Met Gala 2012 Rundown

The Met Gala is a red carpet event known for dramatic entrances and extreme ballgowns.  But this year, it seemed the overall tone was “less is more.”  Which is usually a great thing, but not at a costume ball!  It’s the one time of year when glamor girls can wear high-fashion other than on a runway!  It seemed many stars were in simple and steam-lined frocks.  Our favorite was Camilla Belle (pictured, top right) in head-to-toe Ralph Lauren, swept-back hair, delicate accessories and dark lipstick.  She was both sexy and oozed old-world sophistication.  Neon was definitely the trend of the night – one of our favorite girls, Emily Blunt wore hot pink Calvin Klein, and husband John Krasinski also sported the same designer.  (We can’t believe that this was the first outfit we’ve ever featured of hers… especially since she’s on our inspiration page!)  Ginnifer Goodwin, Kristen Wiig, Eva Mendes, Katherine McPhee, and Kristen Bell (pictured, bottom left in Tommy Hilfiger) all sported bright orange; La La Anthony wore electric blue; Beyonce’s baby sis, Solange Knowles, January Jones, and Emma Roberts all wore extreme yellow; Allison Williams had neon purple Ralph Lauren on; and Coco Rocha had a bright yellow Givenchy pantsuit on with a hot pink top and matching highlights in her hair!  There was one trend we definitely did not love: see-through skirts. Beyonce, Rooney Mara, Heidi Klum, Leighton Meester, and Marion Cotillard all managed to make their sexy gams look strange through sheer bottoms…  A couple of young girls we love were sporting some ill-fitting frocks, including Shailene Woodley, Kristen Stewart, Lena Dunham, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Jessica Biel.  And finally, cutie-pie Carey Mulligan, Jessica Alba, Mad Men star Jessica Pare, and Victoria’s Secret model Karolina Kurkova wore some strange shades of gold that did not shine… Our other favorites were Hilary Swank in a sweeping, scarlet Michael Kors gown (pictured, above), and Ashley Greene (pictured, bottom left) in a draped, white Donna Karan creation.  (Although we hate the lackluster hair…)  Looks we liked and disliked, most of these ladies played it safe.  Next year girls, bring on the drama!

2012 Oscar Rundown

It’s the biggest red carpet event of the year… the Oscars!  Honestly, after seeing some great gowns at the SAG Awards and Golden Globes this year, we were a little disappointed with a lot of the fashion at the Academy Awards.  We’ll start with our favorites (as always!)  Gwyneth Paltrow (pictured, top left) was bringing it like she did back in the day in this caped Tom Ford creation.  Newcomer and first-time nominee Jessica Chastain (pictured, top right) looked glorious in a gold-embroidered black gown by Alexander McQueen with $2 million worth of Harry Winston yellow diamonds to go with it!  Chastain looked just lovely with her red locks half-up, half-down, which perfectly complemented her strapless dress (just like Blair’s prom gown!)  Penelope Cruz (pictured, below left) looked like she was straight out of 1950s Hollywood in a custom lavender Giorgio Armani gown, perfectly coiffed curls and 114 carats of Chopard diamonds!  E! anchor (and star of one of our own guilty pleasures Giuliana & Bill) Giuliana Rancic (pictured, below right) looked better than most of the people she interviewed in her stunning Tony Ward Spring 2012 couture gown!  She looked phenomenal, especially considering she just recovered from a double mastectomy.  New mom Natalie Portman (pictured, bottom right) looked adorable in her polka-dotted Dior Haute Couture dress (she is the face of Miss Dior), and one large diamond necklace from Harry Winston.  Octavia Spencer (pictured, bottom left) stayed faithful to Tadashi Shoji, wearing a beautifully-embroidered gown and 50-carat Neil Lane diamond earrings that looked like mini chandeliers!  While these girls looked just great, lots of our other favorites disappointed us.  We were bummed Viola Davis didn’t win Best Actress (although Meryl does get robbed nearly every year…), but we were equally disappointed with her ill-fitting Vera Wang gown, after looking gorgeous all season.  Kristen Wiig looks awesome as a brunette, but not in nude; Rooney Mara’s bangs and bondage dresses have got to go; and Emma Stone, take a cue from fellow gorgeous ginger-haired girl, like Jessica Chastain: avoid colors from the red family!  The color of her hair and gown was too close.  We would have preferred black, hunter green or navy on the funny lady.  And from our not-so-favorites?  Angelina Jolie… wow, you picked black again?  Shocking!  While we love the color black probably more than most things on Earth, we get it… so do you.  We did not like the thigh-high slit, red lips and constant posing.  We get it.  You love yourself more than life itself.  Stop shaking your hair like there’s a fan blowing it back.  Jennifer Lopez looked ridiculous with the skin-tight dress, slicked backed hair with a bouffant, and a nip slip to boot.  Otherwise, not much excited us fashion-wise last night other than these fashion stunners.  Better luck next year!  At least the show was entertaining!

