• Wall Street Journal, Thursday, February 4, 2010 10:43 AM

Although celebrity placement is "more voodoo than science," Christina Binkley writes, fashion designers this week are wooing Hollywood's brightest stars in the hopes that they will be draped in one of their outfits when they hit the red carpet on Oscars night. But the stars who move product are not necessarily the chicest or sexiest -- or even the ones who will spend countless hours practicing impromptu-sounding acceptance speeches.

"For the most part, celebrities that drive sales aren't necessarily the ones that get nominated" for awards, says Lily Hollander, editorial director of StyleSpot.com. Women relate to Sandra Bullock's down-to-earth style, for example, and the Vivienne Westwood dress she wore at the People's Choice Awards was among the images that generated the most click-throughs to retail sites.

VIP handlers work to get the designers' clothes on celebrities who might be photographed in them, but there are always hitches lurking around the corner. People's Choice Award-presenter Jessica Alba's Burberry Prorsum knotted platform sandals got the most click-throughs of any red-carpet appearance this season to date. Alas for Burberry, Alba's spring-season shoes won't be in stores for another month.

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