Oscars Fashion Trend: 'Downton Abbey'-inspired High Neck Gowns

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On a night when Seth McFarlane sang a catchy little diddy about boobs, it's interesting that one of the trends to emerge from Oscar night actually covered up cleavage. 

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We're talking about high halter neck frocks that surfaced at both the ceremony and Vanity Fair party on the likes of Amanda Seyfried, Salma Hayek, Marisa Tomei, Alessandra Ambrosio and Naomi Campbell.  

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The dresses may have left cleavage to the imagination, but they were anything but tame. Each was tight and curve conscious, with Ambrosio's elaborately beaded, backless Zuhair Murad going sheer above the knees, and Salma Hayek's velvet Alexander McQueen sexily showing off the star's shoulders in a sophisticated way. 

Of course, many at Sunday's festivities failed to get the high neck memo (here's looking at you, Brandi Glanville). But the Cleopatra-esque styles we did see were a pleasant respite from the standard bare-it-all mentality. And they prove that leaving a little mystery in your outfit can be a very good thing.