Crimes of Fashion – 2011 Red Carpet Faux Pas

The E! Fashion Police headed by the always irreverent Joan Rivers have released their top ‘Fashion Felons of  2011’ and I have to say I can’t agree more. For crimes of fashion so severe it will take a  phone call  from the governor to be pardoned, these  women have 12 months to reclaim their fashion status and endless walks down the red carpet to erase the memory of their 2011 faux pas.  Without further adieu, the envelope please:

7. Jennifer Lopez consistently makes the best dressed list but, not in this white beaded cape getup. The problem is that there is no reason for this cape. The beads make the sheer fabric look heavy and begs the question, “Why would anyone would wear a sheer tablecloth with heavy beading?”

6. Rihanna choice for the Grammys this year was Jean Paul Gaultier. Gaultier is best known for his bustier look and outfitting Madonna so, I’m not sure at what point this gown seemed like a good idea. I sincerely doubt if event he Material Girl herself would attempt to pull off this ruffled tragedy. But, I’m talking about it so I guess that is the whole point.

 

 

5. Nicole Kidman  wore a gown to the Oscars that was out of this world… and not in a good way. Futuristic, yet reminiscent of a bad 1980’s  gown, this Christian Dior peplum gown was not red carpet worthy. Someone please explain to me why she wore red shoes.

4. Cierra Wilson wore an Emilio Pucci to the VMAs. In addition to wearing the wrong shoes, this gown is probably the worst representation of an iconic design house that I have ever seen.

3. Nicki Minaj showed up to the Grammys in a head-to-toe leopard outfit she described as “a masterpiece by Givenchy, a miraculous piece of lioness meets her cub meets fierce-ocity meets fabulosity meets fashionista meets everything.” She was dead wrong.

2.  Helena Bonham Carter loves to dress up, or is it play dress up? Her appearance at the Golden Globes in a Vivenne Westwood tulle, print, draped bodice monstrosity was nothing compared to her mismatched shoes. Interestingly enough she has another pair at home just like them.

1. Princess Beatrice wore a fairly ordinary outfit to her cousin, Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton last April. What was not ordinary was her fascinator (hat) created by milliner-to the stars Phillip Treacy.  Compared to everything from a part of the female anatomy to an octopus, this hat even launched it’s own facebook page. The outcome- someone paid $131,648  when the hat was auctioned on eBay, all proceeds going to UNICEF. It seems she redeemed herself in the end.

Who were your choices for the worst offenders of 2011?

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

 

If The Emmy Fits…

Last night’s Emmy awards had it’s share of hits and misses from fashions to dead jokes, there were obvious winners and losers. Jane Lynch rocked as  a host and was equally as entertaining sans track suit as she is in every single movie or tv show she appears. Charlie Sheen showed to up to promote… duh, winning? I’m not sure why he was there but I will go on a limb to say it was his way of mending fences. Charlie- if you are reading this, “Apologizing only counts if you mean it, so you might want to go back to step 11.” However, I applaud his sobriety and can only imagine how difficult it was to face all the folks you dissed while you were doing a public detox. That’s over now so let’s leave Charlie alone and get on to something really important … fashion!

The biggest problem with last night’s Emmy fashions was not the gowns, or choice of gowns or the color… it was the fit.  

Kate Winslet chose a red Elie Saab gown. In addition to the gown being too tight (note the horizontal wrinkles that appear to give it a waist seam) the shape is suited for less curvy figure. I’m not talking about weight.. this gown did nothing good for her figure.  

Gwenyth Paltrow should have swapped her black widow Emilio Pucci doily for something a little less  Rorschach-inspired. It is true that we each see somthing different in the ink blots (lace cut-outs) and since seeing this last night I have decided not to eat pancakes for a while.

Katie Holmes wore what appeared to be a saggy blue (Calvin Klein) nightgown 2 sizes too big with a tiny belt. It looked like she did her hair on the way to the show, in the back of a car that was moving….. with no mirror.

Juliana Margulies had the absolute worst look of the night. Her hair was styled for a softer look and her Armani Prive gown was a bedazzled tragedy. The cut was ill-conceived and the entire dress did not fit properly. The good news is that if anyone needs to send something fragile I know where you can get some very expensive bubble wrap.

Kerry Washington was breathtaking in red. The gown fit perfectly and the design was unique enough to stand out but no so unusual she had to arrive in an egg. The see-through part of the skirt was sheer perfection! This  Zuhair Murad gown was constructed  flawlessly and fit beautifully, if only her hair had lived up to the rest of the outfit.

……. and the winner is:
Sofia Vergara, in her red Vera Wang gown dominated the red carpet. Not because she has a killer figure – which she does. Not because she exudes confidence – which she also does. Because her gown fit so perfectly that it looked like it was made for her, which it was. The best part – it wasn;t strapless! The sheer one-shouldered look was  so goddess, so glamour, so abosultely perefect!The shame is that all of these people have their gowns custom fit and sewn and that someone, somewhere doesn’t know how to fit a gown properly. Maybe they are so used to pencil thin mannequins they need to go back to design school to understand a real woman’s body.

We will take a look at more hits and misses tomorrow!

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

The Weekend Fashion Roundup – A Tale of Two Kates

Last weekend Kate Moss exchanged vows with her rock n’ roll husband Jamie Hince in the English Countryside  with a  boatload of  British bridesmaids (aka flowergirls) some very strange guests, her ex and baby daddy, her own daughter and four gown changes.

Kate Moss has been beautiful for a long time but in this John Galliano gown, she was radiant. No photos of the McCartney mini or the other two gowns just yet…. but, if she can look this great in the simplest of stlyes, how great will she look in the others? Their bridal party included 14 young bridesmaids in above the knee chiffon dresses with a gypsy style neckline and matching ballet- pumps with maid of honor in a blue Stella McCartney creation which almost perfectly matched the groom’s blue tuxedo.

On the far side of this side of the pond we had another British ‘Kate’ causing a sensation.  The Royal newlyweds attended the ‘BAFTA Brits to Watch’ event in Hollywood and everyone pulled out all the stops for their first visit to Hollywood as a married couple. The princess donned a lavender creation by Sarah Burton which accented her tiny waist and  included the belted, full-skirt look which she wore for her reception last April.  Everyone except for me seems to be in love with this look. Everyone else says it’s understated, I say its rather boring. Ask yourself this question: If you woke up tomorrow and you were 5 ft 10 inches tall and wore  a size 2, and could wear any gown in the world (with minor modesty restrictions) would you wear this one? She is beautiful and tall and thin and will look good in whatever she wears. In all fairness not everyone’s priority is fashion…. this is why stylists are so important.

My favorites? Gugu Mbatha-Raw looked flawless in Reem Acra, Maria Bello was pure glamour in her Silver Donna Karan and Rita Wilson looked like a queen herself wearing Elie Saab. Jennnifer Lopez  must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed or forgot where she was going because her Pucci gown looked out of place and not suited to meet a future queen.  The gown was more suited for the Grammys or the Baton or 1988. This is especially hard for me to say since Emilio Pucci is  my favorite designer brand.  

Other misses included Blake Lively’s all covered up but see-through shapeless Marchesa gown ( this would be great if you were expecting and wanted to hide a large belly bump), Dana Delaney’s messy Prada outfit ( no she is not carrying Tony the Tiger over her shoulder) and Kristen Chenowith’s BCBG Max Azria liquid lame tube top gown apparently stolen from the set of Charlie’s Angels.

Two Kates, one over-the-top Pucci and 14 bridesmaids… I’d say that was one fashionable weekend in July!

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago