Certainly these two categories have their fans. People like to ogle at all the pretty dresses in all the period pieces, and they love to critique the make-up and judge if a movie’s art department has made an actor or an actress look better or worse or appropriate for the part. I believe that subtle characteristics are the best, as to not distract the audience from the plot. But with these awards sometimes the subtle movies get lost in the shuffle while the more noticeable and flashy gimmicks are celebrated. So here’s my ranking of which films this past year were best dressed.

Best Costume Design:

5. Everything Everywhere All at Once – Shirley Kurata

While EEAAO is subtle for the most part with its costuming, there’s still a lot of far out costume, clownish sometimes, that pop up. There’s actually a pretty well balanced mix of the mundane and the extravagant. But this gets 5th place, because it feels like it’s trying too hard sometimes.

4. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Ruth Carter

Black Panther 2 has equally as good of costuming as it’s predecessor, and that’s kinda the problem. It doesn’t do anything new, unless you count the Aztec-ian inspired outfits for the underwater people.

3. Babylon – Mary Zophres

Babylon is gaudy and sometimes even hurts the eyes if you stare into its abyss too long. But the outfits are certainly over the top, but that fits the style and pacing of this 1920s inspired film. So, I might be a hypocrite, but I’ll let this movie slide for being excessive.

2. Elvis – Catherine Martin

Speaking of gaudy… the entire movie of Elvis is gaudy from it’s editing down to its direction. But as glossy and vinyl looking as this movie is, it does get the outfits right. It’s a period piece and we feel like we are right there with the horned up teenage girls grasping at the hip stirring Elvis’s sweet threads.

1. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris – Jenny Beavan

Finally something subtle. It’s another period piece, but we get a look at how the lower class and the upper class get to dress. Plus this movie is about dresses, so how can it lose the best dressed category.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

5. The Batman – Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine

So the only reason The Batman is nominated in the category is because they took a good looking actor and made him fat and ugly. Which that is the only notable piece of sfx make-up in the entire movie.

4. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Camille Friend and Joel Harlow

Again, Wakanda has the same problem they had during the costuming segment, the only new element here is Namor’s Spock-like ears. This is the problem with sequels in these technical categories, we’ve already seen the franchise’s best work.

2. The Whale – Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley

Another movie that has only one notable characteristic, how fat can we make an actor and avoid being accused of fat shaming. As a fat man, myself, even I questioned some of this movie’s gratuitous fatness. But in the end they did make Fraser look like a 500 pound man.

1. Elvis – Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti

Why must everyone be fat! Even Tom Hanks is taking jobs away from plus sized actors. But I did like the feminization that the movie cast upon Elvis’s good looks. That look in contrast to the sweat filled gaze of Col. Parker made for an interesting visual.

3. All Quiet on the Western Front – Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová

Actors caked in dirt and mud and blood. Everything feels grimy and half dead. This is as subtle as it gets in this category, so it has my vote.