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Red Carpet Recap: Are We There Yet?

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

lupito nyongo cate blanchett oscarsCharlize 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:

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

Long (Sleeve) on Shine:

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

Flesh and Gold:

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

Bright Whites:

kelly-osbourne-naomi-watts-oscarsKelly Osbourne, Calista Flockhart in Andrew Gn,  Naomi Watts in Calvin Klein, Laura Dern in Alberta Ferretti

Petal Pink Princesses:

camila alves penelope cruz Penelope Cruz in Giambattista Valli, Cristin Milioti, Camila Alves in Gabriela Cadena

Lavender Ladies:

kristen bell oscarsLady Gaga in Versace,  Kerry Washington in Jason Wu, Kristen Bell in Roberto Cavalli

 Basic Black:

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

Embellished Black:

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

Moody Blues:

amy adams sandra bullock academy awardsAmy Adams in Gucci, Sandra Bullock in Alexander McQueen, Kevin Spacey in Burberry, Liza Minnelli in Halston

Red on Red:

jennifer-lawrence-oscars-dressJennifer Lawrence in Dior, Ireland Baldwin, Bette Middler in Reem Acra, Olga Kurylenko in Alice Elia

White Knights:

jared leto matthew mcconaugheyJared Leto in Saint Laurent, Ryan Seacrest, Matthew McConaughey in Dolce & Gabbana

No Pants, Well, Kinda Are a Problem:

pharrell williams Pharrell Williams in Lanvin

After the Party It’s the Afterparty:

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

xx,

WhyDid

Red Carpet Recap: Requirements Were Met.

By |May 7th, 2013|Celebrity Style, Red Carpet Recap|

Julie Macklowe in Zang Toi, Zandra Rhodes, Madonna in Givenchy, Sarah Jessica Parker in Giles Deacon

Since 1948 the Metropolitan Museum of Art has hosted the Met Ball (also known as the Costume Institute Ball) to fete the opening of the fashion exhibit at the Costume Institute.  Every year, the event has a theme that attendees are encouraged to channel with their chosen attire.  This year’s theme was deemed Punk: Chaos to Couture and that got the fashion world in a bit of a tizzy.  A stripped down rock starting between 1974 and 1976 characterized by DIY principles and sub-culture rooted in anti-establishment and rebellious youth, would fashion’s elite really relate to the theme seeing as some of them hadn’t even been conceived when punk was present?  The red carpet proved to be a bit of a crap shoot, which was made especially apparent when Hailee Steinfeld referenced Avril Lavigne as “punk.”

Some ladies played it subtle by simply accessorizing with studded jewelery or faux-hawk coifs.  Dramatic dark smokey eyes and deep berry lips were also favored on the red carpet.  But the real stars of the red carpet were the women who really went for it.  Anne Hathaway went full blown blonde, SJP sported an exquisite mohawk headpiece by Philip Treacy, and Madonna said, “to hell with pants!” in Givenchy.  Rooney Mara, Nina Dobrev, and Minka Kelly were the perfect mesh of modern and punk embracing the look in sexy lace and smoldering makeup.  While Blake Lively, Taylor Swift, and Amanda Seyfried were stunning, they veered to the side of safe.  Which can’t be said for some like Coco in Emanuel Ungaro, a tie dyed Elle Fanning, and a seemingly confused Olsen twin.  And I’m left wondering if some of these ladies didn’t get the memo or are just party poopers who simply ignored the theme altogether.

So, who got punk and who got punk’d?

