This year’s Oscars offered very little variation when it came to the men. Granted, there are only so many ways in which our gents can dress to impress, but itseems that this year’s male fashion motto was “Better safe than sorry.”

Russell Brand in his questionable purple/blue suit at the Oscars 2011. (A.M.P.A.S.)

As a result, most men, be it Colin Firth, Zachary Levi, Justin Timberlake, Mark Buffalo, or Geoffrey Rush, could be seen sporting black or dark grey tuxedosfrom popular designers such as Tom Ford or Gucci. And maybe they actually made the best choice – amongst the few not dressed in classic tuxedos the fashion-failure rate was quite high.

Take Russell Brand for example – his purple-bluish suit combination with a striped shirt and black tie can only be called visually offending. Looks like his mother accompanied him to the red carpet but was not around when he got dressed for it – unfortunately.

Similarly, Christian Bale could be spotted sporting a black suit and dark tie, which in themselves wouldn’t have been that bad. However, his decision to combine this plain suit with an unkempt full-grown beard completely ruined its advantages, making him look more like a character from a comic than a dashing actor on the red carpet.

Fortunately, some rays on the male fashion horizon remained. Robert Downey Jr. not only dared to step out of the tuxedo-line, but he did so in a very impressive manner. His dark-blue suit with velvet trimmings, combined with a white silk tie and shirt were one of the main male lookers this afternoon.

Armie Hammer donned his classic tuxedo style quite literally from head to toe, starting with a perfect side parting, flawlessly fitting tie and jacket, and shining shoes.

Reach Christine here. 

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