Red Carpet Recap: Academic Achievment

By admin|February 22nd, 2015|Celebrity Style, Red Carpet Recap, Why Did You Wear That?|

Dakota Johnson in Saint Laurent, Rosamund Pike in Givenchy, Behati Prinsloo in Armani

The red carpet was red hot this year at the 87th Annual Academy Awards. While it poured down rain in Los Angeles, causing a hot box effect with plastic tenting literally wilting A-list hairstyles and melting perfectly made up faces, nominees and future winners did not let us down in the dress department. While there was nothing truly offensive, there were also very few that inspired any standing ovations, which would be saved for John Legend, Common, Patricia Arquette, and Graham Moore. Saint Laurent on both Dakota Johnson and Margot Robbie were two of my early favorites. When Rosamund Pike arrived in a perfectly fitted Givenchy frock only two months after giving birth, I shed a tear and poured out a little bit of alcohol, which my dog quickly lapped up. A few debatable dresses were worn by Lupita Nyong’o, Nicole Kidman, and Felicity Jones. I’m not sure why, but Khloe Kardashian was recruited by E! for her opinions on red carpet arrivals, to which she held nothing back. I zoned out from the actual awards show after Neil Patrick Harris’s first failed joke, but I did catch Julianne Moore’s well deserved acceptance speech, Common’s freckles, Lady Gaga’s epic cover of The Sound of Music, and the absence of Joan Rivers in the Memoriam.

Citron Sirens:

Nicole Kidman in Louis Vuitton, Jennifer Hudson in Romona Keveza, Emma Stone in Elie Saab

Blushing Beauties:

Jennifer Anniston in Versace, Zoe Saldana in Atelier Versace, Jennifer Lopez in Elie Saab

Petal Pushers:

Kiera Knightley in Valentino, Gwyneth Paltrow in Ralph and Russo, Chloe Moretz in Miu Miu

White Hot Women:

Faith Hill in J. Mendel, Zendaya in Vivienne Westwood, Jenna Dewan Tatum in Zuhair Murad

Julianne Moore in custom Chanel, Lupita Nyong’o in Calvin Klein, Lady Gaga in Azzedeine Alaia

Metallic Mavens:

Laura Dern in Alberta Ferretti, Anna Faris in Zuhair Murad, Naomi Watts in Armani

Felicity Jones in Alexander McQueen, Chrissy Teigen in Zuhair Murad, Kerry Washington in Miu Miu

Black Betties:

Margot Robbie in Saint Laurent, Sienna Miller in Oscar de la Renta, Cate Blanchett in Margiela

Black and White Babes:

Reese Witherspoon in Tom Ford, Particia Arquette in Rosetta Getty, Meryl Streep in Lanvin

Navy, Baby:

Rita Ora in Marchesa, Jessica Chastain in Givenchy

Red Carpet Recap: Are We There Yet?

By Kirsten|March 3rd, 2014|Red Carpet Recap, Why Did You Wear That?|

Charlize Theron in Dior, Kate Hudson in Atelier Versace, Cate Blanchett in Giorgio Armani, Lupita Nyong’o in Prada

It feels as if this particular awards season stretched out a bit longer than years prior, but maybe that’s the overall theme of 2014 thus far. Long winters, long award shows, long winded speeches. Tonight’s award show, the 86th Annual Academy Awards, was no exception. Seeing as the red carpet arrivals started at five thirty (Eastern time) and the actual show didn’t commence until midnight, I literally spent six and a half hours of my life staring at dresses, listening to sometimes awkward interviews with Seacrest, and holding my breath in hopes that the music didn’t come on during winners’ acceptance speeches. I couldn’t tell if I was still exhausted from the weekend or if the cold had finally taken a toll on my cognitive thinking because I’m pretty sure that every actress on the red carpet was required to wear the same dress. Either that or I was watching 1984 and didn’t know it, which is entirely possible. Fortunately, for the first time in WhyDid’s history, I was unable to award an entire category to the worst dressed women of the night. Instead it went to our charitable roast beef hat wearing friend, Pharrell, who decided that full trousers were not fully necessary for the red carpet. I might have let it slide because he’s so darn cute if he hadn’t somehow convinced his lovely wife, Helen Lasichanh, to dress in tandem. I guess it would be hard to say, “no,” to those dimples.

