Wave Watch
Loose, soft waves had a major presence on the red carpet last night at the Oscars. There were the long and tumbling (Amy Adams, Natalie Portman) and Scarlett Johansson’s refreshing tousled bob.

Top, from left: Amy Adams, Natalie Portman. Bottom: Scarlett Johansson

Pixie Perfect
They’ve done it again. Both Halle Berry and Michelle Williams own this category. Berry pulled out her signature soft and spikey while Williams’ straight blonde locks are the perfect contrast to her dark brows. And their makeup? Luminous and so flawless, it hurts.

Halle Berry, Michelle Williams

Hair Bands
Hailee Steinfeld is just fourteen so if she wants to wear a sparkly headband at her crown to match her pretty, pretty pink dress then she should! Steinfeld looked absolutely darling and looked like she was having fun doing it too. Win.

Hailee Steinfeld

And while we’re at it, another fresh face on the red carpet who looked appropriately youthful was Oscar contender Jennifer Lawrence. Her loose but polished long hair showed Lawrence’s natural beauty.

Jennifer Lawrence

Modern Moments
Gwyneth Paltrow’s sleek, straight center-parted hair and shimmering bronze-toned makeup were the best accessories to her liquid metal Calvin Klein dress. Even Cate Blanchett’s simple blonde crop perfectly accented, but didn’t take away from, her to-die-for lilac Givenchy armor dress.

From left: Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett.

Hostess with the Mostest...Hair
While reviews for Hathaway’s debut on the Oscar stage waiver between bad and worse, her thick brunette envy-worthy locks stayed beautiful through seven costume changes. It was up, down, pony-tailed, side- and center-parted, and even coiffed into a spiky bun (not a favorite).

Anne Hathaway

Hathaway: Getty Images. All others: Fairchild Archive.

For the first time in a long time, it seemed there were far more hits than misses on the red carpet last night. Our editors share their picks.

Garrett Munce: Hailee Steinfeld—Adorable and age appropriate.

Kathy Lee: Jennifer Lawrence—Loved the red on her and how it fit her perfectly. Sometimes it's just about how the dress fits and if it fits right it can look phenomenal. And Jennifer Lawrence did.

Kathy Lee: Cate Blanchett—This woman can do no wrong in my book. She is simply beautiful and only she can pull off that Givenchy Haute Couture without looking like the dress was wearing her.

Carolyn Tate Angel: Michelle Williams—Simply divine and elegant.

Karin Nelson: Sharon Stone—It's nice to see her looking glamorous again.

Karin Nelson: Amy Adams—Loved the Veronica Lake hair, and the blue looked beautiful on her.

Honorable mentions:

Virginia VanZanten: Anne Hathaway's many on-stage incarnations (including that tux). It seems Rachel Zoe kill it, yet again.

Virginia VanZanten: Helen Mirren for being age-appropriate and still incredibly foxy.

Virginia VanZanten: I did a double-take when Mandy Moore hit the red carpet in Monique Lhuiller—such a sophisticated choice.

And finally, the runaway success (she topped almost everyone's list): Gwyneth Paltrow

Will Kahn: Gwyneth looked flawless, impeccable fit, great color and the perfect ultra straight hair.

Nora Milch: The neckline on this Calvin Klein Collection dress is amazing—and no one could wear it better than Gwyneth. Plus I love that she wears her hair in an effortless straight down do.

Photos: Fairchild Archive

The name La Mer has high-glam connotations, but the wizardry behind the brand comes courtesy of the decidedly less fancy-sounding Max Huber Research Labs. The latest creation from Huber’s white coats: Radiant Serum, a lightweight gel that aims to restore the dewy illumination of youth with a blend of brown algae, to cleanse and tighten pores; rock sapphire, a seaside plant with retinol-like qualities; and fermented blue algae, to plump skin and restore its elasticity (lamer.com; $250).

