shot of sass, served on (n)ice

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

3 Good Ideas, 3 Iffy Executions

Each of these women, I think, started out with a good idea.  Then, somewhere along the way, it went a little awry and just didn't quite materialize on the red carpet. One of the three ladies featured in today's post actually made my "best dressed" list. However, I've gleaned from the comments that some of you were not as pleased as I about her overall look.  And, if I'm being honest with myself, I also took issue with a couple of aspects of her outfit. 

So let's get to it. Kate Winslet.


Overall, I really like the dress. It's interesting but also minimal, and I'm almost always a fan of one-shoulder tops.  (I *may* have worn such dress to my high school graduation. Completely inappropriate, since it was a curve-hugging minidress, but damn it I was staking my independence from the oppressive high school regime. I digress.) Then again. . .the one shoulder here is a little awkward. It is sort of abrupt and angular, and not really fitting the flowy mood of the rest of the dress.  And the armpit of it is weird; I feel like it should be cut more narrow or something. I don't know the lingo, I don't sew.

Then we have the hair:


I actually really like her hair. It's very old Hollywood glam, and I think it fits the dress. The hair + makeup + only earrings = simplistic beauty to me.  However, now that the Lego-ness of it has been called to my attention by Sheila, I can't stop thinking about it.  So thanks for that, Sheila : )

At the end of the day, I still think she was one of the most gorgeous ladies of the evening; her sheer delight at winning was contagious.  But I also have to agree with Kate's 8-year-old daughter - a different color might have been a knock out.

Marisa Tomei


This dress is getting all kinds of mixed reviews.  The Fug Girls do a much better/funnier job of dissecting it than I could ever attempt to do, so you should totally check out their analysis.  They aptly point out the folded-napkin-ness of it all.  I mean yes, complete admirable attention to detail.  No one can deny the workmanship that went into this garment.  But really? Her one-strappy thing is also a little defunct and the train is too much. Yet, I can't say I don't like it. Sort of like with Kate, I feel like it fell just short of being phenomenal, and landed flat on its face (just like I did while running with the dog on Saturday).

She also has some hair problems. (You can see more hair views if you click the link on her name.) I can't get a good grasp of whether she has her hair tied back or not. It appears as though some of it is in a side ponytail, some of it not.  But if you take a step back from all that, it doesn't really look all that bad. It's sort of wispy and romantic.  I just don't know about this one. I just don't know.

Amy Adams


From most of the accounts I've read, she is getting totally trashed for this choice. I mean, it's not the best. dress. ever., but is it really that awful? Ok, maybe.  It's hard for me to be hard on this dress because in theory, I just love it. Red = good, interesting cut = good, black detailing = good.  It just all comes together sort of disastrously. 

Let's focus on the positives first. Her hair is simple but dress-appropriate.  Make-up looks great. Necklace kicks ass. Ok, ok. I know that one is going to be a divisive opinion, but I'm sticking to it. Love the chunky, gaudy, pebbly look of the necklace.  Does it go with the dress. . .I'm not sure yet.

The problems are so many, I don't even know where to start. The bodice is almost Moulin Rouge-y. In a bad way. If you don't believe me, check out this picture of the back. Ugh. It just hugs her all kinds of wrong and the complete fabric mismatch is abundantly apparent.  Then there's this picture of the front which makes it look all lumpy and bunchy and WTF?

Why doesn't this dress work?! I want to like, and I do sort of like it, but I don't know. It's not wowing me the way it should.  Maybe this time the black detailing should've been skipped? Without it the dress would be so blah. . .but I think the black lines contribute to the confusion.

It's all too much. I need some wine. I leave it to you, readers, to help me out on this one.

7 tips left at the bar:

Ruby said...

Am I the only one that doesn't think Kate Winslet is a knock out? I just don't see her as THAT pretty. I think what may be throwing you off about the one shoulder-ness of her dress is the fact that her boobs don't match. At least that's what gets it for me. Yes, the hair. Very Lego-ish indeed, Sheila!

(Did y'all notice that quite a few ladies were wearing blue with black dresses?! I think I have at least counted three, and I haven't seen most of the dresses!)

Marisa's dress was too much like a set of blinds for me. And boo on her hair too, I think.

I love the daily dose of Oscar, Niki!

Niki said...

Here's the thing about Winslet - I don't think the photos do it justice. On Oscar night I remember watching her and thinking she looked stunning. Now, Tuesday night with my wine I can pick out all sorts of problems. Perhaps what made her so pretty on Oscar night was the way SHE wore the dress and not the other way around. Her overall attitude and demeanor rocked the outfit and a paparazzi photo can't capture it. That's my 2 cents.

Also, I just had to add that the Fug Girls did a great piece on the Amy Adams dress with which I whole-heartedly concur:
http://gofugyourself.celebuzz.com/go_fug_yourself/amy_adams/

Ruby said...

PS: WHERE ARE TEMPE AND ASHLEY on all of this?! Surely those girls have something to say!

Niki said...

I know, right? Maybe I just haven't touched on their favorite/least favorite looks of the evening. Give it time, give it time. This stuff is flowing out of me like water. I may need to quit my day job to finish out the week.

As for the blue and black - I definitely noticed and it's totally on the agenda!

penelope said...

I'm kind of in love with Kate Winslet, in general. She could wear a potato sack, and I would still be in love. I like the dress--but you're right Niki, it's totally the way SHE wears it. Has anyone read any interviews with her? She just warms my heart. Love! Her!

Anonymous said...

Wow - I had no idea my Lego-hair comment would get such mileage. I'm blushing!

Just a comment about Amy Adams. I really love her, and I think for me this issue is her red hair with that red dress. Red heads (me included) have to be really careful on the color of red. The necklace went with her hair, and the necklace (sorta) went with the dress. But the combo pack (hair, necklace, dress) just didn't work. She looked unbalanced somehow.

BTW - I just saw a picture from the Vanity Fair party, and Penelope Cruz changed her dress! And I MUCH preferred the one she wore to that party over the Barbie dress.

Niki said...

Sheila - you sent me searching for Penelope's VF party dress, and I will agree, much better than Barbie Princess. The site I found (this was hours ago, at work, have no idea what it was), anyway, the site I found had lots of candids from the party and I kind of loved it. The celebs were lounging casually on ugly couches, taking smushed-together girly pictures, making silly poses with their Oscars - they totally looked like "real" people and not movie stars. It was refreshing.

And yeah, the combo just didn't work. I also sort of think the dress in this combo looks kind of, hate to say it, but cheap? I don't know. Something about it seems less Oscar-worthy, like it was on the rack of dresses only slightly more expensive that Amanda Seyfried's prom bow disaster.

Enough. I'm going to bed. I hate the way I can talk about this shit for hours. I guess we just have to learn to accept ourselves. And not blog while drinking...