fashion

It was the BAFTA last Sunday in London, the most galmorous day on the British cinema calendar. But fashion-wise, it was just a bit beige…

Apart from Kylie Minogue (who was wearing a great color for her but was showing too much leg for this sort of occasion) and Eva Green (the lady in red), most of the other actresses were forming a perfect spectrum from beige to brown to black.

Despite this, there are still several stunners:

1. Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Mirren wins it for me this time. She is always so poised and elegant, and she has a true sense of style. This outfit is even better than the one for the Golden Globe, and I hope she saves the best for the coming Oscars!

2. Kate Winslet

She wears a lot of Ben de Lisi, whose designs are usually very simple but never boring, to say the least. There is always a quiet and sophisticated sense of drama in his creations. The belt detail and the whole shape of the dress really make Kate stand out. I also love her chic ponytail and fresh makeup.

3. Toni Collette

Very old-school Hollywood for her this time. The sexy shape of the dress flatters her, and the glitz of the dress provides a good contrast to her dark hair. Like the furry accessory (I hope it is fake). Very well put-together and glamorous.

Last but not least, I just love Jake Gyllenhaal.

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It is about the Golden Globe again. This time it is all about the bad looks. Well, not so much as the bad looks, but the disappointing looks.

Today I have added links to the individual photos so you can make up your mind more easily. (At the end of the post, I have also added links to the five great gowns from yesterday’s post.)

So, again, in no particular order:

1. Vanessa Williams

Wrong hair and wrong makeup. The dress is not so great either. The look is too over the top. It is neither glamorous nor sexy. I am disappointed because I am sure she could have done better.

2. Drew Barrymore

The only good thing about her gown is the color, and that’s it. The drapings look messy, lumpy and unflattering. It also seems that she managed to do up her hair at the last minute. The whole look is not as polished and refined as it could be.

3. Beyonce Knowles

Again, it is a bit over the top. The cut of the gown is great for her figure and I like her hair. But the fabric is too glittery. It would be nice to see her in something more understated.

4. Salma Hayek

I am disappointed. She was my favorite at last year’s Oscar. But this time, the whole look is wrong. At first I was thinking that maybe the first few shots I saw were not very flattering. Maybe the camera angle was a bit off. But later I had to be convinced that she made multiple wrong choices.

The hair isn’t particularly working for the shape of her face. The makeup (the blusher in particular) is too peachy for her. The worst is the dress. The structure of it is not doing anything for her petitie (yet voluptuous) figure. It made her look disproportionate.

She needs something that streamlines and elongates her figure as well as shows off her womanly curves. The gown she wore at the last Oscar and another of her Oscar gowns did just that. (See how those two gowns complimented her figure.)

5. Jennifer Lopez

Her gown reminds me of the pale green one she wore a couple of years ago. I was a bit on the fence with that one, but I don’t like this one at all. Even though I suspect that I might like it better when I am able to see the movement of the gown, I just think the whole look is just a bit bland (and predictable) for her.

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Overall, I like simple gowns with a bit of drama. But if the actresses choose to wear black or white gowns, I always want to see more drama. It is very disappointing to see an actress arriving at the Oscar wearing a black gown with no interesting details and fading into the background of all the gentlemen.

Black or white are great colors to go with for big occasions, but I think that with these two colors, there has to be more to make an impact (be it unique design features of the gown, jewelery, or other accessories). In these glitzy and glamorous occasions, apart from the recognition and accolade of the awards, isn’t it also about making an impact?

It is back to cosmetics for my next post. I will talk about Paula Begoun.

Links to yesterday’s gowns (my top five):
America Ferrera
Angelina Jolie
Eva Longoria
Felicity Huffman
Helen Mirren

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It is the award season again. Now I have an excuse to talk about all the glamorous evening gowns!

Today it is all about the good ones. The list is not conclusive. I am just commenting on what I have seen so far. Stay tuned for tomorrow for the Not-So-Good!

In no particular order:

1. America Ferrera

I am loving her at the moment. (Ugly Better has just started to be shown in the UK two weeks ago.) I was trying to imagine what she would wear to the Golden Globe, and, when I saw her, I thought I could have been the one that put her in that gorgeous deep purple number! The cut around the shoulders and the train were spot-on and really flattered her shape. The deep rich color worked for her as well.

2. Angelina Jolie

I love this grey gown. Some people don’t think it is a good shade of grey for her but I disagree. It is indeed not the easiest color to wear (especially for an evening gown and especially when it is not on a light-reflective fabric), but the color really made her stand out. If it were in black, it would be boring, and if it were in pale grey, it would probably wash her out. I also love the simplicity of the design. Her hair looked divine and her makeup was flawless. She just looked like a goddess.

(One thing I noticed is that out of the dozens of shots of her on the red carpet, there was not even one remotely bad shot. How on earth did she manage that?)

3. Eva Longoria

She usually goes for bold colors (which she pulls off well), so it was nice to see her in a much more sedate color. She looked both elegant and sexy. The jeweled detail was a good touch; otherwise it would have been a relatively boring gown.

4. Felicity Huffman

Emerald green is not an easy color to wear, but when it is done right, it can be stunning. (I was thinking about Salma Hayek in last year’s Oscar (okay it was more of a turquoise) and Julianne Moore in the Oscar a couple of years ago.) Felicity Huffman’s gown looked great on her and her hair looked fabulous. The overall look was very glamorous and she definitely made an impact.

5. Helen Mirren

I so consistently like what Helen Mirren has been wearing to all award ceremonies in recent years. (See here for my favorite.) There is rarely anything dull about what she wears. Yet she is able to maintain that understated elegance. For the Golden Globe this year, she exuded elegance again with a dark blue-green gown. I personally would have liked to see her in something a little more glamorous. But overall, she is someone that really has true style!

In defense of Cameron Diaz:

I need to mention her here. I haven’t really read anything positive about her look, and I feel that I need to defend her a little bit.

I love that Valentino gown. When I first saw that gown on a magazine a while ago, I instantly loved it. I like gowns with some drama, and Cameron was able to carry off the design. The thing that didn’t work was her makeup. I think she was trying to do the old-school Hollywood look but the dark hair and the red lips were distracting and made her face too harsh-looking. I’d think soft smoky eyes and nude lips would keep the focus on the gown and create a better overall look.

Don’t forget to be back tomorrow!

Related links (with photos):
E! Fashion Police
The Golden Globe Winners & Losers (from Beautiful Makeup Search & Beauty Blog)

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