-
The most interesting part of the “red carpet” events happens to be the actual RED CARPET itself– meaning watching all the celebs walk down the red carpet and talk to the press- particularly the women who are quizzed about the fashions they are wearing. Here’s my short version this time as everyone from Nancy Lichtenstein to Karen Starr DelloIancono are swamped to their eyeballs. I don’t even think they watched the show. (To be honest, I didn’t either. I was busy pulling images!)
Taking a page from the baseball, let’s make this evaluation easy to understand about what was right, what was missing, what was a mistake and how it could have been fixed. Since I am doing this solo without a podcast, I am going to split this up into a couple of posts so that you don’t spend an hour looking at this because that’s waaaaaaay too long. So here’s what I have for today: the Base Hit and the ” What Were They Thinking”? groups.
“Base Hit”
Anna Gunn
Anna Gunn from the neck up looked amazing. Her hair was great, the look was great (who knew that she looked that awesome when you watched Breaking Bad?). The actual design of the dress was flattering and gave her body a great shape. But that’s where it stops. The color of the dress: black and white took all the attention from her face and put it on her body. Black and white on a blonde- particularly since the white was on the bottom, drew all the attention to the skirt. She wasn’t wearing a lot of jewelry and from what I can tell it was diamonds- when a chunky piece of something colorful would have helped break up the black and white geometric and get some attention to her overall look. Even her handbag was in key with the dress which did nothing to create a statement here other than “meh” (You will be seeing that a lot in this column!)
Rose Byrne
Rose Byrne has got to be one of the most beautiful women around and she has changed her hair color which makes her skin less pale and more in tune with her hair but the dramatic part of her look was that she had big dark eyes, dark hair and pale skin- so why change it? (A question one should ask me sometimes too). However if you have done your hair this caramel highlighted lighter brown, then work with it in your dress color rather than against it. This pink is neither cool nor warm. It’s like a powder or cameo pink. It doesn’t do a lot for her. The dress is absolutely KILLER and yet the color just makes it go limp. What’s lacking is that pop of color — lips, eyes, jewelry, handbag -even shoes– that would have been seen that could had given this outfit some oomph and edge. Rose has looked better at other events, this was not the place to drop the ball.
Julianne Hough
Julianne Hough– interesting hair style and a cool edgy dress BUT — with some caveats. Her hair looks great but the grey of the dress washes out her hair and her makeup. Given the drama of the dress (Kristin Stewart Twilight Finale redux), did Julianne think she needed to add bare shoulders and super-sheer skirt to the mix too? With so much going on in the dress- who looked at her face? She could have worn a dramatic or interesting necklace With just one chunky ring (no color) and clutch that is in key with the dress, where’s the color in this outfit? The only reason to look at it is to oogle at Julianne’s great body. That’s not the point of a red carpet runway — or at least think about another layer and adding in more accessories- something to make you look at Julianne’s face. The dress itself was interesting– but it did nothing for her. (At least Kristen Stewart had smokey eyes and more color in her outfit than Hough does in this one)
Lisa Rinna
Lisa Rinna is a beautiful woman. Love the dress– in key with her hair, her coloring and it fits her body shape well. But the couple of bracelets and the slim earrings aren’t enough decoration to polish off the outfit. She needed a necklace, pendant or lariet that would work with the golden hues of the Reem Acra dress. I know that there were Cognac diamonds at StyleLab that would have been ideal for this outfit.
Amy Poehler
What can be said about AQmy Poehler (other than she’s a great commedienne and actress) for this Emmy red carpet? She’s pale golden blonde, not the slimmest person in the world (which is ok!!) and she’s not particularly tall. The best outfit would maximize her assets and camoflauge the things that need a little distraction. So skip the dress in black mock turtleneck and get a scoop- neck dress with a tank or cap sleeve in a brilliant hue that would work for her like a teal, warm greens, yellow or coral and work that to make her hair look great and spark her gorgeous blue eyes. Also the color lipstick should be switched out to a warmer, more saturated color (read darker or brighter) . Instead of pulling her hair back into a ponytail, what about a messy side-bun instead? She could have replicated the look from 2012 but changed the the hair style to be more beachy wavy and changed that dress from black to another color. and wear jewelry that actually has some color and pop. Boom! She’s set and looking great. Here’s she’s just looking like she didn’t try. (She didn’t!)
Elisabeth Moss
I love Elisabeth Moss!! I really do! I keep HOPING that one day she will have a dress that both works with her body AND is the right color for her then hair color. So far, that hasn’t happened!! Moss has the same problem Anna Gunn had and the biggest issue again is that because the skirt on this dress is so wide, it dominates the frame. Now had Moss added a great necklace to that strapless gown she could have had smaller earrings and changed the handbag color to go with the necklace . Makeup is perfect– but the dress isn’t! I would love to have seen a slimmer skirt that maybe was more a wrap-around a la Juliana Margulies. That would have been interesting. Or change the dress color into something like bronze and gold or champagne in any configuration or colors I suggested for Poehler. What’s up with the blondes just settling for black and white?
Guiliana Rancic
Giuliana Rancic has a similar problem but at least she ventured into a genuine color (black is the mix of all colors, white is the absence of all color). However I think Rancic tried to match the gown to her eyecolor rather than try to make it work with her hair. Note that her hair looks drab and almost brassy? The cut & style is great but the color looks a touch off– that’s because the dress is too blue blue- rather than a green blue like teal. Just a simple shift in the color would have rocked that dress. However — re the dress– Rancic is looking very reed-like thin and shouldn’t be wearing a dress that exaggerates her extremely thin body. It makes one wonder if she’s ill. (And I am not the first to mention it either). She had jewelry and a bag. Nothing to write home about- except stop the focus on being thin. There is thin and then there is TOO THIN.
There were more who Made a Base Hit but that would take up more space. Let’s head into the “What Were They Thinking” — in other words, the ones who should not have left the house wearing that dress!
Kelly Osbourne
Ah.. I think this is episdoe #7 or 8, that I have talked about Kelly Osbourne’s hair being the wrong shade. It’s too grey for her skintone and makes her skin look lackluster (non-glowy). Also particularly with this dress, the red and the mauve/lavender do NOT work!! Even a celebrity hair stylist said it and posted it out there to be sent to press. This color (hair color- not dress color) has outlived it’s usefulness. Kelly you are a beautiful girl, own it. Stop shooting yourself in the foot!
Amanda Peet
Amanda Peet what were you thinking? (Lena Headley — listen up too). Just because Kerry Washington wore this at Oscar time in a different hue, doesn’t mean that black is back unless you are telling us you are now going GOTH!! This dress does you no favors. The hair and the neckline aren’t flattering. The dress gives you no body shape. It looks like a sack. If you hired a stylist to help you, make them wear the dress! You are pretty and can wear just about anything so select something that works for your body type and your hair and skintone– so that you glow and not look like you just dug out from the Addams family house! Try the same dress, forget the neckline, change the color to a lighter shade and shorten this dress some and have some shoes that work with the new dress in terms of color and make them fun and playful. This style is meant to be fun, flirty and playful. Now you look like you are going to a funeral.
Robin Wright
Robin Wright I watch you on HOUSE OF CARDS and I think you are fabulous but not always wearing the colors that would make you look fabulous– but then you are ACTING. On the red carpet, this isn’t time for play-acting when it comes to fashion. Your hair and makeup were great. The dress made you look like Giulana Rancic only in black: long, stick-like figure in black. That’s not a nice comparison either and you know that. I am just telling you that you could have worn that dress in a different color with some contrasting jewelry and killer shoes and blown the doors off the Nokia Theater. What kept you from doing that? Tall, slim, beautiful and yet you pick out a boring dress in the wrong color that makes you look less than you are. Please get a good stylist (I am one– which means if I can see it, others can too.) Your career at this moment deserves your attention in the fashion world. GET IT, do it, own it!
Lena Headley
Lena Headley, read the two commentaries above, combine them and that’s what I am saying to you — except I don’t know what series you are in. However you do look like you are going GOTH as well and it’s not flattering. Your gorgeous hair and great body deserves something with color. N.B. Whoever told you that wearing white pumps with a black dress should be fired or kicked to the back of the closet. NO NO NO!! You have no other white going on- white shoes is not color-blocking, it’s just color-wrong.
