KEY POINTS:
BEVERLY HILLS - Stars sparkled and shivered on the red carpet at the Golden Globes Awards on Monday but the chilly weather did not ruin a chance to show off dazzling gowns in gold, silver and white.
Singer and Dreamgirls star Beyonce's chose a form-fitting, gold Elie Saab dress that inspired screaming from fans. It was that good.
"I'm very nervous and very excited," she said.
Celebrities at the Golden Globes are known for donning expensive, glittering jewellery on the red carpet. This year, they sported goosebumps as well.
"I think my toes are blue!" said actress Annette Bening, wearing a white and silver columned dress, on the arm of husband Warren Beatty.
This year, fashion was celebrated not just on the red carpet but in the movies themselves, with The Devil Wears Prada.
"How much did we love that movie?" gushed Jennifer Lopez, who was wearing a black one-shouldered Marchesa gown, to smiling husband Marc Anthony about the film, in which Meryl Streep plays the evil editor of a high-powered fashion magazine.
On the red carpet, Streep wore a light gold, Grecian-inspired dress with pink drop earrings, and stopped to chat with James Woods. But was her gown Prada? No -- Carolina Herrera.
Presenter Sienna Miller wore a scooped neck gown in white and white gold while Julia Louis Dreyfus was in a knee-length number in bright gold and Jessica Biel had a tight-fitting column of glimmer.
Despite the shine, stars knew where to stop with the bling this year, said Hal Rubenstein, In Style magazine's fashion director.
"It's more about elegance than it's about pizazz," he said. "People didn't go too far."
White was favoured by stars such as Salma Hayek, model Heidi Klum, Jennifer Gardner and Kyra Sedgwick.
But blue figured prominently as the colour of choice for many stars, including Toni Collette and Edie Falco. Rap impresario P. Diddy wore a blue tuxedo, while Helen Mirren, nominated for The Queen, donned a teal Donna Karan and chatted with Jeremy Irons on the red carpet.
"We're in a wonderful bubble but the bubble will burst about 11 o'clock," the British actress told Reuters. "But now, it's the lovely part."
Striking a less sparkly tone was Angelina Jolie, on the arm of Brad Pitt and wearing a rich slate-coloured gown. And black, a perennial favourite, was the choice for Sharon Stone, one of the last stars to arrive in a Dior sequined gown, and Penelope Cruz, in Chanel.
- REUTERS
