While the American Music Awards is certainly no Oscars when it comes to celebrity fashion, the great thing about this ceremony is that your favorite and not-so-favorite stars tend to use the night as an excuse to surprise us -- for better or worse. And last night's show didn't disappoint in that area. Where we may have expected a train wreck (cough, cough, Miley), we got an elegant and sophisticated young lady. And some celebs who should know better, and almost always do, just got it all wrong.
So who killed it on the red carpet and who could have used a quick change?
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BEST: Let's start off on a positive note and wax on about the many female performers and stars who absolutely shined at the AMA's.
Taylor Swift
What can you say about Taylor and the way she owned this Julien MacDonald gold mini dress? She looked every inch the 70s dancing queen. The dress fits and flatters her shape and shows just enough skin without giving it all away.
Zendaya The Disney channel star and singer proved that you needn't show a lot of cleavage and leg to look incredible. Her flowy top and tailored pants made her skin -- and amazing silver bangles -- pop.
Nicole Richie Wonder of wonders, Nicole just keeps getting better with age. She showed all of the other women on the red carpet how to wear a cut-out dress when she stopped traffic in this deceptively simple and clean Emilio Pucci gown.
Katy Perry Is this the most interesting gown Katy Perry has ever worn? Of course not. But what's nice about it is that it's a completely different look from the outrageous geisha get-up she wears in her performance. We get to see two sides of Katy: classy adult and fun pop star.
WORST: And now, because it has to be done, here are some of the night's stars who missed the style mark completely.
Ciara Beautiful woman, bad dress. Ciara was just one of many stars trying out the sheer trend, but the headache-inducing pattern on this one draws the eye in too many directions and just makes her look confused.
Heidi Klum Like Ciara, Heidi should be able to pull off anything, but the gown is so busy -- with elements of fringe, lace, and sheer -- that it looks like something she made in her kitchen at the last minute.
Emma Roberts Emma Roberts is super young and isn't going to get it right each time. This Lanvin strapless gown might have been cool and pretty if the fabric didn't scream aluminum foil quite so much.
Kelly Osbourne This one was a real head-scratcher for me. I didn't exactly hate it, but I far from loved it. The grey-lilac color is pretty on Kelly and complements her hair and skin tone, but there was just too much fabric all around -- from the '50s-style poodle gown to the ornate mother-of-the-bride bodice, for it to do a woman this young much justice.
What did you think of this year's AMA fashion? Which looks did you love and which celebs did you think could have done better?