Has J. Law Lost Her Mojo?

Decades from now, there will be history books written about the awesomeness of Jennifer Lawrence. In them will be chapters dedicated to her beauty, her hilarious and refreshing sense of humor, her (sometimes misguided) dedication to building self confidence in women, and her stunning style. But what won’t make the cut in that last chapter is her 2014 awards season style — namely, because it’s been so abysmally dull.

Now, I love Jennifer Lawrence as much as — if not more than — the next girl, but what I’ve seen out of her so far this awards season has made me look away not in shame, but in boredom. It’s not even that Lawrence has looked bad, per se. Yes, she made plenty of best-dressed lists in that meme-inspiring Golden Globes gown, and sure, she looked beautiful in her Rainbow Fish–inspired strapless gown from Saturday night’s SAG Awards. But everyone’s favorite star has yet to have us really noticing her on the red carpet for anything other than photobombing and hilarious interviews.

What’s worse, Lawrence has let everyone from newcomers like Margot Robbie and Lupita Nyong’o utterly outshine her, and old favorites like Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett have been — if not always great — at least memorable. Even Julia Roberts is starting to put in some effort, wearing a gorgeous jumpsuit on the SAG Awards red carpet.

But maybe the fault doesn’t lie with Lawrence so much as it lies with our extremely high expectations for the girl on fire. She came out of the awards-show gate so strong, bursting onto the scene in 2011 with that perfectly minimal but totally hot Calvin Klein dress. She did it again last year, stunning in her leather-trimmed Critics’ Choice gown and amazing us with her Oscars dress from Dior Couture.

And when she chopped off her blond locks and took on an edgier vibe for last year’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire press tour, we totally got down with the daring outfits she pulled out of nowhere. But now that it’s awards season and it’s truly her time to shine, all that edge has mysteriously disappeared. Instead of sexy see-through Dior Haute Couture gowns and drop-waist sequined skirts, she’s gone back into her shell, opting instead for run-of-the-mill strapless gowns in not-so-memorable hues.

Perhaps — and this is my worst fear — Lawrence has peaked too early. She’s ruled the awards-show circuit for the last several years and is the youngest actress ever to be nominated for three Oscars. She’s stunned us so many times in her gorgeous outfits, but maybe the pressure to impress has her running out of style steam.

Or maybe (and this is now my daily prayer), she’s just biding her time until Oscars night, when she’s going to hit us with a dress so mind-blowing, we’ll never question her fashion sense again.