Who Dressed to Impress at the VMAs?

MTV brought their biggest stage back to New York City last night and rolled out the VMA red carpet in front of Radio City Music Hall. It looked like one hell of a party and the big names were certainly out in full force. Everyone from Green Day to Madonna, Janet Jackson to JLO, and P!nk to Muse were in the house and there were some spectacular performances.

The only thing I'm going to say about Kanye-Gate-09 is that he's a disrespectful and disgusting human being and both Taylor Swift and Beyonce handled themselves very graciously and with all the class that a certain someone is severely lacking. Congratulations to them both.

Here's my red carpet rundown:

The Hits:

1. Miss Taylor Swift herself. She looked beautiful in this goddess-like gown by Kaufman Franco, the perfect shade of red lipstick, and her signature curls loosely swept up.

She also looked adorable during her performance of "You Belong With Me" in a red vintage 1950's dress and Louboutin pumps. Side note - did anyone else see her run up the staircase from the Subway in high heels, jump up on top of a cab, and keep right on singing live without so much as one lost lyric? Girl is in shape! I would have been puffing and wheezing up a storm!

2. Any other award show and I probably would've thought that Katy Perry had lost her damn mind... But honestly? This spiked and studded mini-dress screams VMAs, and I think she looks fab! Silver, sparkly, short, and boobalicious. It's exactly what I would expect from Katy and she delivered the goods. Her dress is by The Blonds and her shoes are [bedazzled] Louboutins.

I absolutely adored Katy's makeup! The pictures don't even do it justice. The look was created by makeup artist Jake Bailey and you can get the whole beauty report on what he did to make her look like the rock star she is at Splendicity.com.

3. A surprising favorite of mine is the former star of The Hills, Lauren Conrad. She's wearing a simple, yet beautiful, Diane von Furstenberg mini-dress and peep-toe Jimmy Choos. I think that Lauren usually looks pretty good but she's usually pretty safe in her choices. This is definitely not a Katy-Perry-style-crazy-VMA look, but I love it anyway. DVF is one of my favorite designers and I think the dress is elegant and fun and gives her figure a great shape. The finger-waved hair is cute and the makeup is simple but pretty. Thumbs up, LC!

4. I've got to hand it to the Twilight kids. Rob Pattinson is devastatingly handsome in his simple Dries van Noten suit (uhm, when is he not devastatingly handsome?). Jail bait cutie pie, Taylor Lautner, is definitely making fans out of all of us in an exquisitely tailored suit from the Calvin Klein Collection. Even Kristen Stewart, who is a pretty standard fixture on my worst-dressed-ever list, managed to clean up in a gorgeous Valentino dress and some edgy Rock & Republic studded heels. She even brushed her hair! I've never seen her hair look that elegant and shiny... She didn't even touch it the entire time she was on stage! That is quite an accomplishment for her.

Now, if she could just figure out how to look a little bit less awkward in photos that would be awesome...

5. I, for one, am having trouble not drooling on my keyboard over Gossip Girl hottie, Chace Crawford. What can I say? Gorgeous guy, classic black D&G suit - how can you go wrong? Keep it up, Chace. Can't wait to see him in the new Footloose remake!

The Misses:

1. Lady Gaga. In Jean Paul Gaultier and some random designer who makes fancy neck braces. WHAT??? No. I cannot condone this.

2. Jennifer Lopez. In Louis Vuitton and Louboutin. I don't get it. I'm not even sure I want to get it.

3. Adrienne Bailon. Channeling her former Cheetah Girl self in Giuseppe Zanotti. Oh, honey, no... Just no.

4. Whitney Port. In a craptacular Christopher Kane skirt and ill-fitting bustier top. With booties. I have SERIOUS hatred for booties worn with dresses (actually, I kind of just hate them all the time). I just can't handle it. I also can't handle clothes that intentionally look like see-through undergarments.

5. Drunken Douchebag and that thing he calls a girlfriend in a snakeskin bodysuit. So wrong on so many levels that I'm not even going to open my Pandora's Box of insults.

All I can say is: NO.

Really, a lot, NO.

[photo credits: mtv.com, justjared.buzznet.com, people.com, dailymail.co.uk, sawfnews.com, robsessedpattinson.com, splendicity.com]