Oscar Dress Predictions

Sure, it's an honor just to be nominated for an Academy Award. But it's also a headache. Oscar's "It" girls -- the best-actress and best-supporting-actress nominees -- certainly have their choice of fabulous gowns, and that's what makes it so hard to find that One Perfect Dress. Here, StyleList's recommendations for Oscar nominees matched up with what they really wore, starting with Angelia Jolie.

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SHOULD: An actress with Angelina Jolie's clout (and curves) should wear something edgy, not the muted drapey gowns she has favored lately. Our vote: a violet and orange goddess gown from Rodarte's spring collection, which was inspired by Olafur Eliasson, the Dutch artist who installed those towering waterfalls under the Brooklyn Bridge last spring.

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DID: She didn't wear a bold color as we hoped, but at least Angelina Jolie showed off her fabulous figure in this Elie Saab gown.

AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Although Anne Hathaway was nominated for her role as the brittle younger sister in "Rachel Getting Married," her dresses often seem pulled from her "Princess Diaries" closet -- an endless array of strapless tops and frothy skirts, like the navy Giorgio Armani that she wore to the Golden Globes this year. Pretty? Yes. Predictable? Definitely.

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SHOULD: A softer, more sophisticated -- and just as dramatic -- choice would be this sunny yellow column from Carolina Herrera's spring collection. Hathaway would easily out-dazzle her statuette.

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DID: In the end Anne went for Armani Prive. While we would have loved to see her in our canary pick, there is no denying that Hathaway looked luminous in this shimmery pearl gown with rows of pailettes spiraling down the skirt.

Photo/Matt Sayles

When 44-year-old Marisa Tomei isn't showing off her (dazzling) naked body, she's eager to prove she's just another boho Brooklyn gal. Alas, that can land her in trouble, as it did at this year's Golden Globes, where her lace-and-chains outfit by Oscar de la Renta earned her more than a few "Pirates of the Caribbean" jabs.

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SHOULD: We wanted to see Tomei play against type in a frankly feminine gown like this copper-and-purple de la Renta. We bet no one would accuse her of channeling her inner Jack Sparrow.

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DID: This stunning Versace gown was unquestionably all woman.

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Kate Winslet picked up a boatload of awards this year for her starring roles in "The Reader" and "Revolutionary Road," so why does it seem that she's always dressed in black? (Here's she's wearing Yves Saint Laurent for the Golden Globes.) Even her 8-year-old daughter, Mia, recently urged her to ditch the widow's weeds in favor of a cheerier color -- say, pink.

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