Let's face it: One of the greatest pleasures of the Golden Globes is the fashion. We like to follow stars — such as Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Natalie Portman — to see what fabulous gowns they have donned this time.

Witherspoon was true to her classic style and graced the red carpet in vintage Chanel Haute Couture. It was sleeveless and cocktail style with a gold metallic scoop neck and lace circling the knees. True, it was a white dress, but it was anything but plain.

The pregnant and glowing Paltrow was also draped in white — a fabulous, white lace and tulle gown by Balenciaga. The intricate pattern and slightly puffed sleeves were what truly made this flowing dress one of a kind.

Portman rounds out the women's best-dressed list with her Audrey Hepburn-style black dress. In a strapless, lace and vintage Chanel gown, Portman exuded refinement and elegance. To top it off, a shiny black ribbon encircled her tiny waist and was nipped in the center with a beautiful brooch.

While men don't have as extensive a selection of outfits, Ryan Phillippe, Heath Ledger and Jamie Foxx stood out among the rest as the best-dressed men.

Phillippe was the epitome of cool in a black suit and white oxford shirt with the first few buttons undone. He kept his look young and savvy by going tie-less.

Ledger also looked great in a classic black tux, a matching black tie and a small purple flower pinned to his blazer. While Ledger's hint of purple added just enough color to his look, his fiancee, Michelle Williams, was purple overkill in a puffy creation with layer upon layer of purple tulle.

A best-dressed male list would not be complete without Foxx. Dressed in a black tuxedo, black tie, purplish/navy Oxford and sunglasses, Foxx looked effortlessly gorgeous.

And now comes the fun part — the worst-dressed.

Though not expecting anything fabulous from Mariah Carey, she really outdid herself this time. Carey attempted to squeeze herself into a black-and-white floor-length slinky dress, with what seemed to be black pieces of duck tape substituting as straps. Not only was the dress just plain ugly, but the duct tape-like straps seemed to be pressing a little too tightly on something — if you know what I mean. Not a pleasant sight at all.

Pamela Anderson chose a similar palette of colors, a black-and-white floor-length dress, but she tried to be demure and wore more fabric at one time than she has in her entire life. Maybe she was going for the "take me seriously" look. This will never happen, for her 15 pounds of makeup and spider-like lashes showed off the Pamela Anderson we all know and — well — the Pamela Anderson we all know.

Virginia Madsen, who never misses a worst-dressed list, also sucked herself into a floor-length, halter-style turquoise dress with a weird pattern. It wasn't even the dress that was truly hideous, just her trying to squeeze into it. If she had gotten a size bigger, maybe her fate in the worst-dressed hall of fame would have changed.

Now maybe Carey, Anderson and Madsen had so many choices of dresses that they were flustered and randomly picked one to wear. But Johnny Depp, Adrien Brody and Kevin Bacon don't even have that many outfits from which to choose.

For some reason, the Depp insists on making himself less beautiful by always wearing wacky and disorganized outfits. I can't think of any explanations for his black tuxedo, red button-down shirt, gold necklace, unruly locks and goat-like facial hair. But I guess it wouldn't be Johnny Depp unless he were wearing something truly outrageous.

Brody, on the other hand, is not Depp, and can never pull off wearing anything less than normal. He started off conventional enough with a black tuxedo. But then underneath, he wore a hideous, white, frilly shirt. And to top it off, his hair looked long and stringy. Tip for Brody: If you are going to the Golden Globes, you might want to shower beforehand.

Last on the male worst-dressed list is Bacon. His case is all too familiar: Again he started off with a black tuxedo. But not just any black tuxedo — a black, velvet tuxedo. Then, he added a frilly, black Oxford shirt underneath to perfectly clash with the velvet blazer. As if this weren't bad enough, Bacon topped this abominable look off with a huge, black bow tie. He also sported that disheveled and stringy hair look that Depp and Brody seem to love so much.

So to recap, Witherspoon is classic, Paltrow is glowing and Portman is tiny. Carey and Madsen need to find clothes that fit, and there is just no hope for Anderson. Phillippe, Ledger and Foxx are gorgeous and can do no wrong, but Depp, Brody and Bacon need to stick to the basic tuxedo and fix their hair.

Elizabeth Swanson is a State News staff writer. Reach her at swans130@msu.edu.