As for the rest of the red carpet, nudes, metallics, and soft whites and pastels were the overall theme with a spattering of both basic as well as embellished black. Navy was a trend for both men and women and first time Oscar winner, Lupita Nyong’o, deemed her hue Nairobi blue. Everyone was going nuts over her headband, which I hated because it made her look too “costumey” and would have preferred she’d accessorized her decollete with a delicate lariat, but she gets a pass for that stand out shade of blue. Speaking of hair, cropped pixie cuts were the biggest trend and soft subtle styles as seen on Jessica Biel and Naomi Watts were the second runner up. Jennifer Lawrence in a pixie cut and who wore red, didn’t even wait until she was inside before repeating last year’s tumble. She either needs a better seamstress or a higher tolerance for champagne. A notable trend for men was wearing a white jacket with their tuxes and why, why, why is Jared Leto so damn pretty? Rarely do I covet another’s hair, but if someone can get me in touch with his stylist, I’ll be forever grateful… or at least for the next month or two. And while I finished wrapping up the red carpet, I realized that the real style mavens held out until the afterparties.

Pretty in Pewter:

Giuliana Rancic, Jessica Biel in Chanel, Jennifer Garner in Oscar de la Renta

Long (Sleeve) on Shine:

Angelina Jolie in Elie Saab, Sarah Paulson in Elie Saab, Julie Delpy in Jenny Peckham, Sally Hawkins in Valentino

Flesh and Gold:

Kristin Chenoweth in Roberto Cavalli, Jenna Dewan Tatum in Reem Acra, Portia de Rossi in Naeem Khan

Bright Whites:

Kelly Osbourne, Calista Flockhart in Andrew Gn, Naomi Watts in Calvin Klein, Laura Dern in Alberta Ferretti

Petal Pink Princesses:

Penelope Cruz in Giambattista Valli, Cristin Milioti, Camila Alves in Gabriela Cadena

Lavender Ladies:

Lady Gaga in Versace, Kerry Washington in Jason Wu, Kristen Bell in Roberto Cavalli

Basic Black:

Glenn Close in Zac Posen, Julia Roberts in black Givenchy, Karen O in Camilla Staerk, Olivia Wilde in black Valentino

Embellished Black:

Anne Hathaway in Gucci, Emma Watson in Vera Wang, Anna Kendrick in J. Mendel, Chrissy Teigen in Monique Lhuillier

Moody Blues:

Amy Adams in Gucci, Sandra Bullock in Alexander McQueen, Kevin Spacey in Burberry, Liza Minnelli in Halston

Red on Red:

Jennifer Lawrence in Dior, Ireland Baldwin, Bette Middler in Reem Acra, Olga Kurylenko in Alice Elia

White Knights:

Jared Leto in Saint Laurent, Ryan Seacrest, Matthew McConaughey in Dolce & Gabbana

No Pants, Well, Kinda Are a Problem:

Pharrell Williams in Lanvin

After the Party It’s the Afterparty:

Karolina Kurkova, Evan Rachel Wood in Elie Saab, Sofia Vergara in Roberto Cavalli, Diane Kruger in Valentino, Jane Fonda in Nicholas Oakwell

xx,

WhyDid

Why Did You Wear That: Spring 2014: Style Cheat Sheet

By Kirsten|February 25th, 2014|Why Did You Wear That?|

Although it was fifty degrees over the weekend and snow flurrying today, we really are in the home stretch of winter. Just hang in there, pretty birds, relief is on the way. While we wait for the last frost of the season to cease, let us refresh ourselves on the clothing that is just waiting to make itself quite comfortable in our closets come spring. Since each fashion week presents collections a solid six months in advance of when we can actually get our greedy little hands on it, it’s easy to forget what we need to start scoping for and what to relegate to the back of our wardrobes for the time being. The fashion elite may be a bit clairvoyant perhaps predicting the dreadfully long winter we’ve endured as the spring collections did not shy away from color, bold patterns, and plenty of shiny embellishment. Though black and white were ever present, it’s time to drop the dull all black uniform and have a little bit of fun.

