Met Gala 2011 Red Carpet

The Met Gala red carpet is always so consistently entertaining.  It's not as publicized as the Oscars or the Globes and it's based around a fashion exhibit, McQueen this year, so the red carpet is always full of daring fashion choices (and occasionally mistakes).  So without further ado, here are some of the more notable looks from last night's red carpet (and here's hoping that an extra-long post today makes up for a lack of postage yesterday!).


Michelle Monaghan, Jenna Lyons: This may be one of my favorite looks of the night.  It's very simple, but the pink is such a sassy hue and the fit is so spot on that it still manages to look red carpet appropriate.  Also I love an eye-skimming set of bangs with messy curls on anyone, and she is rocking it particularly well.  For those of you that don't know, Jenna Lyons is the creative director of J. Crew.  I love how consistent her style is with her brand's.  Pairing a big v-neck cashmere sweater with a diva-esque feathery skirt is such a J. Crew styling move.

Jessica Szohr, Hailee Steinfeld: Oh, Jessica Szohr.  This is not red carpet appropriate.  It's too short, the shoes are weird, and her hair looks bedraggled.  Ayayay.  On the other hand, Hailee looks adorable.  The dress is age appropriate, she looks so happy and fresh and young, and she's pulling off the short in front, long in back thing perfectly.

Isabel Lucas in Louis Vuitton, Jessica Stam in Tommy Hilfiger: I like the idea of this dress on Isabel Lucas, but what's going on with the headgear?  She looks like she's playing Cleopatra, no?  I like Jessica Stam's dress too.  It has a bit of a prom vibe, but with the hair style it goes a little too far over into the tween category for my taste.

Zoe Saldana in Calvin Klein, Karlie Kloss and Angela Lindvall: Zoe does simple and chic so well.  The yellow is such an unexpected but flattering choice, and I like the bright hue against the simple dress.  Ugh.  Models.  These two look like complete Amazons in these floor-length metallic gowns.  Hating my life a little right now.

Kristen Stewart in Proenza Schouler, Serena Williams in Oscar de la Renta:  Kristen Stewart looks miserable.  I would too in that dress.  It's not flattering, the pattern is odd, and...it's just really not flattering.  I guess Serena Williams had fun watching the royal wedding!  Look at that voluminous skirt and that fascinator hat.  At least she looks like she's having fun.

Christina Ricci in Zac Posen, Miranda Kerr in Marchesa: I almost want to talk about how Christina Ricci looks ridiculous, but I can't hate on someone who can confidently rock a dress that looks like it's made out of spider webs.  That dress isn't wearing her.  Can we just talk about the fact that Miranda Kerr had a baby like 3 months ago?  RIDICULOUS.  She could be wearing a trash bag and I would give her props for being out and about and looking so fab.

Gisele in McQueen, Diane Kruger in Jason Wu: This is another of my favorite looks of the night.  Although it's been proven that Gisele can work a potato sack, she looks insanely fab in this McQueen gown.  I love the combination of the vibrant red with the simple bodices and then the BAM impact of the voluminous, Gone with the Wind type skirt.  I WANT TO BE WEARING THIS.  Also her date isn't half bad either.  Diane Kruger can really do no wrong.  The slit is a little high, but the full coverage top balances that out.  I love that the bodice has a pattern like a Klimpt painting.  So retro-glam.

Michelle Williams in Miu Miu, Lea Michele: I actually really like this Miu Miu dress.  The cut is simple but flattering, the metallic birds are a fun, whimsical touch, and I like that she kept the rest of her look simple.  Well played.  I feel like this is the fourth or fifth time that Lea Michele has worn a badly fitted, boring taffeta dress, and it gets worse every time.  Love her hair though.

Ginnifer Goodwin, Leighton Meester in Louis Vuitton: Ginnifer Goodwin is looking fierce!  The dress is a fantastic color for her, the cutouts are fun and sexy without being too revealing, and I love the long sleeves with the thigh-high slit.  Ok.  I love Leighton Meester.  I think she is gorgeous and she is the best part of Gossip Girl.  But this dress is not a winner.  It's not flattering cut or length, and it looks like she's wearing a basket.

Emma Stone, Amy Poehler in J Mendel: Emma Stone ftw!  Love another natural blonde who dyes her hair red (like me!).  I really like this dress on her.  It fits very well and the shape is flattering, and the clean lines work nicely with the graphic floral print.  Maybe a little more bling would have been nice, though?  Oh, Amy Poehler.  Who did this to you?  I love her to death.  She is so, so funny and accomplished.  But the poodle fro is not flattering on anyone, and the dress is a little on the schlumpy side.

Freida Pinto in Chanel, Dakota Fanning in Valentino: Huh.  Just huh.  Freida Pinto is clearly one of the prettiest people ever, but this dress isn't doing her any favors.  It looks a little '90s, and not in a good way.  How adorable is Dakota's dress?!  I absolutely love it.  It's cute and whimsical but not too over the top.  Originally I thought her makeup was seriously lacking, but I saw another picture and it's definitely the lighting to blame.

