Golden Globes 2010: Final Comments on Dresses

I don't really have all that much left to say. Umm, I did want to give an honorable mention to Zoe Saldana, for her raspberry raggle-taggle-gypsies-oh gown.  I love this dress, although only anorexic Hollywood starlets can get away with something like this (see Jennifer Morrison's dress which I posted yesterday for another example).  I don't know that it's a good dress on Saldana, actually, or maybe the girl is under too much pressure (what with fame from both Star Trek: The Reboot, and Avatar to live up to).  She looks unhealthily thin, and not as pretty as she did as Uhura, which shouldn't happen.  But I love the dress.

And Diane Kruger's dress, too -- another raspberry confection.  Both of these dresses were criticized, but I'm not sure why. Lush colors (in a year of lush colors), and soft and with lots of extra bits, not showing a lot of bosom or leg. Maybe that's why: they aren't particularly slutty dresses.  If you know what's bad about them, please share with me.

The photo of Diane Kruger provides a segue.  I saw Joshua Jackson on some late night television interview (Craig Ferguson, perhaps?).  I didn't watch the show that brought him fame, Dawson's Creek, but even I have troubles watching his new show (some ten years later), Fringe.  He still looks like the character Pacey to me.  But in person, in this interview (which was interrupted -- and deftly twisted into a charming, amusing interlude -- by a cell phone call from Kruger) he came off as debonair, witty, assured... A complete surprise, and he has jumped high in my list of Favorite Young Men Celebrities Whose Career I Will Follow (although I still won't watch Fringe.)  Doesn't he give off a charm-vibe here, holding the umbrella for his girlfriend?

Speaking of men...

... where was I?  Clearly I have a thing for bad boys (although note, Mickey Rourke is not in this list, and, as a counter-example, James McAvoy wasn't at these awards, and Colin Firth must have snuck in the back door, because there are no publicity photos of him that I can find).

Finally, just a shot of Helen Mirren, the Queen of Great Dressing.  I don't think she's ever gone wrong.

Golden Globes 2010: Long Peachy Ruffly Dresses

Okay, this year not only am I not getting any comments on the red carpet gowns, but the gowns that I liked best (or which ranked high on my list) are getting dumped on by the media.  Christina Hendricks Peach Ruffle gown -- well, I am not a big big-ruffle fan, but I loved it for the color, against her creamy skin.  But no, apparently it is too pale and washes her out, according to critics.  I disagree!

Chloë Sevigny also went for the big-ruffle look this year.  I've seen it panned (the right decision) and applauded. I think the color is too pale and cold against her skin and washes her features out, but perhaps I'm affected by her facial expressions.  The whole evening she looked like she had a fish-oil pill stuck in her throat -- I'll be generous and say she was so nervous about being nominated that she couldn't control her expressions. Which is odd, because apparently she's a better actress than Jane Lynch or Janet McTeer, who were also nominated in her category.

Another which was dumped on -- but without as much fanfare of dumping as the Hendricks dress, was one worn by Jennifer Morrison (I only sort of recognize her -- I think she has a regular role on House).  While I'm not a big-ruffle fan, I do (I discover) like lots of little ruffles. The fabric looks like a muslin (but probably isn't).  The color isn't quite as rich, but I think it makes a nice monotone look against her ash blonde hair.

Emily Blunt wore something similar, which I think people liked.  At least, I think it's similar (although a smoother line) and I liked it, too.  I'm not so sure about the color -- it makes her skin look a little yellow. And what's with her makeup? Her face looks like it was photoshopped in from another occasion.

Then we come to Drew Barrymore, of the crystal growths on shoulder and hip. Clearly a dress designed by someone looking at the trees, not the forest. -- By which I mean, the tumors themselves, up close, are intriguing to look at (all that cut glass end and shimmer), but on the whole dress--!  Have I mentioned "growths"? And if you take them off the dress, then it's just a boring dress.  But it is a nice pale ... what is that color anyway?  In the olden days, we would have called it nude but that would be politically incorrect today.

Golden Globes 2010: Short Dresses

My personal blog on the Golden Globes is pretty unnecessary if you spend half a minute on the web -- everyone, and I mean everyone (The Huffington Post?!!) is covering the clothes and other trends this year. I recommend, for some nice summaries, this short series at People Magazine, and this one on trends at The Huffington Post (although I disagree quite a bit with what they deem "best" and "worst").

