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This is a very interesting choice for Kyra Sedgwick – she usually wears a skintight dress to any awards show she attends. This time she went for strapless, a small waist and a very full skirt – in a deep blood wine Monique L’hullier. It’s extremely dramatic and interesting – but the hair HAS GOT TO DO!! Big hair and a big dress?? NO NO NO. It is not chic. If she’s worn her hair simple and back or up, it would be a winner. Her hairdresser needs some talking to!
As you’ll see, our attention switches to New York this week: fashion week for fall is about to begin, and all of the major Hollywood awards shows are over until the Oscars on March 7. (Not to say stylists and prs are scrambling for gowns right now – but it’s all happening behind the scenes for the next few weeks.) On Tuesday night, before NY’s giant blizzard of snow, lots of stars and VIPS converged on a hot new retail experience: Hermes first mens’ store in the U.S., which opened with a fete in the shop at 630 Madison at 62nd St. It is the site of a former Luca Luca boutique, conveniently set two blocks away from Barneys. The store was still painted two colors the afternoon of the party, reports the (more…)
Okay, we take back what we said about nobody wearing hip designers. Kyra Sedgwick is wearing a pink plum L’Wren Scott, very slender, with a low round neck that is lined in the same color ruffles, and there’s a sprig of rosettes on one shoulder. It’s simple, but the color and cut are so SO chic. The slit up the leg also adds a little sex to the girly color and ruffles. Very smart choice. Also, wearing her hair up in a messy chignon is very sexy with this dress. There’s a lot of hair up at the Emmy’s this year – what does that say about the economy? (Probably nothing, but we like to look for underlying meanings to these things!)
For seven years, menswear designer John Varvatos has hosted the Stuart House Benefit to raise money for the Rape Treatment Center. And this year’s Sunday event, complete with a performer by ZZ Top – those sharp dressed men – raised $350,000.00 for the Stuart House.
It’s always a great event, with loads of celebs bringing their kids for cupcakes and petting zoo’s. Varvatos had a little help by co-hosts Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, attracting 1500 peeps including Eric Dane, Justin Chambers, Bridget Moynahan, Angie Harmon, Greg Kinnear, Jim Belushi, Gina Gershon, Michael Chiklis, Shannon Doherty and Chris Cornell. Varvatos, along with Converse (he designs a line with Converse, as well), closed down Melrose from Robertson for a few blocks in either director. 25% of the boutique’s sales also went to the Stuart House. And even in this economy, people shopped for the cause. In fact, Varvatos said. “People come out to support a worthy cause no matter how difficult times are.” Varvatos is big on dressing celebs, and particulary, music men – his new ad campaign features Franz Ferdinand wearing his suits.
We at Fashion Rules are NOT label whores.
Well, okay – maybe we are!
Look, a great dress is a great dress – but for fifteen years, we’ve heard very little on a major red carpet outside of “Valentino,” “Chanel,” and “Dior.” So it’s really nice and even refreshing to hear OTHER names, particularly those that rarely show up on a red carpet – and have beautiful things.
Hats off to Katie Holmes, who looked JUST HOT in a tight Jil Sander spring 09 dress to the knee – with her short hair, slim cut sheath, and cool label, you could tell she’d lived in New York for the last few months. Jil Sander’s spring collection is one of the hottest ones of spring 09.
January Jones’s dress was lovely – a black halter gown with a hard gold breast place that surrounded her neck and waist – it was simple and dramatic at the same time. And who’s EVER worn Paris designer Andrew Gn on the red carpet? His clothes are beautiful – and expensive – but they never get on red carpets because he has no Hollywood pr.
Kyra Sedgwick, not exactly known for her fashion forwardness – although she always looks good – donned a strapless vintage Chanel, with a white bustier top and simple black bottom. All Chanel is good – but vintage Chanel is even BETTER – because you can’t identify what collection it’s from. Plus black and white is so hot right now.
Penelope Cruz in her couture Azzedine Alaia was just scalding – have you EVER seen a dress fit like that? Not only that – this was NOT an easy dress to procure. Azzendine’s people just don’t care about red carpets.
Laura Dern wore Burberry – and we are big fans of Burberry designer Christopher Bailey. He rarely does dressy clothes, but his cocktail dresses are always first rate – this was a very interesting way to go.
