High collars and demure gowns on the red carpet 

From left to right: Marion Cotillard, Dakota Johnson, (L), Melanie Griffith (R) arrive at the Oscars and Anna Kendrick.

High collars replaced sexy cutouts, and Classic Hollywood in blacks and whites took hold of the Oscars red carpet yesterday night with help from a smoking Saint Laurent worn by Margot Robbie and a heavily pearled look for fashion It girl Lupita Nyong’o.
There was a slight show of color. Anna Kendrick was in a coral silk-and-chiffon gown with a jeweled halter collar by Thakoon.
Emma Stone was on her way to best-dressed in a drop-dead beaded Elie Saab in celery green. The back was low, the side slit high and the lines of embellishment were impeccable.
Reese Witherspoon wore pale blue and white, a Tom Ford off-the-shoulder gown he contacted her about.
“He called me. He had this beautiful sketch,” she said. “He works so hard and loves women.”
Starlet-of-the-moment Dakota Johnson decided on a ponytail — ode to her “Fifty Shades of Grey” character Anastasia Steele? — to go with her red one-shoulder Saint Laurent with a dash of sparkle detail. Also in Saint Laurent was Robbie, in a deep black gown draped at the front with sheer long sleeves, her blond hair straight as a pin in a side part.
Nominee Marion Cotillard walked in a white Dior Couture gown with an overlay of circle cutouts, high collar and a caped effect at the back. She was sleeveless but high-necked in a stunning pair of diamond earrings. It may be among the more divisive looks of the night.
Also high-necked in white: Nyong’o in a heavily embellished custom Calvin Klein, open at the back and said to be hand-sewn with 6,000 pearls of varying sizes.
“My jaw dropped. It was absolutely stunning,” said Joyann King, editor of Harpersbazaar.com.
Julianne Moore’s Chanel was also heavily adorned with about 80,000 beads.
Scarlett Johansson went for green, while there was a small contingent in strapless red, including Rosamund Pike in Givenchy Haute Couture. Nominee Felicity Jones was Team High Collar in icy blue-white by fellow Brit Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.
“It’s all hand-sewn, even these little pockets of pearls,” Jones said, pointing to chunky embellishment at the hip. Leanne Italie, AP