As I said last night, not many women wore short dresses, so they rather stood out.

Here's Sally Hawkins (left) in the dress I couldn't find last night.  I think she looks stunning overall. Arguably, it isn't dressy enough for a big awards show, but I think the shine in the dress makes up for the casualness.  Julia Roberts (middle), certainly didn't go for dress-up (aside from a splendid necklace thingy) -- her dress looks like a flabby bag.  I am conflicted, however, because I think it's good for women to not have to show off every inch of skin... then again, Sally Hawkins managed to look great without wearing a bag.  The woman on the right is Nancy Shevell, Paul McCartney's current girlfriend. I like this dress, too.

Note Sally Hawkins nice bob, by the way.  An upcoming trend?

Other short dresses include Ginnefer Goodwin's cobalt goddess bubble dress (not pictured), and Kirsten Bell's white satiny woke-up-naked-in-a-strange-bed-so-I-wrapped-myself-in-the-sheets dress -- which moved gracefully and I liked it (particularly with the necklace of sapphires which perfectly matched her eyes) -- but I can imagine it will get complaints.

Then there's Amy Adam's "retro green" (don't know why the press is calling the color "retro"), apparently custom-made designer dress. I suppose there usually isn't much call for red carpet gowns for someone 5 months pregnant. No comment. I'm just impressed that she can wear 6 inch heels at this point.

And last, and least, is Tina Fey's cocktail length belle of the ball. In the company of more structured, high-contrast gowns, this might have worked, but against the colors and drapes of the gowns this year, this just looks ugly and stiff.

I watched the Golden Globes so you didn't have to.

To my surprise, one of the most commented upon blog entries I've ever written was about the dresses worn to the 2008 Academy Awards (the link is to my entry, not the awards) It's too late now to go into depth, but I'll write more about the 2010 Golden Globes tomorrow (which also gives me a chance to hunt down a few photos that I can't find right now, such as one of Sally Hawkins, who presented in a marvelous dress nothing like anything else being worn tonight).

For now, let me whet the knife of fashion criticism with a very few comments. Overall, the trends this year were: bold gem colors (lots of purple, magenta, red, too much heavy all black, often in satin) or metallic silvers and golds (which usually had lots of sequins -- another trend). Enough women bucked the bold-color trend and wore peach, apricot or pale pink that that was a counter-trend that makes a trend in itself. (But there were few seafoam green or pale blue -- in fact, aside from three emerald green dresses, there were almost no cool tones at all.)

Also trending this year were lots of slits up to the thigh -- in conjunction with long dresses. Few enough women wore short dresses (Sally Hawkins being one of them) that they looked fresh and interesting next to the others.  No cocktail length, no mini length (that I recall).

Generally in silhouette the look alternated between fluffy/ruffly/floaty, and slinky and tight to the body, with a few highly sculptured gowns to remind us it's possible to make buildings of fabric.

Best Dress Until You See the Back
I thought Sandra Bullock had finally overcome her tendency for horrible dresses, when I saw her vivid purple floaty organza dress.  Beautiful color, nice shape, light without being ruffly.  Then she turned around and the back of the dress is the same color but entirely sheer, and it turns out that, instead of a slit up her skirt, one leg had only a thin sheer layer of fabric over it, so it might as well have been slit.  You can kind of see the sheer leg in this photo -- I'll find a picture of the back tomorrow.

Worst Dress of the Night

I can't say exactly why, because other women wore skin tight, too unrelievedly black, breast revealing dresses, but I just hated Mariah Carey's slinky number. Maybe I don't like it because she doesn't look attractive in it?  I don't like to diss a woman for not having a too-skinny figure, but in this case, honey, calling attention to your floppy bosom doesn't help take our eye away from your hips. Or it does, but only for a moment.

In my Top Five Favorites
Jennifer Garner wore a heavily sequined metallic form-fitting gown.  It draped nicely, and moved nicely as she walked, and it looked comfortable, if that's possible for a heavily sequined metallic form-fitting gown.  I loved the color, even.

But Before I Go...

I should be packing. Instead, I'm poring over the Oscar Red Carpet photos for the dresses.

This year, a strong movement towards black, white and red, and strapless. The few colored -- other than red -- dresses I remember were Kelly Preston's marvelous gold, Cameron Diaz's blush pink, Calista Flockheart's pale blue and tan, and Jessica Alba's plum (which is so dark it might as well have been black).

