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We’ll dig into trends and favorites among the many gowns on display at last night’s Golden Globe awards, but first a shout out to the guys. Let’s be honest, it’s damn near impossible to look bad in a tuxedo that fits properly, so in one way men have it easier.

On the other hand, women get to go a lot further with color, cut, and embellishments so standing out without looking silly is much more challenging for men. All over color can look dated in the worst way possible; shine might work for dresses, but overdone on suits can look like pajamas; stick to the basics and you risk being mistaken for a waiter.

So, how do you inject some personal style into an otherwise uniform outfit?

Try the right pattern

Glee‘s Kevin McHale combined a Dolce & Gabbana jacket with white dots that aren’t too large or too small with classic black pants, and gets our vote for best dressed. Keeping the pattern to one piece was smart, as was sticking to a monochromatic palette. Glee co-star Harry Shum, Jr. obviously got the memo and looked great in a patterned black and white dress shirt also. If you want to try a a patterned dress shirt, try custom shirt makers like Proper Cloth or World of Alfa.

Ditch the basic black

Others injected a bit of color, but stuck to neutrals like dark blue (Jon Hamm) and charcoal gray (Jeremy Renner) or subtle touches like Jesse Tyler Ferguson‘s olive green paisley bow-tie and matching suit button. Jeremy Renner and Jon Hamm have a bit of a sheen to their suits, but not so much that they look like satin.

Ferguson proves that standing out doesn’t necessarily take a fortune either. His tux was by Etro, but his bow-tie from The Tie Bar was only $15.

Combine textures

Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky and Glee‘s Chris Colfer both stuck to classic looks with skinny ties, but both had a slightly different look with lapels in different textures. It looks like Aronofsky went for velvet in a Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo while Colfer and Johnny Depp (who went tieless) went for more of a high shine. For a no-fail way to do something different, that’s the way. Ryan Gosling actually pulls off head to toe velvet, but if you’re not working with an actor’s budget/styling options (read: can buy or borrow a fairly expensive suit with high quality velvet) the look can quickly veer from dashing to Don Magic Juan disaster so tread lightly if you decide to try this at home.

This morning, the Golden Globes nominations for 2011 were announced by Josh Duamel, Blair Underwood and Katie Holmes; and with them the official start to the 2011 awards season. For film, the Golden Globes are seen as a predictor of Oscar success (at least nomination wise). For television? Well, there’s an open bar which normally makes for a pretty entertaining ceremony. Of course, we can’t forget the red carpet fashion, so without further ado here are the nominees who will probably be on the receiving end of some expensive designer swag next year.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kingâ€s Speech
The Social Network

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

Halle Berry in Frankie And Alice
Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence in Winterâ€s Bone
Natalie Portman in Black Swan
Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network
Colin Firth in The Kingâ€s Speech
James Franco in 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Alice In Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids Are All Right
Red
The Tourist

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right
Anne Hathaway in Love And Other Drugs
Angelina Jolie in The Tourist
Julianne Moore in The Kids Are All Right
Emma Stone in Easy A

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Johnny Depp in Alice In Wonderland
Johnny Depp in The Tourist
Paul Giamatti in Barneyâ€s Version
Jake Gyllenhaal in Love And Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey in Casino Jack

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

Amy Adams in The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter in The Kingâ€s Speech
Mila Kunis in Black Swan
Melissa Leo in The Fighter
Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

Christian Bale in The Fighter
Michael Douglas in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Andrew Garfield in The Social Network
Jeremy Renner in The Town
Geoffrey Rush in The Kingâ€s Speech

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
Dexter (SHOWTIME)
The Good Wife (CBS)
Mad Men (AMC)
The Walking Dead (AMC)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss in Mad Men
Piper Perabo in Covert Affairs
Katey Sagal in Sons Of Anarchy
Kyra Sedgwick in The Closer

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall in Dexter
Jon Hamm in Mad Men
Hugh Laurie in House

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

30 Rock (NBC)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
The Big C (SHOWTIME)
Glee (FOX)
Modern Family (ABC)
Nurse Jackie (SHOWTIME)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Toni Collette in United States Of Tara
Edie Falco in Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey in 30 Rock
Laura Linney in The Big C
Lea Michele in Glee

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock
Steve Carell in The Office
Thomas Jane in Hung
Matthew Morrison in Glee
Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Hope Davis in The Special Relationship
Jane Lynch in Glee
Kelly Macdonald in Boardwalk Empire
Julia Stiles in Dexter
Sofia Vergara in Modern Family

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Scott Caan in Hawaii Five-o
Chris Colfer in Glee
Chris Noth in The Good Wife
Eric Stonestreet in Modern Family
David Strathairn in Temple Grandin

Marilyn Monroeâ€s famous “Diamonds are a Girlâ€s Best Friend” gown from the 1953 movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was auctioned for a gasp-worthy sum over $300,000 this past weekend. The money Los Angeles auction house Profiles in History brought in for the pink satin number, dubbed “”the most important film dress to ever come to auction,” was well over its predicted $255,000 tag. It is so far unclear what wealthy fashionista purchased the dress and what he or she plans to do with it. {Toronto Sun}

In May, we covered this auction announcement from Profiles in History, who specializes in offering Hollywood memorabilia. The Marilyn Monroe piece, also well-known for being imitated by Madonna in the music video for “Material Girl,” was the star attraction at the auction this weekend. The iconic actress would have turned 84 years old this week.

The money shelled out for the gown beats the nearly $276,000 paid for Princess Dianaâ€s strapless black taffeta piece, which was also auctioned last week. The whopping $300k price tag of the pink gown would be impressive even to the gold-digging Lorelei, whom Marilyn Monroe portrays in the film, though it does pale in comparison to the $4 million coughed up last winter for the burial niche directly above her tomb. {InStyle}

More than 1500 Hollywood pieces were sold at the auction. The hat worn by the Wicked Witch of the West in the movie The Wizard of Oz went for an also eye-popping sum of $206,130, while Julie Andrews’ carpet bag from Mary Poppins brought in $97,911. Johnny Depp’s lasting popularity was evident as his bladed gloves from Edward Scissorhands and his Jack Sparrow jacket from The Pirates of the Caribbean movies sold for a combined total of $46,878. {University 5}

The famous strapless pink number worn by Marilyn Monroe in Gentleman Prefer Blondes, Darth Vader’s light saber, Mary Poppins’ carpet bag, Johnny Depp’s gloves worn as Edward Scissorhands and the Wicked Witch of the West’s black hat are just some of the one-of-a-kind pieces up for grabs. They’re expected to collectively fetch over $500,000, with estimates for Marilyn’s gown between $150,000-200,000. {Stylelist}

If you are a diehard fan or are just feeling lucky and have the money to spend, bookmark Live Auctioneers now, and get ready to bid.