Perfectly Punk:

met gala 2013 red carpet best dressedDonatella Versace, Anne Hathaway in Valentino, Rooney Mara in Givenchy, Lauren Santo Domingo in Dolce & Gabbana, Minka Kelly in Carolina Herrera

Miranda Kerr in Michael Kors, Emma Watson in Prabal Gurung, Dakota Fanning in Rodarte, Carolyn Murphy in Nina Ricci, Allison Williams in Altuzarra

Punky Pants:

Kristen Stewart in Stella McCartney, Nina Dobrev in Monique Lhuillier, Jaime King in TopShop, Jessica Biel in Giambattista Valli

How Supermodels Do Punk:

Karolina Kurkova in Mary Katrantzou, Gisele Bundchen in Anthony Vaccarello, Anja Rubik in Anthony Vaccarello, Cara Delevigne in Burberry, Brooklyn Decker in Peter Pilotto

Punk Princesses:

Julianne Hough in TopShop, Taylor Swift in J. Mendel, Blake Lively in Gucci, Gwen Stefani in Maison Martin Margiela, Amanda Seyfried in vintage Givenchy

Pretty, but not Punk:

Gwyneth Paltrow in Valentino, Anna Wintour in Chanel, Kate Upton in Diane von Furstenberg, Kate Beckinsdale in Alberta Ferretti, Heidi Klum in Marchesa

 Pieces of Punk:

Jaime King, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Lawrence

Emmy Rossum, Sienna Miller, Jessica Alba

You’ve Been Punk’d:

Ashley Olsen in Dior, Elle Fanning in Rodarte, Miley Cyrus in Marc Jacobs, Nicole Richie in TopShop, Nora Zehetner in Marchesa

Coco Rocha in Emanuel Ungaro, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in Gucci, Christina Ricci in Vivienne Westwood, Beyonce in Givenchy

Who were your favorites?

xx,

WhyDid

 

Why Did You Wear That: Jumping at the Chance

By |June 20th, 2012|Celebrity Style, Why Did You Wear That?|

celebrity jumpsuits 2012Another one of my favorite “all in one” outfits is the jumpsuit; a very close cousin of the romper.  While you may equate the jumpsuit to the disco queens of the 70’s or the Angela Bowers of the 80’s, the jumpsuit is actually being made quite current by the A-list of the red carpet.  The jumpsuit started its reemergence last year, and I “jumped” right on that trend (couldn’t help it).  This look can be both casual (see my favorite American Apparel version here) and incredibly glamorous (remember when Rose Byrne first wore one to the SAG Awards?).  So, whether you choose to wear yours with flats for Sunday brunch or heels for Saturday night fever, this trend is sure to leave you looking anything but out of style.

summer jumpsuits1. Sparkle & Fade Open Back Jumper, $59, 2. Smith Tie Dye Jumper, $79, 3. Day Birger et Mikkelsen Ofelia Pleated Chiffon Jumpsuit, $250, 4. Kimchi Blue Crochet Jumper, $99, 5. Forever21 Elasticized Abstract Print Jumpsuit, $24.80, 6. Coincidence & Chance Gaucho Jumper, $49, 7. Sandro Preference Crepe Jumpsuit, $340, 8. ALICE by Temperley Lavender Jumpsuit, $450, 9. Free People Solid and Lace Jumpsuit, $328, 10.Edith A. Miller Maryam Jumpsuit, $330

Make ya wanna jump, jump!

xx,

WhyDid

Why Did You Wear That: Victoria’s Ugly Secret

By |November 12th, 2010|Celebrity Style|

As many of you are well aware, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show took place earlier this week.  Um, I can’t say I’m not a little bit taken aback. Since when did Victoria’s Secret start catering to butch lesbians? I mean, I’m going to need to go ahead and ask, “Who’s in charge here?” Can’t help but think that perhaps the creative director is an angry old maid living alone with her cats who decided that she wanted to make some of the most beautiful women in the world look like assholes.

To be clear, I am not by any means suggesting that Karolina Kurkova herself is “fugly.” That isn’t even in the realm of possibility, but this? What the hell is she? A “racecar driver”?  Trashy Lingerie does a better job of making slutty Halloween outfits, so let’s just leave it to the pros, okay? When can we get back to diamond encrusted brasieres and sparkly g-strings?

xx,

WhyDid