MET Gala 2012

This year’s Costume Institute Gala held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York was held in honour of Miuccia Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli - I’m not going to pretend I’m totes fashion and had heard of the latter until this exhibition – andwith rumours abound that Miuccia was running a tight ship, it was with a hush of excitement that news of who was dressing who began to filter through.

The biggest news before the Gala went ahead was that the head honcho had put a stop to Coco Rocha being dressed by her designer bessie Zac Posen, she instead had teased on Twitter she was wearing vintage Givenchy. Now in my mind vintage Givenchy would be elegant, dramatic and gorgeous, what Coco Rocha wore was far from any of this… A vintage suit previously owned by Elizabeth Taylor may be majah but she looked like a hot mess and to top it all off she added some poor 13 year-old girls bubblegum pink clip ins. If there was ever a Worst Ever Dressed Award it would go to you Mrs Rocha, please stick to what you know.

Coco Rocha in Vintage Givenchy at the MET Gala 2012

To follow on from my Worst Ever Dressed, I’ll direct you to my next worst dressed. If you read my previous post on this young woman you would probably see who I was going to say a mile off.

Kristen Stewart in Balenciaga at the MET Gala 2012

Honestly the dress isn’t really that bad, I think the red next to the blue is sending me shivers but I like the bodice of the dress.  It’s just those SHOES. They could honestly be the most horrific shoes ever made on earth. And of course you know I’m going to have a problem with that hair, yes I know if she’d had it all posh and preened it would not be her style but surely something like her hairstyle from the BD premiere could be done here.

Everyone else seemed to think that Karolina Kurkova looked uh-mazing, but I really think Rachel Zoe was given too much creative control with a roll of tin foil. The turban Kurkova sported was an almost spit of Kate Moss’ Marc Jacob’s ’09 MET Gala outfit, and if Zoe had just left it off I would have let her get away with the standard gold sparkly dress that every designer has to make.

Karolina Kurkova in Rachel Zoe at the MET Gala 2012

It’s easy to pick apart the looks you don’t like, it always is but when it comes to those jaw-dropping dresses there can only really ever be one that just made you wish you could wear that dress. That’s the only way I can pick which celeb knocked it out of the park…. Or maybe there will have to be a three-way tie…

For me Beyonce’s Givenchy Couture gown was a jaw-dropper, that train, the sheerness, and her post-baby body, but when you think about it as stunning as she looks she has worn just as risque outfits on stage. So to me this is a normal look for B, in fact I think I prefer her Emilio Pucci from last year’s MET Gala.

Beyonce Knowles in Givenchy Couture at the MET Gala 2012

Someone who never fails to look smokin’ hot is the ever sexy Rihanna, her Tom Ford dress fit like a second (snake)skin. It was on par with her black lace Stella McCartney look from last year, still with the crazy hair but a little more toned down, despite the one inch talons adorning her hands.

Rihanna in Tom Ford at the MET Gala 2012

Now my number one Style Crush let me down a little on the night, after her showstopper Jason Wu number last year, Diane Kruger rocked up in a purple Prada number. Not the usual high glamour she goes for on the red carpet, in fact it was a little dressed down. The skirt half was gorgeous but the top half was a little on the slouchy vest side, not something I would expect from such a first class dresser, still I can’t bring myself to say I hate it…

Diane Kruger in Prada at the MET Gala 2012

Two very different women, two very different dresses, one designer. Cate Blanchett and Florence Welch were both guests of Sarah Burton, they both wore Alexander McQueen gowns, one I adored the other was a little extreme but to be fair suited the wearer’s personality down to the ground… Can you guess which I liked?

Florence Welch and Cate Blanchett with Sarah Burton in Alexander McQueen at the MET Gala 2012

Yup you guessed it… Cate Blanchett!

Cate Blanchett in Alexander McQueen at the MET Gala 2012

One of my main contenders for Best Dressed was, surprisingly enough, Gwyneth Paltrow, going for a shorter length than her fellow attendees, she wore a Prada dress with embellished pockets. I really like the shape of the dress and if I had a body like that at 39 I would be proud of it too. The hair and make up along with those earrings really top off a fantastic look from Gywnnie, almost harks back to that Balmain dress at the Iron Man premiere in 2008.

Gwyneth Paltrow in Prada at the MET Gala 2012

I loved Kate Bosworth’s Prada look. Yes I said it I loved what Kate was wearing, the dark ombre feathered dress, the Miu Miu shoes the flawless make up and the slicked back hair. I want it all, I want it all NOW!

