It is worth noting that Chalamet chose his suit from the latest Louis Vuitton womenswear line. This suit was last seen in Paris at Louis Vuitton’s Musee d’Orsay show earlier.

Since Lauren Bacall wore a white shirt opposite Humphrey Bogart’s 1948 film Key Largo, the white shirt has been a staple on screen. More recently, it has gained a reputation for being a top-of-the-line red carpet look.

Sharon Stone wore a white cotton shirt by The Gap paired with a Vera Wang skirt in lavender satin. This combination was controversial at the time but is still a highlight of her red carpet appearances. Diane Keaton was an iconic white-shirt-wearing actress as Annie Hall. She wore a white shirt and a Ralph Lauren frock coat with a bowler hat to the 2004 Oscars.

The most popular look on the red carpet is most people have in their closets. Perhaps the Oscars have changed.

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