And Jennifer Morrison wore Paris designer Anne Valerie Hache, who is another great designer who flies below the radar – hopefully now her name will be – maybe not household – but at least, livingroom. – Merle Ginsberg
Yes, we know all you can think about are the two big O’s: the Oscars, and the Obamas. But save some time this Sunday for the 15th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which is a fairly different affair than the Golden Globes or the Critics Choice Awards. It’s much more focused on the thespian aspect of acting, and there’s only one party afterwards, hosted by People Magazine – so it’s a bit less festive, particularly in light of the fact that the Screen Actors Guild has a list of grievances, and might be going on strike shortly. Expect a somewhat more restrained tone – in the fashion as well as the speeches.
The red carpet pre-show will start at 3:05pm PST on TNT or TBS, and will last two hours – but we won’t be able to see the actual show till 8pm PST, as it will be tape delayed here on the West Coast (on TNT and TBS) – but if you want to see who’s winning, you can check CNN.com, MSNBC.com, Google news, or almost any internet news outlet between 5pm and 8pm, when it airs on the East Coast. E! will have a red carpet pre-show airing from 5pm to 8pm on Sunday; TV Guide Channel will air between 4pm and 8 pm, and CNN, between 6pm and 8pm.
The female nominees for the SAG Awards are exactly the same as for the Oscars on Feb 22, but with two exceptions: Kate Winslet is nominated in BOTH SAG categories, leading actress and supporting actress – but for the Oscars, she is nominated as only Leading Actress for “The Reader.” And Marisa Tomei did not get a SAG nomination for “The Wrestler,” because the fifth nominee in that category is of course Kate Winslet.
The female presenters at the SAGS are Taraji P. Henson, Amy Adams, Freida Pinto, Viola Davis, Kyra Sedgwick, Amy Poehler, Susan Sarandon and Christina Applegate – and yes, all the major tv stars will be there, too. And yes, Brad and Angelina are both nominated, and will definitely be there – even though they were in Paris this week to promote the international opening of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
SO – scorekeepers – what was the total tally of how it broke down on who-dressed-who at the Golden Globes? Since every designer and big fashion house was hustling nominees to dress them, who won the red carpet sweepstakes – the second biggest one outside of the Oscars?
Here’s the breakdown, according to the information received from Fashion Rules:
THE BIG WINNER OF THE NIGHT WAS: OSCAR DE LA RENTA, who dressed Kyra Sedgwick, Amy Adams, Jennifer Morrison and Marisa Tomei. He had FOUR great women in his gowns.
After that, it breaks down like this:
JOHN GALLIANO FOR CHRISTIAN DIOR: Drew Barrymore, Eva Mendes, Sandra Bullock
ROBERTO CAVALLI: Rita Wilson, Christina Applegate, Jessica Lange
J MENDEL: Taraji P. Hensen, Kate Beckinsale, Elizabeth Banks
REEM ACRA: Rumer Willis, Eva Longoria, Olivia Wilde
ARMANI PRIVE: Penelope Cruz, Anne Hathaway
ATELIER VERSACE: Angelina Jolie, January Jones
LANVIN: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kristin Scott Thomas
ELIE SAAB: Beyonce’, Laura Linney, Evan Rachel Wood
YSL: Kate Winslet
MARCHESA: Jennifer Lopez, Miley Cyrus
VINTAGE FROM DECADES: Heidi Klum in vintage Galanos, Sophie Dahl in vintage Ceil Chapman
CHRISTIAN LACROIX: Freida Pinto
NINA RICCI: Blake Lively
CHADO RALPH RUCCI: Rachel Griffiths
BOTTEGA VENETA: Salma Hayek
HUGO BOSS: Susan Sarandon
GIANFRANCO FERRE: Hayden Panettiere
HERVE LAROUX: Anna Pacquin
LOUIS VUITTON: Laura Dern
CAROLINA HERRERA: Renee Zellwegger
VERA WANG: Debra Messing
Since Sarah Jessica Parker stopped going to the Emmys, the high fashion quotient of this particular red carpet has fallen off considerably. Watching the 60th annual Emmys on Sunday night, we wondered: where are the labels? Sure, true fashionista Heidi Klum was trend-spot-on in her metallic one shoulder tiered Armani Prive’ – but where was the Dior? (Rita Wilson WAS wearing Dior, but it was white, and didn’t fit her properly at all.) Where was the Chanel? Where was the Lanvin, the Nina Ricci, the Givenchy, the Balenciaga? The Valentino? There are so many fabulous dresses out there right now – Anna Hathaway’s Versace at the Venice Film Festival took our breath away – but the Emmy dresses were wildly typical.
