Who Was Hot And Who Was Not

For Oscar contenders, choosing an awards night outfit can be as time consuming as preparing for the role of a lifetime.

As Orah Wnfrey told one reporter, "It takes a village".

Stylist David Evangalista and Glamour Magazine's Suze Yalof Schwartz, talked to The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen about whose hard work really paid off and who might need a little help in the fashion department.

Salma Hayek and Cate Blanchett were Evangelista's favorites at the red carpet.

"I loved Cate Blanchett who was oozing Hollywood out of every pore of her body," Evangelista said.

Picking her one-shoulder pale yellow silk taffeta gown with train and satin burgundy bow sash was easy, Blanchett said.

"Valentino made it for me. I just loved it," she said.

Hayek said on "E!" that Prada "did such a good job" on her custom-made midnight blue dress with black beading and bows on the bodice.

"That's like Latina sexy, chic young and fun," Evangelista said. "I thought the hair and the makeup were spot on."

Also a favorite for both Evangelista and Schwartz was Charlize Theron, who wore a strapless Dior seafoam gown with a skirt made of tiers of tulle. Actually, for Schwartz it was a tie between Theron and Natalie Portman.

"I thought they looked absolutely stunning," Schwartz said.

Comfort was a popular theme. Portman said her tulle gathered gown with a deep V and pearl-adorned double waistbands was "really classic, elegant - and it's comfortable."

Penelope Cruz said she admired the work of Oscar de la Renta, the designer of her yellow strapless gown with an oversized bow at the back hem. "It's beautiful and comfortable."

Stars went strapless at the Oscars, except for Hilary Swank. She made one of Sunday's boldest fashion statements, wearing a high-neck, sapphire-blue gown with long sleeves by Guy Laroche that hugged all her curves. She did show some skin, though: The back was completely bare.

"I thought it looked great. It was too sporty for me," Evangelista said. "She has a back better than Madonna's."

"I knew that it would be a little chilly out today," said Swank outside the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. She added: "I thought it was really beautiful."

But Schwartz noted there were a few issues with it. "One, I felt like the sleeves didn't fit. They were a little bit too long, and there was too much information we were seeing in the chest area, but the back was gorgeous, and she looked like a movie star. And it was an amazing gown," she said.

Swank wore her hair up off her face. Schwartz noted, "The updo was the big hair message last night. It was soft and touseled, half up and half down, I thought it was basically beautiful."

Swank's makeup artist, Scott Andrew, said, "She looked very '40s glamour - old-time Hollywood."

Rene Zellweger also wore her hair in a bun and Evangelista liked it pointing out, this year, "the great hairdos are soft and upswept or half up and half down like Beyoncé" who he said knocked it out of the park Oscar

Zellweger again looked to designer Carolina Herrera. She wore a raspberry strapless gown with ivory tulle trim. Sandra Oh, also in red, looked glamorous in a Michael Kors ballgown.

One with the most improved look, according to Evangelista, was Gwyneth Paltrow. "She looked amazing," he said.

Paltrow, in a nude silk and cotton voile corset dress by friend Stella McCartney, was one of the many stars who chose a natural, soft look.

Laura Linney had a bit of a funky edge. Her taupe strapless gown by J. Mendel had diagonal exposed seams, a frayed edge at the top and tiers of frayed fabric at the hem - and she wore it with a rope of pearls, holding a disc, knotted at her neck.

"You put them (dresses) on and you sort of know. It's profoundly comfortable," Linney said.

What Schwartz loved the most about Laura Linney was her hair.

"I thought it was modern and cool and i loved it," Schwartz said.

Evangelista disagreed. "I love my Laura Linney. Don't mess with my Laura Linney. But I was not into her hair. I thought it was hard-edged for the dress she wore. It was severe."

Melanie Griffith did not get high marks from Evangelista, as well. "Keep it in Vegas," he said. "I just thought she looked very hard, and it wasn't becoming on her. I thought it was a bad fashion showing."

Griffith said husband Antonio Banderas had the final word on her ombre celadon pleated silk chiffon gown with embroidery by Versace that she accessorized with long diamond drop earrings by Harry Winston.

Schwartz said she loved the hair noting, "She actually looked really pretty, but the two didn't work together."

Evangelista did not have a positive thing to say, "She didn't do the hair right, the makeup or dress, and I think baby got back too much. I don't think it was appropriate."

Sophie Okonedo also did not look appropriae, according to Schwartz. "I thought her dress felt like a wedding gown on the red carpet."

Evangelista agreed about Okonedo's white Rochas gown and added, "The hair was out of place."

Blue and yellow were both popular colors. Kate Winslet wore a periwinkle blue gown by Badgley Mischka with a beaded inset down the front of the bodice and Neil Lane diamonds added to the sheer straps.

Giorgio Armani helped Clive Owen put on his suit. And it showed. He was both Schwartz's and Evangelista's choice for best-dressed male star.

"He could wear margarine on himself and he'd look good. The man's sexy," Evangelista said and pointed out what he liked the most was the tie Owen wore. "The top was satin and the bottom was velvet. That was a different twist," Evangelista said.

The tie on Chris Rock was what stood out for Schwartz. "I liked the white tie and the Sean John tux. He looked fresh and cool," she said.

A lot of the male stars wore white ties with their tuxedos, this year. "White ties or black ties because at the Golden Globes it was silver ties," Schwartz said.

Spike Lee wore a white tuxedo with black shirt and tie.

"That did not look good," Schwartz said. "But it did look good on Usher. The big problem with the white tie is that it bleeds on camera, but as for Usher, I thought it looked fresh."

Johnny Depp showed up in a blue tuxedo with black lapels. His companion, Vanessa Paradis, wore a Chanel long black tulle dress with silver applique.

Armani did Annette Bening's black jersey, long-sleeve gown with a portrait neckline from his new couture collection. The fitted bodice led into an hourglass silhouette, ending wit