Oscars: Monochrome men make a solid style statement

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As it is with most trips down the red carpet, most of the fashion statements on the way into the 83rd annual Academy Awards were being made by the women, but a few of the fellows managed to stand out from their tuxedo-clad brethren and stay within the formalwear rules.

For most men that meant subtle and simple details -- like Justin Timberlake in a Tom Ford tuxedo with generous peak lapels, and Jeremy Renner in an Yves Saint Laurent navy shawl-collar tux (for my money, we don’t see enough of the shawl collar -- which is considered less formal than the peak-lapel version).

But presenter Russell Brand and nominee Christian Bale went to the dark side. Bale wore a black, one-button, shawl-collar Gucci tuxedo, paired with a black dress shirt, black silk tie and black leather lace-up shoes (also all by Gucci).

At first glance, Brand looked like he’d followed suit -- but on closer examination it turns out he’d gone with a dark navy jacket with a black satin notch lapel, a black necktie and a black-and-navy horizontal-striped dress shirt. (And Robert Downey Jr. split the difference -- going with a white-on-white shirt-and-tie ensemble and a black tuxedo jacket.)

To co-present the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay, Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem split the difference -- top to bottom -- by donning cream-colored, one-button, made-to-order tuxedo evening jackets (Bardem’s was a shawl collar, Brolin’s was a peak lapel) white dress shirts, cream-colored bowties and black tuxedo trousers -- all by Gucci.

-- Adam Tschorn