2012 SAG Rundown

Hello, SAG Awards!  Where have you been all of our lives?!  Yes, slightly dramatic, but for just another red carpet event where actors pat themselves on the back, this year’s girls were bringing their A-game!  So many stunners this year, that we’ll honestly probably forget some of them!  Much improved over the last few award seasons.  First, let’s name our favorites: the luminous Viola Davis (who took home Best Actress) looked drop-dead gorgeous in a flowing, white strapless Marchesa gown with an embroidered bodice (pictured, top left), and George Clooney’s newest girlfriend and former WWE star (yes, really – that acronym means she was a “professional” wrestler at one point) Stacy Keibler (pictured, top right) was head-to-toe elegance in black lace, also by Marchesa.  (We usually do not include award attendees who aren’t actually part of the craft they’re supporting, i.e., Heidi Klum at the Oscars, or Kim Kardashian at… well, any ceremony, but Keibler was just too incredible to leave off the list.)  Julie Bowen and Sofia Vergara of Modern Family play stepmother-and-daughter of the same age on the hit comedy, and made one bright and beautiful pair last night.  Bowen (pictured, above right) wore a bold purple Grecian number by Temperley London, while Vergara (pictured, above left) sported a pleated magenta gown by, who else?  Marchesa!  (Hmm… do we sense a pattern here?)  Modern Family‘s junior-set was also dressed quite appropriately for their ages – Ariel Winter, 14, looked adorable in a gray Collette Dinnigan dress, and Sarah Hyland, 21, matched her onscreen-mom by also wearing a classy Temperley gown.  Without sounding like ageists, it seemed like the night truly belonged to the “seasoned” actresses of Hollywood.  Besides Viola Davis (who is a shocking 46, although she doesn’t look a day over 35), the best-dressed of the night were women in Davis’s age-range.  Kyra Sedgwick, who is the same age as Davis, was notably the most jaw-dropping attendee in an extremely sexy Emilio Pucci cutout gown (pictured, bottom right).  Jane Lynch and Diane Lane looked ravishing in royal blue.  30 Rock costars Tina Fey and Jane Krakowski (pictured together, above) looked sophisticated in black gowns with beaded bodices by Versace and Antonio Berardi, respectively.  Octavia Spencer (who won for Best Supporting Actress) wore a very classy lavender-gray Tadashi Shoji chiffon gown (pictured, bottom left).  On the flip side, some of the younger attendees really missed the mark.  George Clooney’s gorgeous costar in The Descendants, Shailene Woodley, looked a little disheveled in a Hawaiian print L’Wren Scott gown; Busy Phillips was far too casual in a floor-length beach frock that could have been used as a coverup; and Zoe Saldana looked like a modern Barbarella in a shiny white and silver mess from, shockingly, Givenchy.  The cast of GLEE was all over the place again.  Heather Morris, Jayma Mays and Amber Riley all wore ill-fitting black dresses, Jenna Ushkowitz sported one weird outfit, and Lea Michele was, as ALWAYS, extremely over-the-top.  I don’t know how many times we’ve said it… Or how many times Joan Rivers has to say it…  She’s ridiculous.  We just hope the upcoming Oscars are as sumptuous and splendid as the SAG Awards were!

2012 Golden Globe Rundown

Our editors were both on separate vacations during this year’s Golden Globe Awards, so we’re behind on naming the best & worst from this year’s red carpet.  Kate Beckinsale looked drop-dead gorgeous as usual in a cream-colored, strapless Cavalli gown (pictured, above right).  Tilda Swinton, who usually looks like she usually just wears whatever the hell she wants, donned a stunning periwinkle tuxedo gown by Heider Ackermann (although the hair and complete lack of makeup continues to scare us as always…) Jessica Alba, who our editors really aren’t fans of (why is she there, honestly?  Name a movie or TV show she’s made in the last 5 years… Can’t, right?  Because she’s not an actress!!)  Beside that point, she did have on one stunning and slightly sparkly lavender Gucci gown (pictured, middle right).  Especially considering she had her second baby earlier this year!  Laura Dern, who won Best Actress for the television series, Enlightened, certainly epitomized the word in a glittering green v-neck gown by Andrew Gn (pictured, middle left).  Helen Mirren continued to still look both sexy and elegant in navy Badgley Mischa (pictured, below left).  New mom Natalie Portman was having a great time during last year’s award season – winning her 1st Oscar and giving birth to her first child – and this year looked lovely in Lanvin (pictured, above right).  Our final favorite was actress Claire Danes in J. Mendel.  The dress was black, white, geometric and soo sexy from behind.  And the worst-dressed of the night?  We hate to repeat ourselves, but seriously – nude dresses + pale skin = some washed out beauties.  We had the same complaint at last year’s Met costume gala, too.  Some of our favorite girls, Kristen Wiig, Charlize Theron, Jessica Chastain, Shailene Woodley, Julie Bowen and Jessica Biel – all in shades of white and beige!  You’re all gorgeous – wear some color to bring out that beautiful, flawless skin!!  Two of our favorite childhood stars from the WB network, Michelle Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar, disappointed us big-time in two blue disasters.  Kelly Osbourne looked like she was about to get beamed up, Amanda Peet looked like she was wearing 4 different slips,  and Lea Michele – stop, please, just stop.  We get it.  You like extravagant mermaid gowns.  But you’re a GLEEk – not the Queen of Sheba.

