HOLLYWOOD — Hollywood is the stuff of fairy tales, and at the Academy Awards yesterday, celebrities dressed the part.

Recession may be reality, but the gowns and jewels were pure escapist fantasy. Because, let's face it, if stars aren't glamorous, they aren't doing their job.

There was a magical princess aura to many looks in a palette of pales keeping with the season's trend for powdery colors.

The best was Sarah Jessica Parker's silver-embroidered sea-foam silk tulle Dior Haute Couture bustier gown, cinched at the waist, with an enormous ballerina skirt, followed by Penelope Cruz's 1950s vintage Pierre Balmain strapless ivory lace gown, hand-embroidered with gold bouillon threads.

Miley Cyrus' ivory silk chiffon Zuhair Murad confection, with scalloped tiers and foil-like embroidery, was too much dress for a 16-year-old.

Likewise, Marisa Tomei's dove-gray one-shoulder Versace gown with spiraling origami pleats was so ornate you barely noticed her.

Anne Hathaway looked like a mermaid in Giorgio Armani Prive's champagne-colored mermaid gown, covered in half-dollar size clear paillettes, but I wonder if it crunched when she sat.

Taraji Henson, in a rippling cream chiffon Roberto Cavalli column, offset by a red Mary Norton clutch, was the evening's best dressed. I loved that when she lifted her skirt to show Ryan Seacrest her shoes, she also showed her Spanx lingerie. That's reality.

Henson's 19th-century diamond flower Fred Leighton necklace exemplified the jewelry trend. Amy Adams also wore an impressive Leighton piece, a 1950s colored gem-and-diamond collar. Viola Davis fastened a 1950s Leighton clip brooch to the front of her gilded Reem Acra goddess gown.

Freida Pinto showed off a diamond ring of Indian provenance. Her one-sleeved midnight-blue beaded-lace John Galliano gown was an interesting choice. I liked the way the shape echoed a sari, but somehow it aged her, especially with her hair up.

It's been fun to watch Mickey Rourke do the red carpet rounds because he actually takes risks, unlike so many stars. Last night, he wore a Jean Paul Gaultier white wool tuxedo with a black vest and chained zipped-up watch pockets. Around his neck was a photo pendant of Loki, his recently deceased pooch. Gotta love it.

I'm all for self-expression, but Philip Seymour Hoffman's black knit cap made him look as if he were en route to a jewel heist. Lord knows, he was in the right place.