Ashley Greene in Donna Karen, Hamish Bowles in Alexander McQueen: I think this is great styling on Ashley Greene's part.  The dress is lovely and princessy, and makes her look gorgeous and ethereal without distracting too much from how pretty she is.  She definitely beats Kristen here.  I think Hamish Bowles' ensemble sums up the entire event.  That is straight up McQueen.

Rihanna in Stella McCartney, Gwenyth Paltrow in Stella McCartney: I actually really like Rihanna's hair here.  I'm a sucker for red hair (obviously!) and braids.  The dress is pretty, a little more subdued than usual from her, which is nice.  Gwenyth has done this look a lot, but if you can manage to consistently pull out looking like a fabulously glam FemBot, I can't help but admire you.

Andre Leon Talley, Blake Lively in Chanel: Oh, Andre.  I don't really think there's anything to say.  As for Blake Lively, I am LOVING the new strawberry blonde hair color (it's not as apparent here, but it is actually red).  The dress is interesting.  I like the idea of the corseted dress under the drapey fabric but it's been done to death and it's not particularly flattering.  I just want to rip off the draped part.  And Karl...oh Karl.

All images via nymag.com.

The Royal Wedding!!!

So the reason I didn't blog yesterday is that I went to bed at 9PM (yes, 9 PM) so that I could get up at 3AM to watch all of the royal wedding between Kate Middleton and Prince William (who apparently has no last name?).  Scones were baked, tiaras and floppy hats were worn, and it was all around ridiculous.  I'm sure literally everyone watched it so I don't need to recap it, but I just wanted to talk about a few of the dresses (and also secretly lament that the list of royals I must stalk and marry when I go to Europe is now one shorter).


Prepare yourself for wedding dress overload.  The dress is done by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, which was highly speculated and sincerely hoped for (by me at least).  I am so, so happy for Sarah Burton.  It's such a big moment for her career that she really deserves, given how wonderful her first McQueen collection was.  I also love that Kate went with such a modern, avante-garde design house instead of doing something conservative and traditional.  She wore a Cartier tiara from 1936 (I die), a lace-edged veil, and McQueen shoes.  Also she got to ride in a carriage.  She accomplished like 99% of my life goals in one day.  Sigh.

So, as for the actual dress.  It had sheer, hand-made lace sleeves with a corseted, sweetheart-neckline bodice, padded hips, a voluminous skirt, an 8 foot train, and lace appliques all over the skirt.  I liked this dress a LOT more than I thought I would.  I may even love it.  Initially when I saw her in the car with the lace sleeves, I hated it.  I personally just don't like lace, especially sheer white lace over skin.  It feels a little tacky to me.  However, I understand why she went for the sheer lace sleeves, since she probably had to have sleeves of some sort in Westminster Abbey, and this was a clever solution that still let her show some skin.  Personally, I kept wishing that she could take the lace off for the reception because without the lace this is pretty much my dream dress.  I do think that with the lace on the skirt and the sleeves it is a little on the fussy side, but the sweetheart neckline and the corseted top keep it fresh and young.  It's just such a flattering shape on her, and it makes her waist look tiny!  I also LOVE the padded hips.  It's so signature McQueen, and with that and the geometrically pleated bustle (it's a little hard to see here but kind of amazing) the dress had the perfect combination of modern and classic.  I was a little surprised that the train wasn't longer!  Princess Diana's was ridiculous.  All in all I think this was a great choice for her.  She's always seemed to be like a very grounded, calm person that doesn't push herself into the spotlight, so I like that she went for a simple, classic, and elegant dress.  It matches her personality, but it's also grand enough for the surroundings.  Excellently played.

Can we talk about how gorgeous she is?  She did her own makeup for the day, and she did a great, great job (although I do wish she'd toned down the eyebrows and the blush a little).  She just looks so happy and composed and calm, even though I'm sure she was freaking out on the inside!  I would be.  Also, I've always been a girl that hates veils, but this one with it's simple lace edging...I really like it.  It's making me reconsider my anti-veil stance.  That's saying a lot. 

This McQueen dress on Pippa, Kate's younger sister, was definitely one of my favorite looks today.  I'm a little surprised that she wore white, especially since she was walking behind her sister a lot of the time, but it is such a pretty dress.  The fit is immaculate and so flattering (although she's so tiny I can't imagine much being unflattering on her), and the lacy drape in the front and the buttons down the back added just the right amount of detail without distracting from her sister's dress.  Very well done.  And the little flower girls! Awwww.  Kate's dress really reminded me of Grace Kelly's wedding dress.  The voluminous hips and the sheer lace sleeves with the sweetheart neckline underneath are almost identical, no?  If there's anyone you want to be compared to on your wedding day, I think Grace Kelly is a pretty stellar option.

