I want to note three things as I kick off my red carpet coverage from the 84th Annual Academy Awards - or the 2012 Oscars as we like to call it. First, this was not a banner year. There were no stand-out dresses that made us weep with joy. Neither were there any swans as dresses. Therefore it is safe to say that this red carpet was, well, safe. Secondly, that there were a higher than average number of 'almost but not quite' dresses and I will post alllllllll of these later. So many. And finally, that the little black dress as the go-to outfit for all occasions has been replaced. By the little white dress. Again, so many of these. So let's kick off with the best of the pale frocks. Three ladies rocked it hard. Gwyneth Paltrow needs a round of applause. Tom Ford new season. With a cape. BAM. Later on the cape came off, but this elegant sheath of a dress was, to quote Kelly Osbourne, perfection. And it hurts a bit to say that. And it reminds me how much I liked her short bob hair cut. But moving on. Rooney Mara mixed things up and brought it with Givenchy Couture. Pity she was so cool that she only picked it out that morning as it would have benefitted from a bit of tailoring. But nice. So pretty. And Milla Jovovich was exquisite in Elie Saab. With so many ladies wearing Saab to so many red carpets now, it is hard to look special in his designs, but this really worked and she looks super-super-lovely.

Continuing in the pale-but-lovely vein were another three actresses (can one call J-Lo an actress? I guess you can but I will call her baby). Cameron Diaz and her new bestie Jennifer Lopez got ready together and presented an award together. And both wore off-white. Cammie's dress is Gucci Premier and is lovely on her. Baby's dress is Zuhair Murad — and she has the girls out and the upper arms out. I am not sure that there is a style rule on getting both of those out simultaneously but I have now decided there should be. Too much. The deep v-neck should have been enough. Ah, but then it is all ok because the glorious and very relatable Octavia Spencer (or the girl Phillip Seymour Hoffman as we have decided she is) turned up the ante on the little white dress and wore Tadashi Shoji, as she does, and looked amazing, beautiful and special all at once. What a year for Octavia. Plus she got a standing ovation when she won proving she is the actors' actor of the moment. Love her. (although Gwyn still takes the white dress prize)