Hated It

Madonna raided Anne Rice's Goth wardrobe — and the results are a horror, to some. ''She looked like she had my arms,'' says Schwartz. And while Melissa admires the tulle skirt, her mother jokes: ''It's very practical — if Lourdes is still nursing, Momma could do it in a second.''

Hair and Makeup

Credit Madonna — on her Ray of Light CD cover — with making the Pre-Raphaelite look popular. But how many could — let alone would — copy her makeup? Laura Mercier, using her own line of cosmetics, brushed Madonna's lids with purple and gray eye shadow, glued two small fake diamonds under her bottom lashes, powdered her face with gold dust, and finished her lips with a raspberry gloss. ''She's been criticized for every single move she does,'' says Mercier. ''She feels if you don't dare, you don't do anything in life.'' And that's the truth.

The Royal Jewels

''I feel like a queen,'' said Madonna on her way into the Shrine. But her 19th-century gems from Fred Leighton are upstaged by the medieval muddle.

The Dress

An even more extreme Goth Gaultier gown had been the singer's first choice, but she decided it was too over-the-top for the Oscars. She found what she considered a more low-key look by pairing one of the designer's elegant skirts with a black silk overgarment by a 21-year-old Belgian newcomer named Olivier Theyskens. ''She is very supportive of young designers,'' says stylist Arianne Phillips, ''and she wore Gaultier in the 'Frozen' video. She compromised.'' Right down to her shoes, which were by yet a third designer, Dolce & Gabbana.