True, Kyra Sedgwick DID wear L’Wren Scott, a very progressive designer – but a tight white cocktail sheath is not a huge fashion statement. The problem with the Emmys is that they hit between NY and London fashion weeks, and then Milan, which started today. Somehow, it ups the ante for Emmy visuals when fashionistas everywhere are checking out Style.com to look at the fresh looks for Europe every minute.
Since everyone is doing TOP TEN LISTS, here is Fashionrules.com’s TOP TEN LIST OF EMMY FASHION, in no particular order:
JANUARY JONES: We know a lot of critics were hoping to see Ms. Jones, a spittin’ image of Grace Kelly, channel her character Betty Draper from “Mad Men” – and we can undertand why: Betty is beyond chic in her Hermes riding looks and lovely skirts and sweaters. However, we love that January wore a white Dolce & Gabbana fishtail gown – she is one of the few women in the world who could look good in something like this. It was made for her. It’s daring, it’s tight, it’s sexy – and she rocked it. We also loved the Grecian headbands she wrapped around her, totally staying away from Betty Draper’s little wavy flip.
MARCIA CROSS: We’ve heard a lot of flack about Marcia’s pale lace and tulle couture cocktail dress by Elie Saab – but we LOVED it. So what if it’s the same color as her skin? There is no rule that says that’s a crime – as long as it looks good, and it did. (The red hair helped.) We loved the lace insets, which is a huge trend for fall –and the full tulle skirt, which is exactly what we saw on the spring runways of NY Fashion week. Nothing desperate or housewifey here at all.
HEIDI KLUM: Heidi knows how to work a look, and years of practice have taught this ex-super-model how to work it head to toe. Because her metallic one shoulder tiered Armani Prive gown was a stunner – and had a lot of fabric – she pulled back the hair, and worked a lowkey makeup look. With the wrong makeup and hair, this dress could have been a disaster – but Heidi knows the golden rule of flamboyant dresses: take everything else down a peg. It came off like a charm – and she made a major dress look almost simple – and chic. She actually looked comfortable in that dress – a hard thing to pull off. The dress NEVER wears Heidi – Heidi ALWAYS wears the dress.
MARISKA HARGITAY: There’s yellow – and then there’s marigold. Mariska’s Carolina Herrera asymmetrical gown was a bold choice, and went well with her skintone and her haircolor. We also loved her cute French twist, which was chic and made the dress look more high fashion – but not TOO high fashion. A perfect head to toe look – very now. Chic, high fashion – and a little bit casual, as her hair was loose and her makeup downplayed.
CHRISTINA APPLEGATE: The light blue sari-like Reem Acra dress is pretty, and particularly pretty on a blonde. But there’s a lot of fabric here, and it kind of took over Applegate’s look – we really couldn’t see her fabulous figure. Also, the tight high up-do and deep red lips made this dress seem much more formal than it was. Applegate did not look like she was having fun. The dress was soft and flowy – and hair and makeup, very grown up and matronly. They simply didn’t well work together. We wanted to pull her hair looser, wipe off the lipstick, and take a scissor to half the dress. Then it would have been a winner.
PERREY REEVES: Reeves donned an Alice Temperley cream strapless dress with red and black detail – and Temperley’s dresses are floaty, beautifully designed, and unique – congrats for picking a great designer who’s underused on the red carpet. Her hair was soft and pretty, and we saw a whole other side of her from Entourage’s uptight anorexic Mrs. Ari.
OLIVIA WILDE: It doesn’t hurt that “House’s” Wilde is a true exotic beauty. But instead of going for a sexy Pussycat Dolls look, she chose a demure pearl grey Reem Acra Grecian chiffon gown with small cap sleeves – and it really highlighted her beauty. She looked better than anyone – and it wasn’t all about her dress. It was all about her.
SANDRA OH: We simply LOVE this black and neutral lace Oscar de la Renta gown with a bow belt – it hits all the right trends, and even with a skirt that bells into tiers of lace, it is still shaped to Sandra’s lithe body. A winner!!! This gown manages to grab attention while remaining a bit quiet – a hard combo to come by.