I think what struck me the most about this wedding were the crazy hats.  In the US, no one wears hats to weddings, especially indoor weddings.  I consider it rude to wear hats (or apparently 'fascinators' as the UK announcer was calling them) inside, but I could count on one hand the number of women at this wedding not wearing hats.  I...I think most of them look silly.  Definitely entertaining conversation pieces though.  How fierce does Victoria Beckham look in that dress?  I'm sure she designed it.  She looked pretty grumpy throughout the ceremony but she is ridiculously pregnant and wearing platforms and real clothes and up relatively early so props to her.  David is so adorable with his suit and medal.  Aw.  As for the princesses Ferguson of York...oh, dear, those hats.  Wow.  Lady Gaga would be proud.  The pink one looks like a bow with antlers and the blue one looks like a bird on top of a space ship.  I wonder if when Brits watch American weddings they wonder where all the hats are?

Images via nymag.com, dailymail.co.uk, women24.com, people.com.

Oscars Red Carpet Round-Up

I won't even go into the trainwreck that was the Oscars last night.  Let's just talk about the pretty clothes.  There wasn't a lot of high drama or risk taking on the red carpet, but there were some lovely, lovely gowns that deserve to be shown off (and some less than lovely gowns).

Anne Hathaway in Valentino, Natalie Portman in Rodarte: From the neck up--yes.  Gorgeous.  But that dress makes her looks like she has weird growths on the bottom half of her body, and that is generally not a good thing.  Also the material just looks cheap, no?  Natalie Portman, on the other hand, looks absolutely radiant.  I like that she went with something simple and flattering, but not boring, and that color is wonderful on her.

Givenchy Haute Couture, Versace: Now, Anne wore like 15 gowns throughout the ceremony as one of the main hosts.  Some of them were prettier than others.  For instance, this white Givenchy looks odd on her.  The way it hits her hips is not flattering, and while I like the concept of the dress I don't think it works for her body at all.  Look how much smaller she looks in this gorgeous Versace that she wore later in the show.  I love this dress.  It's venue appropriate and flattering but it's still a little edgy and sassy. 

Mila Kunis in Elie Saab, Michelle Williams in Chanel: Mila has my favorite dress of the night.  The pale lilac is very flattering, as is the cut of the dress, but what really makes it is all that deconstructed lace paneling.  I'm sure it's over a nude base layer, otherwise that would be a little too scandalous, but it manages to walk that line between sexy and elegant so, so well.  As for Michelle Williams, I really wanted to like this, but it feels so boring and sad.  Also not fancy enough for the event, no?  And it's not very flattering.  Girl needs a new stylist because clearly she's gorgeous and doesn't deserve to be stuck in such duds of gowns (see her Golden Globes dress)

Hailee Steinfeld in Marchesa, Jennifer Lawrence in Calvin Klein: What I really love about Hailee's ensemble is that it's age appropriate.  She's not showing a ton of skin for a young teen, but she still looks cute and fun, plus she manages to pull off an awkward skirt length and a top knot very well.  Props to her.  I like the simple makeup and styling against the full volume of the skirt.  Well played.  Jennifer Lawrence made a risky choice going with such a simple dress, but I think she pulled it off.  Dresses like this really make your body the center of attention, and when you have a body like she does you can definitely work it out.  I wish there was a little more bling, but overall she looks fantastic.

Amy Adams in L'Wren Scott, Jennifer Hudson in Versace: Is it just me or do these two girls look much thinner than normal.  Amy Adams practically disappears here!  The dress is a pretty color and the shape is relatively flattering, but I wish she'd traded the necklace for a statement cuff or some earrings, because that neckline looks pretty busy.  Now, Jennifer Hudson's body looks AMAZING, but that dress...it's like a bad '80s prom dress.  The color is lovely, but it's doing some very odd things to her chest, and the skirt is swallowing her whole.

Cate Blanchett in Givenchy Couture, Scarlett Johansson in Dolce & Gabbana: I have mixed feelings about this dress on Cate Blanchett.  On the one hand I like it because she can pull it off and it's on-trend, and on the other hand it feels a bit awkward.  But it's Cate Blanchett, so she gets a pass.  ScarJo, on the other hand...I really wanted to like this.  But I can't.  I like the shape on her, but the fabric reminds me of the carpet in a run-down Victorian brothel in Paris.  Maybe a different color?  Also what on earth is going on with her eyeshadow?  Ayayay.

Reese Witherspoon in Armani, Penelope Cruz in L'Wren Scott: What makes me dislike this look on Reese is that we all know how well she can do the Oscars red carpet (see that little yellow Nina Ricci dress from a few years ago).  This just feels muted and a little aging on her.  The black/white combo reminds me of a cocktail waiter, and it all just feels a little flat.  I want there to be more jewelry, more sparkle, more something.  Penelope Cruz, on the other hand, is working it for having just had a baby literally weeks ago.  That dress is very flattering, the embellishment is both sassy and event appropriate, and she and Javier are just SO CUTE.  I hope I look that good after just having a baby.  Yikes.

Hillary Swank in Gucci, Halle Berry in Marchesa: I love one of these and hate the other.  Guess which is which.  They both have similar mermaid shapes and muted color palettes, but the difference here is in the detailing the skirt.  The feathers on Hillary Swank's Gucci just elegantly appear out of nowhere and then take the skirt for a gorgeous Black Swin spin, whereas the tulle on Halle Berry's Marchesa looks like it was randomly stapled on.  Hm.

Images via nymag.com.