Following fashions at the Oscars

Jennifer Lopez's strapless, super-sculptured, pink silk organza, Armani Prive gown was in the running with Sandra Bullock's glittering, cap-sleeved Marchesa for best dress of the night. But in the end, Cameron Diaz wowed us all in her strapless Oscar de la Renta. Mama mia! That dress was on fire.

That was the consensus at the Oscar party at Saks Fifth Avenue style consultant Greg Seitter's Ardmore townhouse last night. Cameron Diaz rocked. "It was a different look for her," said the host, as he poured bubbly. His Louis Vuitton patent-leather shoes sparkled much like the sheer nude dresses that dazzled on his flat screen. "It was ladylike."

"It was a grown-up classic romance look à la Old Hollywood," chimed in Heather Steiner, of Society Hill.

Nothing got past the group of two dozen fashion followers who crowded into Seitter's living room munching kettle corn out of old-school red-and-white popcorn boxes.

Not surprisingly, the trends at this year's Oscars were a mix of sheer and shiny nude gowns in shades of champagne and lemon yellow. Most of the stars went sheer, in light shades that looked almost colorless. The paler the actress, the more nude the shade she wore. Maybe not to draw attention. Or maybe they were simply giving a nod to old Hollywood.

On the other end of the color spectrum was a collection of punchier shades, including cabernet red, cobalt blue, and sunset orange.

But the premier shade of the evening was nude with a little sparkle. Sarah Jessica Parker's butter-yellow Chanel couture, for instance, matched her tanned skin. Steiner, though, said she thought Parker had been in a tanning bed too long. But her ponytail, which looked like it got a little help from the as-seen-on-TV Texas Tail, was even more talked about.

"She looks terrible," said Jodi Friedman of Ardmore. "She looks pregnant. And that hair."

"I think the dress is growing on me," Seitter said. "The more I see it, the more I like it. It's very high-fashion."

The crowd noted that Miley Cyrus, despite her horrible posture, looked more grown-up. But the Jenny Packham strapless was too sparse. "She needed to have on more dress," said Jill Whitelaw, of Berwyn.

Of course Meryl Streep looked great in her white, long-sled Chris March. And surprisingly, the crowd really liked Tina Fey's one-shouldered starlight Michael Kors gown. She did a complete 180 from the Zac Posen she wore at the Golden Globes.

Biggest complaint of the night: The women didn't wear enough statement jewelry. When Amanda Seyfried walked out in her Armani Prive, the crowd moaned. Nice dress, Seitter said, but she needed a cuff or a necklace.

The glamour was in the barely-there nudes, but we couldn't miss the bold shades either. Mo'Nique's cobalt-blue goddess dress was ankle length. (We'll never know if the comedienne shaved her legs.) And we thought Gabourey Sidibe looked good in her Marchesa. Her bold, "If fashion was porn, this dress would be the money shot," comment on the red carpet didn't make much sense. But she gets an A for effort. It was a good look.