I could hardly let today go by without a mention of the Sex in the City premiere that took place in London yesterday.

The stars were out in force to promote the new film, expected to be in their finest rig, and indeed they were. It would be nice to have pix, but I can't find any that are copyright free, so click here to see pictures.

I had also better confess at this point to never having seen the TV programme. Other than that it introduced the polloi to Manolo Blahniks, which were already well-known in London, I really know nothing about it. Some say it's feminist and some say it's fluff, and some say it's a bit like Bridget Jones' Diary, but frankly that would be bad news for me - never in the history of time has such utter trash been foisted on women as in BJD.

Well anyway. Sarah Jessica Parker looked very pert and pretty in a green, flirty strapless dress by Alexander McQueen and a mad hat by Philip Treacy. Parker does always have her look together, so this should be no surprise, though I'm guessing this outfit was a touch more for her character than her normal clothes - especially the heels. I liked her as an actress in State and Main, and she was great in Ed Wood, complete with prosthetic nose. In fashion terms I know her mainly for her Bitten range of clean-lined basics that retail for under $20 a pop. All I know of Carrie Bradshaw is that she was written as a walking fashion disaster but ended up becoming a style icon, much to the surprise of all concerned.

Kim Cattrall is also familiar to me as hot totty in many a men's magazine, which is pretty remarkable given that she's 52 - gives every girl hope really. And she looked splendid in a red off-the-shoulder asymmetric number from Viv Westwood. Knowing Westwood, this dress will have been so stiffly corseted that it could stand up on its own, but her frocks definitely make the most of a girl's assets, even if you can't breathe or eat while wearing one.

The other two actresses - Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon - are mostly unknown to me (though I remember Davis from an episode of Larry Sanders and Nixon from Igby Goes Down). Davis's red dress was modest and pretty, quite English in fact - a high necked red number with an asymmetric hem, while Davis was clearly showing off her credentials as a breast cancer survivor by wearing a deeply plunging black dress with the top cut to the waist. This is a tad too Hollywood for London, to be honest, but we'll give her a pass. At least she didn't get it as horribly wrong as the WAG tart who turned up in a pink strapless satin mini (why not a Bunnygirl outfit?).

As for the film, we'll have to wait and see - it's not released here until May 28 and when it reaches this neck of the woods it'll be dubbed into French, so I won't be watching it either. But from what I understand, it carries on with the girls in their 40s and in Cattrall's case her character has a 50th birthday. That can only be a good thing but I do wish US cinema would catch up with the French in terms of portraying women in their 40s and 50s. Carole Bouquet, Isabelle Huppert, Catherine Frot, Charlotte Rampling, Monica Bellucci, Kristin Scott-Thomas et al are never out of work in this country, and seeing women in sexy roles even into their 60s is just par for the course.

The truth is, finding coverage of a woman over 40 at the Oscars at all isn't that easy, as the photographers train their lenses on younger women, but thankfully this year the over-60s brigade did us proud.

Helen Mirren, of course, is always a standout. Mirren, now 63, has always had curves and usually chooses dresses with some volume to the skirt, that fit tightly to the bodice and cover her arms. This year was no exception as she took the floor in a gorgeous dark red silk number from Lebanese-born Paris couturier George Chakra. The gown's Swarovski crystal sleeves were very unusual, like a built-in shrug, and a very useful idea for women who don't want to display their upper arms. Right on the money, with all that glitter Mirren kept her makeup light and her other jewellery subdued (for all that it cost a million dollars).

Red was the primary colour of this year's ceremony and was worn by old and young alike. Veteran actress Ruby Dee (right), up for best female supporting actress, looked radiant in a red goddess gown with matching jacket from Kevan Hall - note the thin belt, which is a completely up-to-the minute trend. Impossible to believe that this woman is 83 and a fantastic example of how style never goes out of fashion.

Julie Christie, in line for the best actress Oscar for her role in Away From Her, also chose red, but bucked the trend by wearing a short number in crinkled silk - the only actress on the red carpet to go short, as far as I'm aware. Again, she wore sleeves to cover the upper arm and - in this case - long pink suede gloves, which I don't think quite 'came off' as a fashion statement. Christie's hair, though, was utterly beautiful worn in a natural tousled style that belies her 67 years.

Other than red, most women opted for black or dark strapless goddess gowns in a year that was more elegant and less bling than we're accustomed to seeing at the Oscars. Among the over-40s, Laura Linney was a good example, but there were a few other colours: Kelly Preston wore a lovely ochre number from Cavalli, while Calista Flockhart was subdued in mint-green vintage Valentino.

The biggest fashion faux pas, sadly, was from our very own Tilda Swinton, who did her androgynous beauty no favours with an enveloping black panne velvet gown from Lanvin. This simply overwhelmed her pale skin and elfin face and just goes to show that money, talent and a great design house don't necessarily add up to a good look. Swinton, it strikes me, might benefit from a stylist for her public appearances, because she keeps getting caught on camera wearing very strange outfits and never looks comfortable - a great shame when she is so talented a performer.