By Patrick Morey, News Correspondent

Hollywood’s biggest and brightest stars paraded down the red carpet March 2 outside the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles to celebrate the motion picture industry’s most important night – the 86th annual Academy Awards.

This year’s red carpet featured the actresses of Hollywood displaying their most elegant attire with 43 million people tuning in to watch, according to the W

ashington Post. Although slideshows and public critiques of actresses’ gowns likely populated the internet that night, men stole the show this year on one of nightwear’s biggest stages.

“What will be remembered from this year’s red carpet was the fashion worn by the men,” Leah Bourne, a fashion writer at StyleCaster, said in an article. “It was the men who really emerged as the risk-takers this year.”

Though the classic black tuxedo was still a popular choice, some men sported the timeless look while differentiating themselves with stylish accessories. One such man was “Fruitvale Station” star Michael B. Jordan, who adorned his sleek Givenchy tuxedo with silver, star-shaped collar pins and silver-banded shoes, both of which were named among the best male accessories by The Hollywood Reporter.

“I really liked the shoes,” Stephanie Mendez, a third-year economics and international affairs major, said. “People forget about the shoes but they’re important, too.”

Among the more daring attendees was pop singer Pharrell Williams, whose audacious choice to wear shorts with his Lanvin tuxedo precipitated the most divisive reactions to any star on the red carpet.

“Love them or loathe them, at least he tried something,” Bourne said.

When asked for their thoughts about Pharrell’s daring “shortxedo,” some students were quick to say that they were not fans.

“People are wearing tuxes and you’re wearing shorts? You look like a moron,” Ryan Gordon, a senior political science major, said. A self-proclaimed impeccable dresser with a keen eye for style, Gordon said that Pharell would have looked better with just about anything else.

“It’s the complete opposite of what you’re going for on the red carpet,” he said.

Mendez disagreed, saying that fashion is Pharell’s mode of self-expression.

“It was a little out there, but so is he. It’s just like his hat at the Grammys,” she said. “If it was on anyone else it would be ridiculous, but on him it makes sense.”

Others on the red carpet deviated from that look entirely. The two most notable outliers were “Dallas Buyer’s Club” co-stars Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. Winning an Oscar for their performances in the film that night, they both sported white dinner jackets with black pants. McConaughey matched his with a black vest and bowtie while Leto flaunted a red, silk bowtie with ruby encrusted cufflinks, both of which also were mentioned by Hollywood Reporter as two of the best accessories.

But Leto’s Saint Laurent tux also triggered varying reactions. Andrea Reiher, a pop culture writer for Zap2it, an entertainment blog, said that Leto looked as though “he’s going to be somebody’s wedding singer [after the Oscar’s].”

Gordon, the fashion-obsessed student, said that Leto should have kept it simple.

“That’s not OK. You can’t wear a mismatched tux and a red bow tie,” he said. “If anything he should’ve worn a black tie.”

The interesting styles donned on the red carpet this year might have been risky but were worthy of commentary.

“This is the first time I paid attention to men’s fashion. I really liked how they changed things up from just black tuxedos this year,” Mendez said.