Okay. I think somewhere in last night’s whiskey-soaked Oscar post, I said that Julie Christie looked fabulous. Because I only saw her sitting. I only saw that gorgeous face. What I didn’t see were the leg-warmers on her arms:
So I was in the dark til now about her nearly full-body Sharpei look. And today, she’s gotten a lot of vehement post-Oscar criticism for this look and deservedly so: “Horrible.” “Worst dressed.” “What in tarnation was she thinking?” etc.
But then Helen Mirren has also gotten horribly ragged on for this because of the sleeves:
Now, come on. The silhouette on Mirren’s gown — the overall shape and what it does to her waist — is amazing. And I don’t hate the sleeves, either, but they’re not my favorite part of the gown. But to blast these two as if the fashion missteps are equal? No. I don’t get it.
And maybe that’s why Vogue isn’t calling me to be their editor. Bastards.
Helen Mirren looked amazing. I thought the sleeves were a tad off but the gown on the whole – particularly when viewed straight on from the front as when she was presenting – was magnificent. Keep in mind that these are the same critics who ragged on poor little Ellen Page for wearing a simple black dress – because she’s young enough and thin enough to wear something racy or daring. If she HAD gone out on a limb, they’d have ripped her up for it.
I do have to say that I agree with the general assessment critics made of the dress George Clooney’s gal pal wore. Cannot remember her name. Anyhoo, it was shiny and a little iridescent and very floral. It kind of had “ugly couch” written all over it – but the woman’s beautiful so she looked great in spite of her oddball gown.
I liked Mirren’s dress. The sleeves maybe not so much but I LOVE the silhouette and the color on her.
I also like that she wore a full-length gown. Just my opinion but I tend to feel that if it’s a super-dressy event, the full length ball-gown type thing is the most appropriate thing. One thing I’m not so nuts about with Christie’s dress is the length.
Um, I love Helen Mirren’s dress, even the sleeves part. What crack are people smoking?
Oh yeah. Hollywood Crack.
Marisa — Yeah, “ugly couch,” hahahahaha! Totally agree on that. And Rebecca Miller, DD-L’s wife, was very bad — like, empirically, overall BAD. It was like the designer just took every piece of scrap he found on his floor and hot glued it to her dress.
ricki — Yes, I think the occasion calls for a full-length gown, too. And on Mirren’s dress, I keep thinking how the sleeves could be better and I’m coming up blank, honestly. I mean, if you make the sleeves out of the same fabric as the dress, I think the whole look would be kinda heavy. The lacy rhinestone (or whatever) look does add light and lightness to the dress. So I’m trying to figure out what EXACTLY about it doesn’t quite work. Is it the pattern? Does it look too chunky? Does it need to be a diff. color? What if it were a pretty lace in the same color as the dress — same color, but breaking up the darkness a bit? I dunno. Since she’s wearing sleeves, one assumes she WANTS sleeves, but how could they be different and better? Any ideas?
But yeah, straight on, when she walked out to present, it’s the silhouette on that dress that you notice. It was just kind of YOWZA, sexy.
sarahk — /Hollywood Crack/ hahahahaha.
I’m thinking the sleeve problem is a combination of the lacy leaf-shaped things in them being too BIG, and possibly white not being the best color.
I do think a color closer to the dress – but still lacy – might have worked better. (But then again, I tend to err on the side of “too low a contrast” in things, so I might not be the best person here). Or maybe more of a cream color- the white seems a little stark.
Maybe there are also too many patterns going on, with those leaf-shapes (or at least that’s what I interpret them as) and the stripes. If the stripes were gone and were either solid or a smaller version of the leaf-shapes, I think I’d like it better.
I see what you mean. I frequently don’t understand what the judges on Project Runway are looking for, either. Maybe when it comes to the Oscars, all fashion sins are equal?
I almost don’t care what they’re wearing, b/c I’m too busy wishing I’ll look as good as they do when I’m their age. My second thought was (of Helen’s), “Holy cow, that’ll be my wedding dress.” ‘Cause unless a revolution happens in the next couple years, I’ll have to beg someone to tack on sleeves to anything these days–can’t remember the last time I saw a wedding dress that wasn’t strapless.
Kate P — Oh, thanks for saying that. Now I know I’m not the only one who’s bored with the strapless look. It’s like they’ve been banned from weddings forever. And gowns in general. BRING THEM BACK!!
You sometimes have to wonder if the stylists are not putting on the client.
in 1998 we were quite sure that Madonna’s were rolling about on their couch, crying with laughter and high-fiving each other: ‘Ha! She bought it! She’s actually going out there looking like that! Hahahahahahaha!”
Wedding Dress Revolution!!!
🙂