While florals are really nothing new for spring, this season’s are a bit bolder and less feminine incorporating the trend of black and white as well as darker tones as opposed to the predictable pastel colorways. Speaking of which, Easter egg colors abound and are best done head to toe, but if that has you feeling apprehensive of emulating Great Aunt Ida, the presence of a pastel leather jacket or clutch will do the trick.

Along with bold graphics that will have even the biggest globetrotters giddy, art aficionados rejoice. Patterns for spring give a nod to pop art using brights that make them downright framable. Wearable art, if you will.

Embellishment was big and came in the form of fringe, 3D embellishments and gilded golds, bronze, and silver. An alternative to shine in the form of straightforward metallics is presented in the option of iridescence.

And to those who attempted a croptop intervention on me… bad news: the croptop (which will live on through Fall 2014) is stronger than ever for spring. Might I suggest enrolling in a Pilates class, like last week? Though tops are shrinking bottoms get a bit of volume in the form of wide leg trousers and full skirts seen prevalently in the midi length.

Most notably to me was that all of the various trends seem to work together quite seamlessly and in some cases there’s quite a bit of overlap. Full metallic skirts, crop tops with sheer panels, and boldy printed wide leg trousers make hitting a few trends at once a spring breeze.

Fresh Blooms: Rebecca Taylor Sweet William Dress, Joie Talina B Pants, Elizabeth and James Klaus Floral Print Silk and Mesh Dress
Go Wide: by Malene Birger Cosyna High Waited Silk-Satin Pants, Diane von Furstenberg Salma Wide Leg Silk Pants, alice + olivia Pleated Eric Pants
Dirty Pop: Paul Smith Black Label Maxi Skirt, Lisa Perry Patchwork Skirt, M Missoni Neon Crochet Knit Mini Dress
Heavy Metals: Rachel Zoe Pearl Sequin Fishtail Skirt, DAY Birger et Mikkelsen Metallic Chiffon Wrap Dress, 3.1 Phillip Lim Crossover Biker Skirt
Peekaboo Panels: Yigal Azrouel Scuba Waterprint Mesh Skirt, Rag & Bone Molly Skirt, Rebecca Minkoff Antoni Silk Top
Full Circle…Skirts: JOA Striped Skirt, TOME Taffeta Skirt, Tibi Full Pleated Skirt
Team Spirit: SEA Cotton-Blend Tweed Shorts, Sacai Luck Striped Cotton and Taffeta Dress, Equipment Abbot Silk Bomber Blouson Jacket
On the Fringe: alice + olivia Caitlin Fringe Maxi Skirt, Haute Hippie Fringe Pencil Skirt, Jason Wu Cropped Fringed Crepe Top
Buttoned Up: Diane von Furstenberg Trudy Blouse, MiH The Oversize Shirt, Carven Silk Floral Print Collared Cotton Shirt
Perfect Pastels: Halston Heritage Asymmetric Satin Twill Peplum Dress, J Brand Ready To Wear Durham Oversized Leather Biker Jacket, Lotusgrace Polka Dot Sheath Dress
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop Croptops: Tibi Cropped Embellished Cotton Blend Top, Jonathan Simkhai Cropped Intarsia Jersey Top, BCBGMAXAZRIA Kaja Harness Top
Black (and White) to Basics: A.L.C. Harrison Skirt, Donna Karan Printed Silk Wide Leg Pants, McQ Alexander McQueen Slash Effect Stretch Knit Dress
Iridescent Does It: Acne Tine Sequined Silk Georgette Shorts, Roksanda Ilincic Oriel Colorblock Wool Crepe Dress, 3.1 Phillip Lim Colorblock Suede A-Line Skirt
Global Graphics Clover Canyon Diamond Quilt Printed Cropped Track Pants, Diane von Furstenberg Phaedra Jacquard Skirt, Line & Dot Silk Palm Tree Print Dress

xx,

WhyDid

Why Did You Wear That: Don’t Sweat the Technique

By Kirsten|August 27th, 2013|Why Did You Wear That?|

The quote above from Karl Lagerfeld has been passed around the internet faster than an Anthony Weiner dick pic. And while I first snickered when I saw it, I couldn’t help but wonder what Karl might think about one of this fall’s must have items: the sweatshirt.