A jeweler dressed as a nerd and a princess dressed as Tinkerbell walk into a bar on Halloween. No, this isn’t a setup—it’s how Azature Pogosian, a third-generation jeweler, and Lana Saud Al-Faisal Al-Saud, a Saudi Arabian royal, met. The encounter resulted in a fast friendship as well as an exquisite six-piece jewelry collection, Lana by Azature, inspired by the Saudi royal family’s heirloom gems. “I wanted to design pieces that were meaningful not only to my family but to Saudi Arabia,” says the Princess. “We are a very private culture, and I thought I could share a small piece of it with the world.” The jewelry combines traditional Saudi elements like textured finishes and geometric shapes with Pogosian’s signature hard-edged designs in black diamonds and his unique new metal: a dark mix of platinum and silver. The duo even obtained permission from the Saudi government to copy legal tender for a coin necklace. “We didn’t go mass,” says Pogosian, noting that each piece is one of a kind and handmade. “I’m taking jewelry back to its roots, to where my grandfather started. Every piece had meaning and history, and really meant a lot to someone”(azature.com).

From left: Jamie Tisch, Heather Mnuchin

It seems the weather gods hate a black tie gala—every time I see such an event approaching on my calendar the skies invariably open up, dropping some lovely form of water all over the city and its ballgown and tuxedo-clad inhabitants (I would bet money it snows on March 10th, the date of the upcoming Frick Collection Young Fellows Ball). So naturally it was pouring Thursday night when I headed to the Museum of the City of New York’s 25th annual Winter Ball at the Plaza hotel, this year sponsored by Oscar de la Renta and 1stdibs.

After spending the car ride cursing my luck, praying my sheer dress didn’t become downright pornographic thanks to a few stray drops and wondering why exactly I go to these things in the first place, I entered the Plaza’s Palm Court and had my answer: once again, this annual party, the unofficial kick-off to the spring benefit season, had coaxed every social in town out of their comfy apartments to sip champagne and dine on filet mignon. Joanne de Guardiola, Celerie Kemble, Shafi Roepers, Allison Aston, Hilary Dick, Coralie Charriol and Dennis Paul, Gillian Miniter, Helen Schifter and Alexandra Lebenthal tried to navigate the jam-packed space to catch up with acquaintances. The LA-based Heather Mnuchin, one of the event’s chairman, had flown in from the West Coast that morning for the event and was leaving the next day.

Event chairs Phoebe Gubelmann, Calvert Moore, Mark Gilbertson, Allison Rockefeller, Andrew Roosevelt, Shafi Roepers and Burwell Schorr

“I grew up with [co-chairman] Mark [Gilbertson], so I have to come,” she explained between trading Oscar weekend tips with Jamie Tisch (“Bryan’s is the best” said Tisch, referring to Bryan Lourd’s annual party). “It’s a nice little trip. It’s nice to be flying without my kids.”

Some who had traveled blocks instead of miles seemed less certain of their reasons for attending.

“This is the point in the evening when we all wonder what we’re doing here,” remarked one lady as she surveyed the crush.

The answer? Mark Gilbertson, the museum’s unrelenting charitable champion, known for both his dedication to the cause and his intolerance for no-show’s.

“You can show a plane ticket, a doctor’s note, it doesn’t matter,” quipped Debbie Bancroft, while nearby a lady introduced herself to Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia.

“We haven’t met, but I see you at the gym all the time,” she said as the Prince smiled politely.

Soon, men walking around clanging chimes were announcing dinner, as guests reluctantly left their posts at the bar to head up two flights of stairs to a room full of long tables decorated with tulips.

Douglas Hannant

“I’m first at my table, my hostess hasn’t even seated it yet,” said a slightly lost-looking Douglas Hannant. “I’m very obedient. I always go when they ring the bell. I like to keep things moving.”

So, apparently, does Gilbertson, who gave a speech early on, Caesar-style from a balcony perch overlooking the dinner tables.

