Oscar's fashion parade

By the BBC's John Hand

In the run-up to this year's Oscars there had been endless hype about the amount of bare flesh that would be flashed following Jennifer Lopez's seemingly endless quest to wear less and less material at recent awards ceremonies.

But as it turned out, the fashionable look was much more demure than expected. Even Cher covered up her belly button for once, wearing a full-length dress which provided the night's main unscripted comedy when she tripped over it on the way to presenting an award.

Head-turner: British actress Gabrielle Anwar

But the five nominees for the award for the evening's best dressed woman should be Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Winona Ryder, Hilary Swank and Thora Birch.

A fashion gold star went to Kidman who sashayed in wearing a golden Dior gown which perfectly matched her hair.

Orange proved to be the perfect colour for Charlize Teron who wore a bright orange '40s inspired sheath gown designed by Vera Wang.

Ryder continued her tradition of stylish Oscar night outfits with an unfussy black affair accompanied by a white shoulder wrap.

Swank, who won her best actress Oscar for playing a part which required her to look boyish, went for a very feminine look in an olive green strapless gown.

Red carpet treatment: Singer Eykah Badu

But possibly the night's most stylishly dressed woman was Thora Birch who proved to be a true American Beauty in a Oriental-style embroidered white skirt and a cropped powder blue jacket.

There were plenty of other fashion successes, however.

Proving that even maternity wear can be glamorous - particularly if you can call on Giorgio Armani - was heavily-pregnant best actress nominee Annette Bening, who opted for a multi-layered black gown.

Popular choice

The most popular style of the evening was a bustier-style strapless gown which showed off bare shoulders but little else - as worn by Swank, Jane Fonda and several others.

But many of Hollywood's current glamour girls - including Chloe Sevigny, Heather Graham and Cameron Diaz - looked stunning in designer outfits that showed off plenty of cleavage.

Fashion prize: Boys Don't Cry co-star Chloe Sevigny

However, the fashion disasters were headed by a couple of actresses who showed off a little too much.

Melanie Griffith emerged in an outfit slashed to the navel, while Drew Barrymore went a little too far with a backless outfit, and also had a tasteless green neck adornment that looked suspiciously like seaweed.

Erykah Badu turned up in an outfit made by a friend which comprised of green leather squares sewn together with yellow raffia, complete with a garish green head-dress that itself seemed bigger than Haley Joel Osment.

Glamour

Dame Judi Dench looked as glamorous as you can in an outfit which looked as if it was thrown together from some net curtains and Janet McTeer proved that red jackets only work well on kimonos and pyjamas.

The men had an easier time, with most opting for the basic tuxedo, which made some look like bouncers (Michael Clarke Duncan) and some like waiters (Robert Benigni).

South Park cross-dressers: Matt Stone and Trey Parker

A few bent the rules slightly, with Keanu Reeves looking stylish with an all-black look but it South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone who were the most adventurous.

They dressed in drag with Parker wearing a replica of the cotton pink Ralph Lauren gown Gwyneth Paltrow wore when winning the Best Actress last year.

Parker opted for the much-talked-about green Versace dress that Jennifer Lopez wore at the Grammy awards.

Maybe it was the sight of his hairy legs that prompted the move towards a cover-up among Hollywood''s leading ladies.