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• This page highlights the best and worst Oscar Dresses of 2009.

  The Oscars were a glamorous opportunity for celebrities to boldly shine on the red carpet, while designers promoted their latest fashions.

• Fast Facts

  1. Event date: February 22, 2009
  2. Network: ABC
  3. ABC holds the broadcasting rights to the Academy Awards until 2014
  4. Awards aired live
  5. Time: 5PT/8ET
  6. This was the 81st Annual Academy AwardsAcademy Awards: Nominations Announcement (January 22, 2009)
  7. Host: Hugh JackmanAcademy Awards: Nominations Announcement (January 22, 2009)
  8. The 81st Annual Academy Awards were held at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, California
  9. First Academy Awards were held in 1929
  10. Paper ballots were counted by PricewaterhouseCoopersAcademy Awards: Nominations Announcement (January 22, 2009)
  11. Votes were cast by the approximately 6,000 members of the AcademyAcademy Awards: About

• The Dresses

  There were several nominated actresses who were expected to wear beautiful dresses at the 2009 Oscars. Among them were Anne Hathaway, who was nominated for her role as Kym in the film Rachel Getting Married. Hathaway wore a white Armani fishtail dress at this year's awards. At the 2008 Oscars, Hathaway wore a crimson red rose-themed Marchesa gown that was bright and striking. However, Hathaway received some criticism for her the gown, which was a near identical match to Kate Winslet's Oscar dress from 2002.

  Secondly, Angelina Jolie, who was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of the distraught mother Christin Collins in Changeling, wore a sweetheart strapless Elie Saab gown. Jolie has worn provocative clothes at previous Oscar ceremonies. In 2001, she wore a tightly fitted white suit instead of a dress. In 2004, one of her more well received outfits, she wore a white, flowing gown that had a distinctly goddess-like look to it.

  Kate Winslet, also nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role, played Hanna Schmitz in the drama The Reader. Winslet admitted that her eight-year-old daughter, Mia, helped her choose her Yves Saint Laurent one-shoulder slate blue and black gown for this year's awards. In 2005, Winslet wore a pretty blue Badgley Mischka gown.

  Meryl Streep was nominated for the award of Best Actress in a Leading Role for playing Sister Aloysius Beauvier in the religious drama Doubt. Streep, who has been the target of fashion critics in the past for her choices, wore an elegant taupe Alberta Ferretti off-the-shoulder gown. In 2006, she wore a plum gown with a V-neck that was well reviewed.

  Penelope Cruz was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Maria Elena, a lively divorced woman in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Cruz wore a white Pierre Balmain fairy-tale gown adorned with beads. In 2008, Cruz turned heads with her dark blue feathered Chanel Haute Couture gown, which was custom designed by Karl Lagerfeld. Sticking with a feathered theme in 2007, Cruz wore a long, feathered pink Alelier Versace dress that was noticeably brighter and lighter than her 2008 choice.

  Marisa Tomei played the exotic dancer Cassidy in The Wrestler. In the film, Tomei is the romantic interest of Mickey Rourke's character Randy Robinson, for which Rourke was nominated for Best Actor. Tomei wore a black dress with a white rose pattern at the 2002 Oscars, the same year Kate Winslet first wore her striking red rose-themed gown. At the 2009 Oscar Nominees luncheon, Tomei wore a significantly lighter dress; a simple white suit-dress with gold hoop earrings and a gold hoop bracelet. At this year's Oscars, Tomei wore a pale gray Versace gown with origami pleats sweeping from her waist to the floor.

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