Red the winner on Oscars carpet

Red was the colour of the day on the equally red carpet at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony in Hollywood. Almost every actress in town was swathed in it — including venerable Ruby Dee, Julie Christie, Anne Hathaway (right) and Katherine Heigl (left), who evoked Marilyn Monroe’s 1950s-style glamour. Though wearing red wasn’t half as fashionable as being pregnant - Cate Blanchett, Jessica Alba and Nicole Kidman all showed off their bumps.

Former exotic dancer Diablo Cody, who was nominated for her screenplay - and later won the Oscar - for Juno, was a popular subject for the photographers gathered along the red carpet, possibly marking the first time a screenwriter wasn't shepherded around the flashbulbs usually reserved for the stars.

Among those whose fashion choices were immediately attacked by red carpet bloggers and fashion experts were John Travolta for his spray-on hair, Cameron Diaz for showing up without make-up or a coherent hair style, and youthful Juno star Ellen Page, who was to lose out to Marion Cotillard in the best actress category, for wearing "something so shapeless and bland".