The Little Black List: Best of 2011

We here at theSkinnyStiletto realized we really like compiling lists, so we’ve created a new category we’re calling “The Little Black List.”  To start off 2012, we’re saying good-bye to 2011 by listing the 10 Best Fashion Moments of the past year.  (And no, there will never be a Kardashian on this list…)

1. Kate Middleton Makes Bridal History

2. Reese Witherspoon is Black & White All Over

3. Angelina Jolie Causes Envy at Golden Globes

4. Philip Treacy Brings Hats Back

5. The Princess & the Purple

6. Salma Hayek Shows Off Shades of Gray

7. Blake Lively is Lovely at the Met

8. Mila Kunis is Red Hot

9. The Obamas: 1st Family of Fashion

10. Camilla Belle Bares All

Look-of-the-Day

Lindsay Lohan has been tapped to play a fellow skanky-looking, fake blonde from Long Island, Victoria Gotti.  But before two of the worst residents of the NY suburb make a horrendous collaboration (or before either of them end up in court), we’d like to take you back to a better time… a time before Lohan was blonde, and well, an official walking disaster.  Here, she’s wearing an absolutely stunning white Marchesa gown with braided detailing at the 63rd Venice Film Festival in 2006.  This dress literally looks like it’s about to float away when it moves, and the ribbing looks like a design from Ancient Rome – a nice tribute to the country Lohan was in when wearing it.  Uh, if only she looked as cute as she used to… Molto triste.

Look-of-the-Day

Marion Cotillard in Jeux d'enfants

“There were lots of things I was game for that you never said…” – Julien, Love Me if You Dare (Jeux d’enfants).  This Valentine’s Day edition of “Look-of-the-Day” dares you to wear a strapless scarlet gown with a gathered back and train, just like Marion Cotillard.  In this beloved French film, young lovers Sophie and Julien are reunited as adults when this marvelous dress appears.  Simple, yet daring, and modern, yet romantic, we here at TheSkinnyStiletto thought it the perfect selection for a day dedicated to love.  Fun Fact: One of our editors watched this movie with her husband on their 1st date, and it became the inspiration for their wedding song! (La vie en Rose) And Fun Fact #2: Marion Cotillard & Guillaume Canet met on the set of this movie 8 yrs. ago – and will be adding a bébé to their brood this spring!

The Only Time Naked is Boring

SJP in the "Naked Dress"

“It’s a scientific fact that if you say ‘naked’ three or more times, to any man, he has to cross his legs.” – Sally Harper, Coupling.  Miss Carrie Bradshaw introduced the “naked dress” during the first season of Sex and the City in 1998.  It became iconic as her profile pic for her column, and as the dress she wore on her and Mr. Big’s first date.  While Sarah Jessica looked quite sultry in her nude mini, we here at TheSkinnyStiletto believe when it comes to formal wear, isn’t naked kind of… well, boring?

Nude served SJP as sexy and hip, and it can elongate even the shortest of legs when worn correctly in a stiletto, but when Hollywood’s fairest beauties select it for the red carpet, they look very washed-out.  Yet, over the last two years many fashion critics have been giving these women accolades for selecting the perfect hue for their skintones – TheSkinnyStiletto disagrees.  While we absolutely adore these modern-day Snow Whites, we think their beautiful faces, bodies and hair would stand out much more if they chose soft pink or peach gowns.  These couture frocks also lose their gorgeous detailing when worn by creatures blessed with the same ivory-coloring as their material.  So ladies, we ask you – no, beg you! – save naked for date night.

Scarlett Johansson in Elie Saab @ 2011 Golden Globes

Nicole Kidman in Prada @ 2011 Golden Globes

Anna Kendrick in Elie Saab @ the 2010 Oscars

Anne Hathaway in Valentino @ 2010 Met Costume Institute Gala

Look-of-the-Day

This famous gown by Jacqueline Durran was voted as the “Best Movie Costume” by British In Style, and has certainly made people green with envy for it!  With its beautiful silk and seductive lines, it’s no wonder James McAvoy decided to consummate their secret passion in this outfit!  Fun Fact: This Fancy Friday selection was actually inspiration for one of our editors’ Maid-of-Honor gown at her sister’s wedding!