Old-school glamour, pale hues on red carpet

Tinseltown’s A-list stars on Sunday offered up a healthy serving of old-school Hollywood glamour on the Oscars red carpet, with strapless gowns and pale colors most definitely in vogue.

Best actress winner Jennifer Lawrence, the star of “Silver Linings Playbook,” strutted her stuff in a strapless cream Dior gown with a full puffy skirt — which tripped her up as she mounted the steps to accept her award.

“How did it happen? Look at my dress. I tried to walk upstairs in this dress. That’s what happened. I trod on the fabric, they waxed the stairs,” Lawrence said backstage.

“This was such a passion project for all of us,” she told E! television earlier on the red carpet, referring to the romantic comedy with an edge that earned a total of eight nominations.

Fellow nominee Jessica Chastain, who played a CIA agent tracking Osama bin Laden in “Zero Dark Thirty,” sparkled in a strapless beaded flesh-colored Armani gown, her red tresses flowing down her back.

“It’s a ‘Happy birthday, Mr President’ kind of dress,” Chastain said, referring to a classic Marilyn Monroe fashion moment. “It’s an honor to wear a dress that evokes old Hollywood.”

Anne Hathaway, who won the best supporting actress Oscar for her searing performance as dying prostitute Fantine in “Les Miserables,” said she had decided at the last moment on a simple pale pink Prada column gown.

“I didn’t know what I was wearing until about three hours ago,” she said.

Unfortunately, the stitching in the bodice accentuated her clearly visible nipples — perhaps the most widely discussed wardrobe malfunction of the night. A Twitter handle, @HathawayNipple, quickly earned more than 3,000 followers.

Nine-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis, the youngest ever best actress nominee, for “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” wore a bejeweled navy blue Armani dress — accessorized with an age-appropriate fluffy puppy purse.

“It has been crazy!” Wallis said of all the attention given to her breakout performance, adding that her fellow nominees were “more sophisticated.”

Amy Adams, a best supporting actress nominee for her performance in “The Master,” was on trend in a strapless pearly gray Oscar de la Renta princess gown with soft layers of tulle floating to the ground.

“Les Miserables” star Amanda Seyfried opted for a pale purple halter neck Alexander McQueen with a sexy keyhole neckline and upswept hair, while Oscar winner Charlize Theron exuded sex appeal in a strapless white Dior ensemble.

Reese Witherspoon got the strapless memo, but changed up the color palette in a cobalt blue and black Louis Vuitton, and glammed it up with some old-school sculpted Veronica Lake curls.

Witherspoon, a best actress Oscar winner in 2006 for her role in “Walk the Line,” was not alone in choosing navy. Fellow Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson donned a shimmering dark blue Roberto Cavalli dress.

Best supporting actress nominee Helen Hunt bucked the trend for haute couture and wore a strapless navy blue gown from Swedish retail chain H&M — and an enormous diamond necklace.

Some of the stars went for bold statements.

Hunt’s rival and two-time Oscar winner Sally Field, who starred opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln,” wore a signature Valentino red dress with sheer long sleeves and a train.

Catherine Zeta-Jones wore a glittering gold Zuhair Murad dress, while best actress nominee Naomi Watts sparkled in a silver Armani number with an asymmetrical neckline.

A nervous Jennifer Garner — whose husband Ben Affleck took home the best picture prize for his Iran hostage drama “Argo” — wore a strapless magenta Gucci gown with ruffles down the back. “I’m really excited for him,” she said.

Hollywood’s A-list men were mainly in basic black on Sunday, but best actor winner Daniel Day-Lewis looked smart in a midnight blue Domenico Vacca tuxedo.

“Django Unchained” star Jamie Foxx glammed it up with a gray Calvin Klein tux, black shirt and sparkling black bow tie, while Samuel L. Jackson sported a burgundy velvet jacket.

For fashion and jewelry designers, having an A-list star show up on the Oscars red carpet in one of their creations is worth more than any print advertising — thanks to the global coverage of Tinseltown’s biggest night.

Last year, Angelina Jolie’s leg-popping appearance in a strapless black velvet Versace gown with a thigh-high slit went viral — and gave the Italian fashion house unbeatable media exposure.