Twenty Best Red Carpet Looks of 2016: Top Five

And now, the final list that will keep you all arguing and questioning our taste, if not our sanity for the rest of the year, darlings!

Honestly, we don’t think this Top Five is all that controversial. The red carpets of 2016 were bland and conformist. Most of what follows is pretty, of course, but they were all chosen for being pretty in a unique way or for making a statement with its prettiness. For us, good style is never just about looking cute. It’s about making statements and finding a way to be unique. All of these ladies nailed it.

5. Claire Danes in Zac Posen at the Met Gala 

When it came time to compile this list, we both agreed that this entry needed to be in the Top Ten, regardless of how we felt about it from a style perspective. Which isn’t to say we dislike it, just that a basic Cinderella gown, pretty as it may be, isn’t normally the kind of thing we celebrate by praising it as one of the best of the year.

But it’s hard to deny that this:

A video posted by @zacposen on May 2, 2016 at 7:11pm PDT

Was a singular and uniquely pretty red carpet moment this year. High style? High DRAMA.

4. Lupita Nyong’o at the Toronto International Film Festival in Carolina Herrera

The Empress had a fine time this year promoting “Queen of Katwe,” most notably by combining her take on headwraps with straight-up western high fashion. The results were always worth talking about, but this look is the best of them by far. Just plain beautiful – and like nothing anyone else was doing this year.

3. Sarah Paulson at the Emmy Awards in Prada

Lorenzo was insistent. “I don’t care what else is on the list [Note: This was clearly a lie], but Sarah Paulson’s green Prada for the Emmys has to be in the Top 3.” Done and done. We might have had quibbles about the neckline, but this is a head-to-toe stunner that absolutely earned its spot. Bold, gorgeous and somehow confident, it really stands apart from so much of what walked the red carpets this year.

2. Michelle Obama at Her Final State Dinner at The White House in Atelier Versace

FLOTUS saved the best for last, put a perfect capper on the Obama Style years, and reminded us what we’re all gonna be missing come 2017.

1. Margot Robbie in Alexander McQueen at the “Suicide Squad” NY Premiere

Because after this shitpile of a year, sometimes you just need a sparkly unicorn to make it all better.

In truth, we can see why some might argue against this choice as the top spot of the year, but to us, all the reasons line up. It’s bold and head-turning. It suits her to a T. It tips its hat to the project she’s promoting and the character she plays in it. It’s glamorous in a highly unusual way. And most of all? It makes us smile.

In a year when being trendy on the red carpet meant going out plastered with random crabs and lipstick tubes and parrots and tiger heads, this almost comes off like minimalist whimsy in response. There’s nothing forced about it. It’s perfectly executed. And we can do nothing but praise someone having this much fun on the red carpet while still managing to look pretty damn amazing.

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]

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