I can just picture him fanning himself with leather glove clad hand whilst flipping through September’s issues. But put down the paper bag, big K. These aren’t the Champion sweatshirts of gym class past. Nor are they the Juicy Couture velour tracksuits that I was certain were the fashion apocalypse. This season’s reincarnations feature more structured silhouettes, lace insets, and little details that will have you sweating them, not sweating in them.

When worn with the skinniest of skinny jeans, leather leggings, or a pleated skirt rather than their fleeced counterparts, the sweatshirt is more fabulous than frumpy.

1. T by Alexander Wang Crew Neck Sweatshirt, 2. Helmut Lang Leather and Wool Sweatshirt, 3. By Chance Jenna Oversized Sweatshirt, 4. A.P.C. Atelier de Production et Création, 5. Chaser Nat Geo Logo Sweatshirt, 6. Kenzo Striped Lining Cotton Sweatshirt, 7. Wildfox Basic Baggy Beach Sweatshirt, 8.Theory Janelo Long Sweatshirt, 9. Funktional Discovery Sweatshirt

xx,

WhyDid

Why Did You Wear That: Don’t Be a SAG

By Kirsten|January 27th, 2013|Celebrity Style, Red Carpet Recap|

Style Stars:

Amanda Seyfried in Zac Posen, Anne Hathaway in Giambattista Valli, Jennifer Lawrence in Christian Dior

Judging by tonight’s Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG), I don’t watch enough TV… or at least I’m not watching the right TV shows… because I didn’t know who half of the people walking the red carpet were. One would have thought that could have been easily cleared up by simply tuning into the red carpet pre-show interviews, but the opposite was true. Somehow, E! left me ever more befuddled than before by presenting the most awkward interviews and time spent talking about dubstep, juggling, and making it rain. This is probably the only time I’ve been left wondering, “Where’s Seacrest?” While scouting for the night’s best dressed was more like a game of “Where’s Waldo?” watching the b-roll footage, I managed to identify the evening’s style stars, style stalls, and overall trends.

It’s clear that winners wear blue and while navy may not officially be the new black (which was still incredibly strong), it was the color that ruled the crimson carpet. If you weren’t black and blue, you might have shimmered in metallics and if you were looking to punch things up, pink was the go to hue.

Blue Belles:

Giuliana Rancic in Max Azria, Nicole Kidman in Vivienne Westwood, Busy Philips in Gabriela Cadena

Black Beauties:

Amy Poehler in , Tina Fey in Oscar de la Renta, Kelly Osbourne in Jenny Packham

Shiny, Happy People:

Naomi Watts in Marchesa, Helen Hunt in Romona Keveza, Jennifer Garner in Oscar de la Renta, Katrina Bowden in Badgley Mischka

Pink Ladies:

Nina Dobrev in Elie Saab, Freida Pinto in Roland Mouret, Lea Michel in Valentino

Style Stalls:

Jessica Chastain in Alexander McQueen, Julianne Moore in Chanel, Morena Baccarin in Basil Soda

Oh, I feel some of your salty stares right now, but I stand firm on my worst dressed choices. It all (mostly) comes down to one simple thing: fit. While Jessica Chastain proves a redhead can wear red on the red carpet, she looked more Jessica Rabbit than sexy starlet and unfortunately, that includes wearing a dress that is two sizes too small. Remember, my friends, “wrinkles point to the problem areas.” It pained me to include Julianne Moore because, to me, she is a classic beauty and remember she was one of my best dressed at the Golden Globes? This slinky black and white Chanel, just skims a little too low– now I know these are the SAG awards, but the top of this dress simply makes her look, ahem, saggy. As for Morena? Two words: swamp thing.

Below, some SAG accredited starlets prove that black is not always a safe choice and not all trends need be followed.

Julie Bowen , Claire Danes in Givenchy, Naya Rivera in Donna Karan