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For those who believe the Oscars are all about the dresses, it's official, kind of. Some stars were asked to skip the red carpet so the pre-show didn't steal the thunder from the awards themselves, it's been reported. But do what they may, the Academy couldn't circumvent the biggest red-carpet catwalk of the year.

Early actors to walk the carpet included the stars of Slumdog Millionaire Dev Patel and Freida Pinto. Pinto wore a blue John Galliano gown with one bare shoulder and one lacey arm along with a 100-year-old diamond ring from India.

Many gowns had fishtail or flared skirts. Amy Adams paired her floor-sweeping Carolina Herrera red strapless gown with a chunky green, blue and red necklace from Fred Leighton. Vanessa Hudgens's Marchesa gown had the fishtail hem added later by the designer for her. Diane Lane appeared in a Dolce & Gabbana black fishtail gown with Josh Brolin, also in Dolce. Beyonce's black and gold fishtail dress did the silhouette in dramatic colours, while Anne Hathaway's white Armani fishtail dress was awash in paillettes, reminescent of Marion Cotillard's dress from 2008, with a buckle in back.

Oscar fashion: the looks revealed during the show

Some stars skipped the red carpet so viewers only got a peek at their dresses during the show. Here, some highlights

• The worst Oscar gowns ever

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• Oscars beauty

Gowns came in a rainbow of colours. Sarah Jessica Parker wore a Dior Haute Couture strapless gown that she described as "barely mint" and that gave her attention-grabbing cleavage. Viola Davis, nominated for Doubt, wore a dusky gold halterneck dress by Reem Acra. Natalie Portman wore bright pink, accented with dark nails. Penelope Cruz's white vintage Pierre Balmain gown was ruched and embellished with sparkles. Kate Winslet's one-shouldered gown was two-tone: grey on one side of the body, black on the other.

Heidi Klum paired a bright red Roland Mouret dress that took its cues from origami, with red spindly high heels and chunky earrings and bracelets, including a Diet Coke charm that she designed to benefit a charity (guess what: they are available to buy). Marisa Tomei's white Versace dress was a cascade of folds all the way down the skirt. Jessica Biel, spotted on the red carpet talking on her mobile phone, wore a strapless ivory column dress from Prada featuring a folded-over panel at the bust that extended down the front of the skirt.

Hair ranged from subdued (Cruz, SJP, Klum), to sexily undone (Tomei, Jolie) to sculpted (Winslet, Wood). The look for lips tended to be nude or pale, with smoky eyes. And jewellery was either of the "statement" variety or scarce, as several actresses walked the carpet with bare necks.

See a slideshow of Oscars beauty

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