“It's not like I'm power hungry. I'm the aging chairman. This is the most money we ever raised. We raised almost half a million dollars,” he said, “I think the great strength of this party is it's not a celebrity party, it's a social party, but it's a lot of friends. It's a party where you see a lot of friends.” His fellow chairman helped choose the evening’s prizewinners with the help of a computer—lots included a trip to the One & Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island and tickets to Oscar de la Renta’s next fashion show—before Gilbertson ended his remarks with a stern decree. “Please dance so we can justify this big dance floor. Because otherwise, we could have sold more tickets.”

From left: Coralie Charriol Paul, Celerie Kemble

After the meal, most obliged to the sound of Lady Gaga and Ke$ha reverberating through the room.

“It’s all the 50 year-olds on the dance floor,” said one younger girl as she headed out well before midnight and back into the rain.

Photos ©Patrick McMullan

As a nephew of Ralph, Greg Lauren grew up with precise notions of what a man should wear. And as an artist, he explored them: For his 2009 show, "Alteration," he painstakingly created traditional pieces of clothing out of delicate Japanese paper. Now Lauren, who has often said that he was taught to dress like Cary Grant but felt more like Oliver Twist, has produced a men's and women's collection that is wearable but still subverts the classics. Among the mostly one-of-a-kind items are a military coat made from old army duffel bags, and a tailored tuxedo jacket cut from washed silk faille. Each piece comes with a signed label, as if it were one of his paintings. "I don't consider myself a designer," Lauren says. "I'm more an artist exploring a new medium" (at Barneys New York; from $1,200 to $2,500).

Photograph by Hannah Whitaker

Revlon CustomEyes Mascara lives up to its name: Its wand features two settings, one for thickening and the other for separating. Presto change-o! (at drugstores; $9).

Olivier Zahm's racy biannual Purple Fashion magazine is upgrading its online home this month. Purple.fr will get a cosmetic facelift just in time for the launch of Purple Channel, Zahm's first official video series for the magazine. The new film channel will feature "firsthand accounts and personal insights into the people around us," says Executive Editor Caroline Gaimari. Expect day-in-the-life-of mini documentaries from such Purple contributors as Max Snow, Terry Richardson, and Liv Tyler, in addition to performance art films and studio visits with designers like Yves Saint Laurent's Stefano Pilati.

Image courtesy of Olivier Zahm

W's Associate Fashion and Accessories Editor Lindsey Gathright shares her NYFW favorites:

3.1 Phillip Lim: Great oversized proportions and a mix of textures with buttery leather, chunky knit and cozy shearling.

Alexander Wang: I wanted to take a majority of this collection off the runway and wear it immediately!

Derek Lam: A sleek and elegant jumpsuit in the season’s most popular shade of blue.

Proenza Schouler: I love the wrapped blanket-like silhouette of this skirt—it is flattering and fresh.

Theyskens’ Theory: A nice grey moment with soft, slouchy cords and a maxi-coat showcasing what might be called “grungy pretty.”

Araks: This is the perfect red dress with its feminine lace, simple silhouette and effortlessly chic cool-girl vibe.

Jason Wu: Another great lace moment- a sturdy grey wool coat with lace detail on the sleeves adds an ounce of excitement to one of fall’s constant basics, and not to forget the adorable printed tie-neck blouse.

Michael Kors: Minimal 70’s jewelry is here to stay and looking better than ever with this shiny silver choker.

The Row: Excess to the max with a great calf-length skirt and a plush top in a bewitching mix of camel and black.

Chris Benz: More great blue in artsy wide-legged trousers and an easy velvet blazer.

In a world with no shortage of denim options, Baldwin Denim's small, tightly edited collection stands out from the crowd. Founder and designer, Matt Baldwin offers just eight styles (four for men and four for women), and his jeans are very near perfect--expertly tailored with a painstaking attention to detail. Baldwin's wares are all made in the USA using high quality selvage denim that is designed to get better with age and to wear out perfectly; every piece has a distinctly American, easy vibe. Based in his native Kansas City, this spring Matt is brings his keen eye to classic men's shirting and introduces one of the best denim jackets I've seen. I recently slipped on his slim fit "Henley", and I do believe I've found my new favorite jeans.

Shop the collection on the website and definitely check out the blog, baldwindenim.com