Nancy Lichtenstein is back sharing her take — and me with mine– on who wore it better… in other words, Celebrity Style Slam but with less slam and more trend-spotting.
This oversized sequined caftan by Sir Alistair Rai brings some glam factor to the 80’s basic look of an oversized tee shirt. Worn in different colors and accessorized differently by Katharine McPhee and Kristin Chenoweth, there’s a big difference in the star wattage here. Read on to see who wore it better:
Nancy is in bold, I am in regular type!
Katharine McPhee
NL:
Katharine McPhee went for the gold and I think it was a wise choice. It modernizes what could be a too retro feel, flatters her coloring and shows the sequins off better.
SW: I liked the gold and I liked the white but not on Kristin. I think McPhee made the better choice based on her coloring.
NL:
As for the shape, this is clearly meant to be oversized (inherent in the word caftan), but you can still tell there’s a woman’s body under here. The V neck flatters her collar bone and the batwing sleeves give it a little more style than an ordinary tee shirt.
SW: This has more style but also more pitfalls in it — based on how you wear it so it’s about being very careful on how you put it together. The success or failure is in the details.
NL:
Katharine McPhee paired the caftan with black leggings and suede knee-high boots. I liked the way it dressed down this look that could be overly evening–it looks unstudied. She seems like the fun girl with cool things in her closet who’s more concerned about comfort because she’s going out for the long haul but can throw together anything because all the pieces have style.
SW: I have to agree with Nancy that Katherine made a wise choice. I do think that she could have gone tonally with brown or rust to create more dimension and something different than black but it still worked and it was fun. She was casual without being sloppy and it was thought-out without being too fussy.
NL:
Her makeup is fine, it showcase her beautiful eyes without looking harsh or overdone, but the hair took the look down a little bit too much–I’m wearing my hair the same way as I write this and it’s because I didn’t have time to blow dry it. As for the accessories, I love the big black statement ring, and she gets points for wearing a necklace, but this one doesn’t go with the top at all.
SW: The area that I saw McPhee fail in was the hair, a bit on the make-up and tons on the jewelry. I think the statement ring should have been tonally different– go for color bronze, ruby or emerald– something that pops the color. The necklace needed to be different– bolder, chunkier. A statement necklace or something picking up the style thread of the ring would have been better!
NL:
Rating: 4 stars–the hair and jewelry could be better.
SW: Agree with Nancy on this one but I think she could have been 3.5 stars
Kristin Chenoweth
NL:
Kristin Chenoweth wore a paler version of the shirt, and that’s her first mistake, in my book. With her light blonde hair it’s too much light on light, and the sequins look odd in white.
SW: Totally agree here. The color washes Kristin out and it’s like the top matches her hair and thus drains her face of any color.
NL:
More importantly, this top is way, way, way too big. It hangs down to her knees, but it’s too droopy to look like a dress–she looks like a very small girl wearing her obese father’s Hanes undershirt as a nightgown.
SW: Didn’t anyone check the mirror before she took this or left the house? Hello? If it’s so big at least belt it to create a waistline with a hip slung belt.
NL:
The small strip of black at her neckline and the flattened cleavage makes it appear that rather than leggings, she may be wearing a unitard, which is a much too literal interpretation of 80’s style. Whatever the bottoms are, they’re too short at the ankles and paired with gold open-toed booties, they cut up her legs horizontally way too much. (The open toes aren’t showing a noticeable pedicure either, which is one of my pet peeves.)
SW: Have to agree, a black and white look isn’t good for her. While the legging effect is fine, that sliver of black does provide that unitard look and really — where’s the color in this outfit?
NL:
The dark roots and the pale lips aren’t adding anything to the style either. The very best thing about this look is Kristin Chenoweth’s beautiful smile.
SW: Chenowith is lacking in jewelry and other accessories, (belt, handbag anything? ) as well as a well-balanced look in the make-up department. I do believe that if you are going to wear sandals or peep toe shoes, you need to either have a great pedicure or no color whatsoever! She didn’t take the time to care about what she was wearing.
NL:
Rating: one star–there’s nothing right about this look at all.
SW: Totally agree with this one! YIKES!!
Winner: Katharine McPhee
Thanks to Nancy Lichtenstein for her trend-spotting and her critique. She’s a winner at this.
Stevie Wilson, LA-Story.com
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