For the sake of having someone to disagree with, here are my picks. All these photos are from the oscars.com. There were other wonderful dresses than what I show here (honorable mentions to Katherine Heigl, for one, Laura Linney, Cate Blanchett -- except for her necklace, and Jessica Alba) but I didn't want to copy them all over.

The Best (Grown-up Category)

I find Calista Flockheart a little creepy in person -- not that I've ever met her in person. And while I can't imagine what she and Harrison Ford have together, I have to grant that she isn't 20-something (like George Clooney's inappropriately young date) and she and Ford have been together for a relatively long time (in Hollywood terms).

In any case, I luhrve her dress this year. It draped on her body perfectly. Gracious, elegant -- she doesn't look so skeletal anymore.




Helen Mirren always dresses so well! I screwed up on the TiVo (I swear I told it to record an extra hour!) so we missed her giving out the Best Actor award. Which means, this is the only view I have seen of her dress. It looks good here, and I'm sure it was good in motion, too.








Forest Whitaker's wife, whatever her name is, wore perhaps the best white strapless dress. I just love this, even if it looks like a wedding dress.










Renee Zellweger ties for best white strapless. Not mistakeable for a wedding dress, at least at any of the weddings I've attended.











I'd never heard of Amy Ryan before the nominations. She was lovely in this simple black sheath.









The Best (Girls)
(Of whom there were only two, and they both are in the category)

Miley Cyrus looked appropriately dolled-up but demure in this dress. I show the back in this photo because the front photos don't show how nicely the color worked on her. And the back is appropriately high, with that cute bow.

15-year-old girls (14?) don't generally wear bright red, but given her star status (Girl-child adores her) and her coloring, I don't mind a bit.

I didn't like the earrings however. Way too big for a girl, even if they were red Swarovski crystals.

And I don't know how old Saoirse Ronan (sp?) is, but I'd guess about 12. She's the up-and-coming young thing, next year's Abigail Breslin who was last year's Anna Paquin. (Okay, I skipped a decade there.) But didn't she look pretty?

Ooh, another non-red color. Given all the adult women in white, this is good. She couldn't have gotten away with black or red, not with that coloring.





The French-Can-Get-Away-With-It Award

Vanessa Paradis wins this year's award for the best Goth-Vampire-at-the-Awards. (Last year's winner was Eva Green.) I must admit a fondness for this look -- her lips are soooo red! I loved Green's look last year, too.


She's French, so she can get away with it, like Cotillard in her ivory scaled mermaid dress.


If Bjørk had worn this, we'd be hearing about it as much as the swan dress. I don't know -- maybe we will. Personally, I liked the swan more than the fish.










The "I get what they were going for, but I wish they hadn't gotten there" Awards

I'm sure there will be disagreement about the frayed remnants of Nicole Kidman's grandmother's antimacassars that she wore around her neck. Or is it post-modern retro chic, recalling the flapper look of the 1920's? Like Cate Blanchett, she was calling attention to her neck from her belly -- but Blanchett is about 12 months pregnant, and so far as I could tell, Kidman is hardly showing yet.

And why does a golden beauty wear so much silver-white with black? More of the black and white theme this year.

Julie Christie's dress was beautiful (and designed by her own couture house, if I read correctly). Or rather, the bodice and torso looked wonderful on her. I don't know about those gloves (or long sleeves?) and it was knee-length, which just looked too abrupt. I found myself examining her shins for varicose veins.

Still, she is a beautiful woman.





I actually really like Diane Lane's brown goddess dress, and it looks wonderful on her and with her coloring. But the brown looks flat against Brolin's black (and all the other tuxes there). Should a consort/spouse dress to accommodate the look of the nominee?








The Loser

Getting really catty here, but I take it you can take the girl out of the strip-joint, but not the...? Meeow.

I mean, really! When she walked off the stage, her whole leg showed, and the material was so filmy it blew back and she had to pull it closed (or maybe there are huge fans blowing in from backstage). She doesn't have the excuse of being pregnant.

Okay, the collar was interesting (studded with stones of some kind). And she's a writer, not an actress.

And I gotta say, it was a whole lot more distinctive than any of the other non-actress winners' dresses.


The "I don't care, she's with James McAvoy of the luvly Scottish Accent" Award.

Isn't he pretty? I mean, isn't she lucky? I mean, isn't she pretty? (Whew, I finally got it right.) And it's not a bad dress, and it's not black, white or red.