Kate Bosworth in Prada at the MET Gala 2012

It was nearly a draw with Kate, but I think Camilla Belle just pipped her to the post in her Ralph Lauren silver fluid gown. The fact she went full length adds even more glamour, both had similar make up looks – it seems that wine coloured lips were the majah look of the night – and Camilla’s hair just topped off that old Hollywood glamour that I adore so much.

Camilla Belle in Ralph Lauren at the MET Gala 2012

Here are the best of the rest from the MET Gala 2012:

Lana Del Ray in Altuzarra, Fashion Critic over at Red Carpet Fashion Awards made the genius comparison of Lana being the Bad Witch to Gwyneth Paltrow’ Good Witch at the Oscars this year.

Ginnifer Goodwin in Monique Lhullier. I really love this look, the colour suits Ginnifer down to the ground and her pixie cut is as perfect as ever.

Bianca Brandolini D’Adda looks verrrry gold in Dolce & Gabbana the epitome of their label really. I kinda like it on the Italian socialite, glitz and glam in the most obvious way.

Nina Dobrev in custom-made Donna Karan. Nina knows how to do the red carpet, ever since she wore that red Donna Karan at the Emmy’s this was a match made in heaven.

Victoria Justice in McQ by Alexander McQueen. The young star dresses her age in a beautiful McQ dress, the colour explosion and the puff ball skirt make a really great look.

Solange Knowles in Rachel Roy. Amazing colour.

Emma Stone in Lanvin. I enjoyed this look, but Emma can do sooo much better than this.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in Burberry. We get it R H-W has the perfect body, but this look really bores the hell out of me even if I do love the make up.

Screen Actors’ Guild Awards 2012

The Screen Actors’ Guild awards happened last night over the pond, and there were plenty of outfits to trawl through today. For me it was a case of the SAGs vs. the Golden Globes, because there were some gorgeous risky dresses at the Globes and some not so risky but still beautiful dresses on display last night.

I’m going to jump straight in and tell you that Rose Byrne in Elie Saab Couture and her perfect bob was my best dressed of the night. Her dazzling jumpsuit was just stunning, and it just goes to prove that the god of red carpet couture NEVER gets it wrong. My second favourite was Emma Stone, one for not choosing a full-length gown and two for the amazing Alexander McQueen horse clutch she was carrying to go with her dress by the designer. Michelle Williams looked gorgeous in red Valentino and so did Kyra Sedgwick in Emilio Pucci.

I’ll put Lea Michele on my best dressed list because she did look fantastic in a grey Atelier Versace dress, but for crying out loud Lea just a peep of your leg and a slight pout will do, none of this “sexy” open mouth or chorus girl posing.

Amber Heard looked smoking hot in a black Zac Posen gown with sexy cutouts. I’m normally against black on the red carpet because there are so many colours out there than safe black but Heard knows how to pose without going all Lea Michele on us. Other stars that chose black were Angelina Jolie in an awfully cheap looking Jenny Packham gown, Stacy Keibler (star by default) in a lace off the shoulder Marchesa gown which I found boring, and Jayma Mays who wore a beaded Reem Acra dress that would have worked on someone with much more star power than the Glee actress.

Also why did Emily Blunt’s Oscar de la Renta green gown look so cheap? For a red head green is the go to colour but this was just not right. SOFIA VERGARA IF YOU DO NOT STOP WEARING STRAPLESS MERMAID GOWNS I WILL BE FORCED TO SCREAM AT YOU. I don’t care if she has an amazing figure try something different. Tilda Swinton, what happened to your Haider Ackermann relationship, as much as I like this Lanvin gown you should not blend into the background! Oh and Kristen Wiig and that choker. Just no.

I think the Globes had more risk takers, better colours, patterns and overall looks, but the SAGs still brought the glam factor, check out the slideshow of all my favourite and a few not so favourite looks below…

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Golden Globes 2011: A disappointment?

I was not impressed this year, out of all the celebrities that attended there were very few dresses that could be considered best dressed. The Golden Globes are the awards where actresses are expected to go out of their comfort zone be a bit more daring seeing as though it’s not as restricting as the Oscars, many chose to stick to styles they’d worn before, black, or plain designs. I was expecting a real extravaganza and what I got was disappointment.

I was really looking forward to seeing what Michelle Williams wore, nominated for Best Actress I thought she would pull out all the stops. In the run up to the Golden Globes, Williams has been sporting a uniform of lace, knee length 50′s skirts, and cap-sleeves, there was a break from that at the Critics’s Choice Awards where she wore a pretty white Balenciaga number. It seems she wanted to stick with the pretty and went for a daisy floral print dress by Valentino, to me its unflattering and a bit plain, more suited to a casual dinner than a fancy awards ceremony.  A big fat 2/10 because I like her hair and make up.