Borrow a similar dress in a color that works with your hair color- teal or copper would be awesome! Get it fitted properly and if you want that slit up the front, think about some great fancy shoes and not basic pumps. The dress is very simple– if you are going to do simple, something has to spark it: color and accessories. So get the jewelry, the right shoes, change the dress color and try a metallic handbag.
Zosia Mamet
Zosia Mamet is wearing a dress that clearly doesn’t suit her body type. The black rubberish bra on the front is “wrong” for that dress (yes I know it’s part of the design and you think it’s edgy. It really looks kinky in a bad way). The cut of the dress is not flattering to your body type because the skirt is a little too wide but it’s primarily due to the over-the-top print that overwhelms your coloring and your look. The dress is wearing you- you aren’t wearing the dress. Unfortunately I have seen similar prints on bedspreads and on wallpaper. You deserve better and also a great hairstylist to give you some softness around your face! Give Karen Starr DelloIacono and I a shout– and we can help you out in the style department. She’s a fashion designer and I am a stylist. Between the two of us, we know a LOT of people on both coasts.
Ilena Dunham
Ilena Dunham is wearing a dress by Prada. I love the color of the dress. I love the color of the flowers. I do not like them together. They are too much– again a bedspread print. It’s too much skirt + print for a woman of her height. The top of the dress doesn’t quite fit correctly and again the dress is wearing her and she’s not wearing it. It’s absolutely the wrong dress for her. Also as a celebrity hair stylist noted, no one did her hair. The bangs are not right, there’s no style to it. Your eyes get lost in the bangs and this is just a hot mess. I wish I could say nice things like I did about the other Prada dress. Take a page from her book, and wear simpler dress with great shoes and someone doing makeup and hair.
Lily Rabe
Lily Rabe, one might think you were trying to do too much in one outfit. Decide which it is– short or long or perhaps an assymetrical wrap but it has to fit you properly. This dress does you no favors. It’s white (washes you out), it’s both short and long and it doesn’t have a true sense of its’ shape– or more accurately doesn’t fit you well. The hair style looks great- it’s perfect for the occasion. If this dress were reshaped into something else and were something closer in tone to your lipstick color which is too dark for all that white, you could pull it off. Also a different pair of shoes. No white shoes unless you have sexy white sandals. The pumps work with the long side of the dress, the short side just doesn’t play nice with the white. Change the hue, change the style, get new shoes and you are good to go.
Nice bracelets -but to make a statement, they need to be in color. There is such a thing as too much white.
For those celebs here who are featured in the “what were they thinking” section, this is a wake-up call to get with a new stylist or brand and rethink what you are going to wear and how you are going to wear it!. Just because it’s on-trend means it works for your body type. Just because crochet is hot, doesn’t mean it’s for your body. Look at the entire picture– as in have someone shoot a photo of you on their cell and show you BEFORE you walk out the door and then if you don’t like what you see, you can change clothing!!
A lot can be done with color- or added makeup. But once you are in the wrong dress on the carpet, it’s too late.
This is the end of the quick version of celebrity style slam. Had I done a podcast, this would have gone on for days. I didn’t give kudos enough to those who rocked it. Those who should have looked twice before they left, I can’t give them enough advice without it being an hour long podcast.
Until the next celebrity event, work your fashion magic!
Stevie Wilson,
LA-Story.com
http://click.
http://ad.linksynergy.
Subscribe to RSS headline updates from:
Powered by FeedBurner
If you are going to feature content from LA-Story.com including podcasts or videos including the accompanying text, please respect copyright provisions. We require a notation of content origination (meaning credit tag), a linkback to the specific page & please email the link to stevie@la-story.com before the piece goes live.
LA-Story.com, LA-Story Recessionista, Celebrity Stylescope, Celebrity Style Slam Trademark/Copyright: KBP Inc./TNBT Inc 2007-13
There are some super bad nightmare looks here..Kelly Osbourne my least fave…but Amy Poehler did herself in similarly..just all the wrong moves for the body she has…too bad.
isn’t it interesting that all these people have access to free clothing, accessories and can pay for stylists but don’t get that someone should tell them the truth that they need to change their outfit?
Some of them are appalling. But you know some stylists are unrealistic too! I’ve tried using a personal shopping service at a very expensive UK store and had some dreadful advice (in my opinion)