World Celebrities in best Oscar dresses

82nd Academy Awards Nominees:

Actress in a Leading Role:

Sandra Bullock is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (the movie The Blind Side)

We will see Sandra Bullock' Oscar dress 2010 on March, 7

Helen Mirren is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (the movie The Last Station)

We will see Helen Mirren' Oscar dress 2010 on March, 7

Carey Mulligan is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (the movie An Education)

We will see Carey Mulligan' Oscar dress 2010 on March, 7

Gabourey Sidibe is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (the movie Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire)

We will see Gabourey Sidibe' Oscar dress 2010 on March, 7

Meryl Streep is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (the movie Julie & Julia)

We will see Meryl Streep' Oscar dress 2010 on March, 7

Actress in a Supporting Role:

Penélope Cruz is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (the movie Nine)

We will see Penélope Cruz' Oscar dress 2010 on March, 7

Vera Farmiga is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (the movie Up in the Air)

We will see Vera Farmiga' Oscar dress 2010 on March, 7

Maggie Gyllenhaal is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (the movie Crazy Heart)

We will see Maggie Gyllenhaal' Oscar dress 2010 on March, 7

Anna Kendrick is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (the movie Up in the Air)

We will see Anna Kendrick' Oscar dress 2010 on March, 7

Mo’Nique is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (the movie Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire)

We will see Mo’Nique' Oscar dress 2010 on March, 7

81st Academy Awards Winners:

Best Actress in a leading role:

Kate Winslet' Oscar dress 2009

Oscar Dresses: Kate Winslet' Oscar dress 2009.

See Kate Winslet' Oscar dress 2009

Best Actress in support role:

Penelopa Cruz ' Oscar dress 2009

Oscar Dresses: Penelopa Cruz ' Oscar dress 2009.

See Penelopa Cruz' Oscar dress 2009

Best White OscarDress2009:

Sarah Jessica Parker' Oscar dress 2009

Oscar Dresses: Sarah Jessica Parker' Oscar dress 2009.

See Sarah Jessica Parker' Oscar dress 2009

Best Black OscarDress2009:

Angelina Jolie ' Oscar dress 2009

Oscar Dresses: Angelina Jolie' Oscar dress 2009.

See Angelina Jolie' Oscar dress 2009

The best fashion show in the world each year is not on the catwalk runways of London, Paris and New York, but on the red carpet leading to the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood. Just before the Oscar Awards begins, the year's most talented and beautiful actresses become supermodels as they arrive in dazzling (or disastrous) Oscar dresses designed by the world's top couturiers. And during the three hours-plus of the Oscar Awards giving, these actresses would sashay up to the podium as guest presenters, and two of them will be crowned for their acting before the night is over. Televised “live” to a potential audience of one billion people – a sixth of the world's population - the Oscars Awards has long since been the most-watched single TV event every year.

From early on, Oscar nominees, especially actresses, quickly became aware of the need to dress up to the nines as what they wear would be splashed across newspapers the next day, and the Oscar fashion stakes became higher after the Academy Awards was telecast `live' from 1953 onwards. The first Best Actress winner, Janet Gaynor, later regretted being attired rather ordinarily. But by the 2nd Academy Awards, the Best Actress winner for 1929, Canadian-born Mary Pickford - dubbed America's Sweetheart - was stylish in a silk chiffon gown. The Oscar dress was completed with accessories that included a diamond brooch pinned to her bustline, sparkling bracelets on both arms, and three tiers of pearls around her neck.

Vintage clothes at the Oscars Awards buck the system and prove the wearer is no Oscar designer's poodle. And a parade of poodles in borrowed finery is just what the Oscar fashion industry wants to see make its compliant way down that red carpet.

The Oscars and the parties which precede and follow the ceremony have become an Oscar fashion battleground. Forget the international catwalk shows - they're small beer compared with the trench warfare of the Academy Awards.

For dress designers the Oscars are all about getting the Oscar dresses seen by an audience of millions on the backs of Hollywood's elite.

Each year, couture creators such as Versace, Armani, Valentino and Ralph Lauren battle it out to have the stars adorned in their designer dresses.

From the sleek to the flamboyant, the Oscar dresses cost thousands of pounds.

While celebrities agonized over which Oscar gown to wear to what's essentially the most important fashion show on earth, designers and jewelers went to considerable expense to ensure that each creation - at the very least - appeared to be custom made. To that end, they flew in a veritable army of tailors, seamstresses and artisans from Europe and New York for a full week prior to the Oscars, putting them up at the same hotels where they stayed themselves.

The clock to find the Oscar dress really starts ticking in mid-February, when the Oscar nominations are announced.

Fittings happen in mid-March mostly in Los Angeles but celebritis will be fitted wherever they happen to be on location, too. Also, Oscar dresses are created in November, the same time as the designs for the following fall, so the Oscars gowns are somewhat influenced by the latest runway trends.

So, why go through all this trouble for a few minutes on the red carpet?

A great picture at a great event can make a great career or break a career. Oscar collection of red carpet dresses is a serious business. The Oscars dresses are not frivolous.

Oscar Dresses: The Oscar Award.