Michelle Williams in Valentino

Natalie Portman beat out Williams to win Best Actress for her role in The Black Swan, a deserved award as the film is absolutely fantastic. Surprisingly Portman didn’t wear Dior or Rodarte as tipped but instead chose a pale pink Viktor & Rolf gown that I really didn’t like. The big red rose at the empire line of her dress just didn’t sit well on top of her pregnant belly, but at least she was showing it off. A 3/10 for the cute baby bump but overall I don’t think the pink and red colour clash sits well.

Natalie Portman in Viktor & Rolf

Someone that didn’t disappoint me was Emma Stone, nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy unfortunately lost out to Annette Benning, wore a peach backless dress by Calvin Klein. Not a designer that I would think of for the fancy red carpet but works really well, a super streamlined dress with ice blonde locks and a sexy back is a good look in my books, although Emma may have gone a little overboard on the fake tan. A definite 9/10, an actress who is a strong player in the style stakes.

Emma Stone in Calvin Klein

Winner of Best Performance in a Mini Series for her work in Temple Gradin, Clare Danes also wore Calvin Klein Collection. A luminous pink halter neck gown, really spiced up the red carpet amongst a sea of black and beads. Again a really flawless look from Calvin Klein, Clare was deserving of her win. An 8/10 for pink perfection.

Claire Danes in Calvin Klein Collection

Emerald green was a popular colour with both Angelina Jolie and Mila Kunis wearing Atelier Versace and Vera Wang respectively. It has being reported that Angie laughed when she heard of her nomination in the Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical for The Tourist. Presenter Ricky Gervais threw down when he said of the rumour about the nominations for The Tourist, “I’d like to crush this ridiculous rumor that the only reason The Tourist was nominated was so that the foreign press could hang out with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. That was not the only reason; they also accepted bribes.”

Angie did look stunning in colour a definite competitor for best dressed of the night, and Mila Kunis looked gorgeous in her Vera Wang gown but I can’t help feeling a little underwhelmed by her look I was expecting something a little more extraordinary. An 8/10 for Angelina and a 6/10 for Mila, maybe she’s waiting to wow at the Oscars?

Angelina Jolie in Atelier Versace // Mila Kunis in Vera Wang

Two very different actresses sported blunt fringes one was a success the other not so much. Sandra Bullock, on presenting duties this year looked great with her blunt hair cut and Jenny Packham dress, where as Olivia Wilde’s hairdo was more limp and lacklustre but at least her ridiculously over the top Marchesa princess ball gown made up for it. A 7/10 for previous big winner Bullock,  a poor 5/10 for Wilde who was clearly wishing she was sat atop a castle than presenting the award for Best Foreign Film alongside the delicious Rob Pattinson.

Olivia Wilde in Marchesa // Sandra Bullock in Jenny Packham

Olivia Wilde and Rob Pattinson on stage // Rob in Gucci Made to Order

Then we have the girls with the sex factor, Halle Berry and January Jones. Both actresses not afraid to flash the flesh, they wowed with their barely there dresses. Halle in a black Nina Ricci dress, channelling the underwear as outwear trend it was daring and maybe a little trashy but totally worth it to get those column inches. And then January in THAT red Versace dress from the Spring 2011 RTW collection, she suits the dress and January definitely gets my vote as best dressed of the night.

Halle Berry gets an 8.5/10 in Nina Ricci

January Jones 9/10 in Versace

There’s always going to be celebrities who shunned their stylist, aka Helena Bonham Carter (has she ever had one?), the quirky actress wore a Vivienne Westwood  gown with mismatched shoes. Who else could really get away with it? Glamour magazine online even say “Fab rather than faux pas” pah yeh right. Then we have Christina Hendricks, maybe I have it out for her but her vivid red Romona Keveza dress with a massive shoulder ruffle made me wonder where she began and the dress ended! And Julianne Moore I have no words for your Lanvin mess, one sleeved with a necklace tucked under the collar it doesn’t even begin to make sense!

Helena Bonham Carter // Christina Hendricks // Julianne Moore

Other worthy mentions go to Leighton Meester who wore a thigh-slashed chiffon Burberry Prorsum gown with the best accessory of the night, a gold box clutch complete with a hanging tassle. Anne Hathaway in a very backless Armani Prive gold sequinned dress with power shoulders and Camilla Belle was spotted at the InStyle/Warner Bros Golden Globes after party in a silver Giorgio Armani dress. Also congratulations goes to Colin Firth for his Best Actor win for his role in The King’s Speech, hopefully a sign of what’s to be expected at the Oscars, and to David Fincher for Best Director and Best Film for The Social Network.

Leighton Meester // Anne Hathaway // Camilla Belle