Picspam: 2007 Red Carpet Face Off
After spending a few hours glued to "E! Live from the Red Carpet" yesterday, here are my impressions of the good, the bad and the ugly at this year's Oscars.
For those who must, you can also do some more red carpet post mortem with the E! Fashion Police (airing in the UK tomorrow).
Who shined:
Penelope Cruz
I cannot understand why the Evening Standard online dissed Penelope's amazing tea rose strapless dress. I am on completely unbiased ground here: neither am I crazy about Penelope as an actress, nor about Versace as designer but I am really sold to this gown: the sculpted bodice (a little nod to Gaultier?) perfectly framed her body and the feathery skirt is light, elegant, yet Hollywood glamorous.
It looks like Gwyneth finally found her "wow gown" (here I place an inevitable comparison with her dull, too-large-on-the-bust Ralph Lauren pink gown circa 2000). This Zac Posen had just the right amount of everything: perfect cut, shape, texture and colour, all of which really suited her.
Surely Kate must hold one of the highest scores for red carpet fabulousness (which goes very nicely with her record number of Oscar nominations) and here she scores again with a Valentino stunner in a risky colour which would not have suited most poor mortals. But this is Kate...
Reese Witherspoon
I loved this Nina Ricci dress almost as much as I loved Michelle William's Vera Wang yellow dress in 2006 so I guess this makes it my "I wish I had this dress" of this year's crop. The dégradée in the train is just the perfect finish. Reese could have collected bonus points by adding a little (discreet) necklace but maybe that would have been too much of a good thing.
I know this photo does not do her justice, but Maggie seemed to emulate Rita Hayworth in this one shouldered black & dark blue gown by Proenza Schouler. She also had the best arm candy in Peter Sasgaard!
Jada Pinkett-Smith
A lost cause. This ultra structured strapless dress does show off Jada's toned arms but at the expense of all the rest: she looks constrained and flattened. The bodice detail is not helping either. Something with a little more flow would be kinder to her petite figure and short legs.
I don't mind this Marchesa dress too much but one of the reasons why we do not expect to see Jennifer in any Regency period dramas anytime soon is the empire waistline thing. She is too plump for this look, and by this statement I mean no offence!
Oh no! And to think that Vera Wang designed this... The neckline is too busy with the lace over ruched satin, plus a cutesy - but not in a good way - brooch clashing with her necklace (which I did like on its own, to be fair). The frilly train is, again, way too cutesy. Overall, this reminded me of a sugary candy prom dress. Not good.
With her big red bow, Nicole is clearly boldly going to the same place as Charlize Theron last year. Plus, this halter neck looks uncomfortably suffocating. Not my favourite.
As for Naomi, are the Evening Standard online folks crazy? To put her in the "Oscar best dressed list" while giving sartorial superiors Gwyneth and Penelope the cold shoulder? I don't think so: won't-stay-in-place sleeves, redundant black sash and a disastrous shapeless bow at the back (luckily not pictured here). All this and her deconstructivist number of last year contribute to Naomi's low score in my books.
Pictures: E! Online and Evening Standard
Gwyneth Paltrow
It looks like Gwyneth finally found her "wow gown" (here I place an inevitable comparison with her dull, too-large-on-the-bust Ralph Lauren pink gown circa 2000). This Zac Posen had just the right amount of everything: perfect cut, shape, texture and colour, all of which really suited her.
Kate Winslet
Surely Kate must hold one of the highest scores for red carpet fabulousness (which goes very nicely with her record number of Oscar nominations) and here she scores again with a Valentino stunner in a risky colour which would not have suited most poor mortals. But this is Kate...Reese Witherspoon
I loved this Nina Ricci dress almost as much as I loved Michelle William's Vera Wang yellow dress in 2006 so I guess this makes it my "I wish I had this dress" of this year's crop. The dégradée in the train is just the perfect finish. Reese could have collected bonus points by adding a little (discreet) necklace but maybe that would have been too much of a good thing.
Maggie Gyllenhaal
I know this photo does not do her justice, but Maggie seemed to emulate Rita Hayworth in this one shouldered black & dark blue gown by Proenza Schouler. She also had the best arm candy in Peter Sasgaard!Who slipped:
Jada Pinkett-Smith
A lost cause. This ultra structured strapless dress does show off Jada's toned arms but at the expense of all the rest: she looks constrained and flattened. The bodice detail is not helping either. Something with a little more flow would be kinder to her petite figure and short legs.
J-Lo
I don't mind this Marchesa dress too much but one of the reasons why we do not expect to see Jennifer in any Regency period dramas anytime soon is the empire waistline thing. She is too plump for this look, and by this statement I mean no offence!
Rachel Weisz
Oh no! And to think that Vera Wang designed this... The neckline is too busy with the lace over ruched satin, plus a cutesy - but not in a good way - brooch clashing with her necklace (which I did like on its own, to be fair). The frilly train is, again, way too cutesy. Overall, this reminded me of a sugary candy prom dress. Not good.
Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts
With her big red bow, Nicole is clearly boldly going to the same place as Charlize Theron last year. Plus, this halter neck looks uncomfortably suffocating. Not my favourite.
As for Naomi, are the Evening Standard online folks crazy? To put her in the "Oscar best dressed list" while giving sartorial superiors Gwyneth and Penelope the cold shoulder? I don't think so: won't-stay-in-place sleeves, redundant black sash and a disastrous shapeless bow at the back (luckily not pictured here). All this and her deconstructivist number of last year contribute to Naomi's low score in my books.
Pictures: E! Online and Evening Standard
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5 comments:
Where's is Helen Mirren ?
I was fairly neutral about her red carpet looks... neither impressive nor depressive. In your view, is she a shiner or a slipper?
Dear Guru,
I beg to differ. I thought Penelope's skirt was suitable to Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail... and poor Gweny looked like a spider! Agree on Reese. Thought Cate Blanchet was v elegant (although I'd never wear that). Agree that J Lo looked a bit ridiculous and that Kate Winslet looked fab. I also noticed the resemblance between Nicole Kidman's big bow and Charlize Theron's monstruos bow last year, but I'm afraid Ms Kidman can get away with that. She looked gorgeous, especially beside a bridesmaid-looking Naomi Watts. My "wish-I-had-that-dress" goes to Mike Wahlberg's date (name?) and, if I can have two dresses pleeease, to the much-criticized Kirsten Dunst. She looked so cute... and how about her brother??!
D.
Mark Walhberg's date had a blue and white gown right? Agree, that was very good too. I did like the bottom half of Kirsten Dunst's Chanel but not so crazy about the upper half (and yes, very good sibling arm candy). As for Gwyneth, funnily enough I liked the outfit precisely because of the spider web thing!
She was the queen, while not looking like the queen :-)
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