This dress isn’t a world-stopper or a fire-started, but let’s be honest, here — they don’t all need to be. What it is, is fantastic on her:

(With bonus points to Julius for the matching bow tie.) She looks gorgeous, comfortable, and elegant. I often say that Viola Davis is a great example of an actress who I never really worry about when it comes to the red carpet. No matter what, she is not going to show up wearing something totally terrible, and that is relaxing. I trust her implicitly, because she always looks like a beautiful adult professional and if that sounds like damning with faint praise, it isn’t. Beautiful adult professionals are in far too short a supply in the world, and I deeply appreciate them (this is the same reason I find cute men in reading glasses, like, changing your light bulbs without being asked incredibly sexy). She looks great in this, and also like a person who knew she probably wasn’t going to win, so there was no need to turn everything up to a 10 when she could show up and slay at about a 7. Conserve your energy. It’s what beautiful adult professionals do.

[Photo: Getty Images]