2012 Emmy Fashions. The Good, The Bad and The January

So, I came late to the Emmy party this year and did not get my standard hour long E! Live from the Red Carpet preview of the fashions of the evening. I was en route home from visiting my older daughter at the University of South Carolina and even though our flight went off without delay (thank you American Airlines!); the baggage took 45 minutes to make it 4 gates over (gotta love DFW). Nevertheless, I caught the broadcast during the award presented by Lucy Liu and was so taken dumb by her gown that I didn’t even know what award she was even handing out. I have since done my obligatory research on what I missed and have purposefully tried to avoid reading other Best and Worst Dressed lists so I am not influenced by people who think they know better.

It appears that the color of the evening was citron/chartreuse/lemon/antifreeze/you get the idea. NOT an easy color to wear and attempted by women with varying skin tone and hair color.

Leslie Mann in Naeem Khan probably was the most successful of all the golden girls, but I also liked Julie Bowen’s boldness in her Monique Lhuillier mermaid cut gown.

Now for my favorites:
Lucy Liu in Versace. I know, I’ve already mentioned her, but the entire look was so amazingly fierce and powerful. It fit her perfectly and did not overwhelm her tiny frame.

Ginnifer Goodwin in Monique Lhuillier. Normally I’m not a fan of the “mullet” dress, but this one was subtle enough that it worked. I love the crewel-like embroidery that gives it a vintage feel and the color works so well on her. I DO wish she would not have been so matchy-matchy with her Louboutins though.

Michelle Dockery in Louis Vuitton. NO, I don’t like her just because she’s on Downton Abbey. I thought the navy color was so unexpected and different for the Red Carpet and seriously, who doesn’t love an evening gown with pockets AND a giant bow in the back!

Nicole Kidman in Antonio Berardi. I know what you are thinking and you are right. It’s been a while since Nicole has impressed me on the Red Carpet, let alone succeeded in vacating her permanent spot on the Worst Dressed List. And I DO find it painful to look at her frozen Botox face for too long. BUT, she apparently found a new stylist because this dress has amazing detail, fits her perfectly, and definitely gets her back on the “Best” list.

Brooke Burke in Tony Ward. OK, yes, I know she has a killer body and can pretty much wear a burlap sack and look great. With white being such a hot color this year, she found a way to make it appropriate and not wedding-y. Stunning.

AAAAND for the not so fabulous. In the words of my nephew, “she tried.”

Edie Falco in Stella McCartney. Hate the Wonder Woman belt, hate the cut-in bodice, and it looks like they just ran out of navy fabric. Honestly, the whole look is too youthful for her. You can tell she has a great body, just not shown off in the right way.

Elisabeth Moss in Dolce & Gabbana. First of all, what in the world did she do to her hair?! I would have loved to have seen this dress on her with her auburn hair and see if that made it any better. Again, I’m not a fan of the mullet hemline, and the print with the ruffles and the peplum is just too overwhelming for her. Looks a bit like a can-can dancer.

Julianne Moore in Dior. *Sigh*, you noticed I didn’t include her up there with the other Golden Girls. There’s a reason. I think the number one rule for red-heads is to know what colors you can wear. I’m not sure it’s entirely the color that is so bad, it’s just that there is too much of it. The high neck and long sleeves don’t allow her beautiful skin tone to be seen. For the record, no, I don’t like her but yet see how I can come up with a compliment?

Jena Malone in J. Mendel. I do love the Grecian goddess look as much as anyone, but this cut in this color doesn’t seem to do anything for her. And she obviously has Angelina Jolie Leg Syndrome with this pose. It was a bit pandemic last night; Heidi Klum and Lara Spencer also suffered.

The last commentary is reserved for January Jones in Zac Posen. I am still on the fence on this dress. I love the avant-garde-ness of it. I can see it being the winner for the Avante Garde Challenge on Project Runway. It fits her well and looks great against her fair skin, but I do wish the makeup was not so severe. The dress has enough going for it, no need to compete for attention with the severe bun (again!) and dark eyes. A pop of color in her shoes would not have been bad, either.

What did you think? Questions? Comments? Challenges? Who did I miss? OK, off to watch Fashion Police. Until next week!

All photos courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter. Individual photo credits available in file details.

Princess Diana and her Fashion Legacy

Last week marked the 15^th anniversary of the tragic death of Princess Diana. I still to this day recall where I was when I heard the news. I guess this event was one of many of our generations “Kennedy assassination moments”. I was pregnant with my younger daughter, and we were at a family reunion in Dwight, KS over Labor Day Weekend. We stayed in my great-grandparent’s Victorian house and the bedroom we slept in was the master bedroom. It was Kansas, in the summer, there were only window units downstairs, and I’m 5 months pregnant. Sleeping was not a pleasant experience. I remember the smell of the house, the faded 50 year old wallpaper, and staring up at the countless number of flies that hung out on the 12 foot ceilings. I think there was maybe a floor fan to help move the air around, but when ceilings are 12 feet high, a 4 foot floor fan really doesn’t do much good.

Anyway, I remember hearing the news that Princess Diana had been killed and it seemed that all the events of the weekend stopped to watch the story unfold on TV. I had remembered watching the royal wedding (just to see the dress, of course) and wondered really what this beautiful 20 year old wanted to do with an ugly English Prince? I was only 8 years younger than she was, so to watch her style grow and evolve as she became more comfortable in her role as Princess was like watching an older cousin getting ready for prom and being anxious for the day when it would be my turn. Looking back, I’m a bit dismayed that she was in the prime of her fashion life in the 80s. Really, could there have been a more bizarre, extreme, loud, garish decade? But, she was able to take the best it had to offer, and give an entire generation of girls an example of class and dignity and style.

A look back at some of my favorite Princess Diana looks:

The wedding dress, designed by David and Elizabeth Emmanuel required more than 43 yards of silk and 10,000 pearl and mother of pearl sequins. It has a small 18K gold and diamond horseshoe sewn in to the dress for good luck.

1985 Silver lame Bruce Oldfield gown worn to a benefit fashion show. Bruce Oldfield was one of the rumored designers for Kate Middleton’s wedding dress.

1985, at a London movie premier, Diana wore this Catherine Walker strapless pleated floral dress. Walker was one of Diana’s favorite designers, designing over 1000 garments for the Princess. Diana is buried in a black dress designed by Walker. Most recently, Walker designed Kate Middleton’s dresses for her North American tour and also designed the dress her mother wore to the wedding.

Diana became ever more bold in her fashion choices. Here, in 1990, she wore a houndstooth suit in contrasting black, white and red with matching red and black spectator pumps for the christening of her niece. Notice also the lack of hosiery. In the royal family, this was surely a fashion faux pas!

Diana was always very deliberate in her fashion choices when visiting foreign countries. She made a point to look tailored and classy, but always gave some kind of nod to the culture or history of the country she was visiting. Here, in a 1992 visit to Egypt, she chose an ivory safari inspired linen suit.

In June of 1997, just months before her tragic death, she attended an auction at Christie’s of some of her dresses. She wore a simple white linen dress with Chanel accessories. Always classy, always the personification of grace and elegance. Makes you wonder what wonderful things she would have been doing today.

Images courtesy of vogue UK