From red carpet to area rug

How to apply the stars’ Oscar glam to your everyday style

By Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor

February 22 saw this year’s airing of the Oscars, and the stars were out in full force—and full regalia. For those of us who don’t need to own an evening gown anytime soon, we can still benefit from that Oscar fashion fever by taking a page out of our favourite celebrity’s book, and applying the formal wear’s characteristics to our everyday style.

The good thing about celebrities is that they’re people, just like us. Except with better hair, better skin, and a stylist to tell them what shapes and colours will flatter them—but I digress. The point is that they have the same issues with proportions that we do.

Take Chloë Grace Moretz: the Kick-Ass and If I Stay star has broad shoulders with a smaller bust. With the wrong outfit, this can come off as masculine. In order to avoid this, for her Oscar gown she donned a strapless Miu Miu in a floral pattern, that comes away from the body at the natural waist.

When I use the term natural waist I don’t mean the place where your pants sit—the natural waist is higher. Normally it is the smallest point of your torso, just under your rib cage. By having the dress start its skirt there, it balances out her shoulders and gives the illusion that they are less-broad. The fact that there are no straps contributes to the illusion by not cutting her body into sections. Spaghetti straps are the worst offenders for this, so if you have a similar proportion, stick to either strapless or broader, square straps if you want to bare your biceps.

Petite people, such as Mom star Anna Faris, always struggle to look as if their legs are a mile long. For the Oscars, Faris trusted famed designer Zuhair Murad, and the gown she ended up wearing certainly did the job. The silver, A-line gown was belted at the waist, creating a division between the upper and lower body. This is a good idea for people who feel they have a longer torso that is disproportionate to their legs. By adding a belt you create a visual cue that will fool the eye into thinking that the lower body actually starts higher, making your legs appear longer.

For curvier girls, look no further than The Help star, Viola Davis. Davis has a large bust but looked perfect in her off-the-shoulder Zac Posen ball gown. What I like about this look is that Davis still looks feminine, without having to expose cleavage. By baring her shoulders instead of her bust, Davis doesn’t look too buttoned-up or prude. Dressing a large bust can be difficult, as any sort of collar can suddenly appear inappropriate simply because you have more up-top than the average girl. A good way to avoid that is to find shirts that cover the bust, but leave the clavicle and neck open—it’s a sure-fire way to look elegant.

Now I know that all this might not be helpful to our male readers out there. Sorry boys, it’s a little hard to take proportion tips from the red carpet—but all men look great in a tux!