CHRISTINA HENDRICKS: “Mad Men’s” busty redhead busted out of the series in her first red carpet appearance in an emerald dress Grecian gown by Tadashi that accentuates her overflowing cleavage and her creamy skintone. Again, she chose to play away from Joan Holloway, her “Mad Men” sexy secretary – and show her modernity. We love a redhead in bright green. And in this age of the 90 pound actress, we love a voluptuous goddess.
DEBRA MESSING: Messing is a fashion pro – she simply gets it, and always has. Since “Will & Grace” has gone off the air, she’s had a tendency to play it down and play it safe – but her safe is everybody else’s risk. Her wavy hair and heavy lashes did her justice, and the black strapless Monique L’hullier gown with a big lacy skirt was both dramatic and subtle at the same time. Also, she was accompanying her husband, who was nominated for writing – and didn’t want to steal his thunder. But Ms. Messing always has a little fashion thunder clapping wherever she goes.
HONORABLE MENTION:
BROOKE SHIELDS: LOVE the color of this Badgley Mischka fuscia floral lace gown, and only a woman as tall and chic as Brooke could pull this off. It took some nerve – and she’s got it.
VANESSA WILLIAMS: She looked slinky and chic in this Kevan Hall white mermaid gown with black and pink floral detail. Williams was one of the very few women to brave wearing a print – and she carried it solidly. Wisely, she toned down the hair and makeup, and looked gorgeous. A tigress in the lipstick jungle.
TINA FEY: Her deep purple strapless David Meister was very sexy for this normally underdone comedienne. But she wore it well – keeping her hair messy so that she didn’t have to look like she was trying too hard. Tina – you’re nearly at bombshell status: don’t hold back!!! She needs to get that embarrassed, “Is this really ME?” look off her face, and own it.
AMERICA FERRERA: One of the few actresses who can pull off red lipstick, she waved her hair forties style to go with it, and donned a strapless vintage ruched dress that looked really old Hollywood, but modern at the same time. How is it ugly Betty is emerging as a real fashions star? Well, if you work at a fashion magazine . . .
And, as long as we’re doing the TOP TEN LIST, we might as well do a NOT QUITE GOOD ENOUGH list, too:
KATE WALSH: Oh, Kate! You look so hot and sexy in your scrubs – why didn’t you just wear those? We’re all in favor of actresses breaking out of their tv images – in her case, “Grey’s Anatomy’s” and “Private Practice’s” Addison Montgomery – but with a blunt bob and dark red lips and in a super tight Zuhair Murad HORIZONTAL STRIPED DRESS (the ultimate no no!!! Kate Walsh looking hippie?) was SO not Addison, she was barely recognizable. Kate – fire your stylist. It ain’t workin. You can do so much better.
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS: We live salmon color, and we liked it on Julia. We love Narciso Rodriguez. But this dress is WAY TOO TIGHT for JLD’s body. It belongs on a runway model, not a star this fleshy. How great it might have looked if Narciso had done it in a softer, more forgiving fabric – but then, that isn’t what he does. He does skintight. That’s why his clothes don’t usually make it to awards shows, unless they’re on Rachel Weisz, who somehow pulls it off. Perhaps she should lend her set of spanx to Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
EVA LONGORIA PARKER: The silver bow and fringe flapper dress by Marchesa is super cute for a movie premier or a cocktail party – but not the Emmys. It looks wildly undignified – although to Eva’s credit, it IS fashion forward. Cute, yes – chic, no. There’s too much bust showing AND too much leg – Eva never learned you have to chose just one. Also, the flat flat bob and the heavily contoured brown blush with no lip color and what looks like an entire cake of black liner is just SO eighties, we’re having a Joan Collins moment. Eva clearly thinks she has become Victoria Beckham – but she isn’t tall enough – nor bold enough – to pull off what Posh can pull off. Who is?’’
LAUREN CONRAD: Lauren Conrad designed Lauren Conrad’s navy strapless dress with the brooch – and quite honestly, she needs a better designer. LC does fine with simple prom styles for her 16 year old fans – but for the Emmys, she could have done a lot better. We know a marketing tool when we see one. Navy is nice – but what about a full short skirt with a tight bodice, and a tulle underskirt, a la Oscar de la Renta? Lauren didn’t get that lesson in sewing class ye t- she’s still on strapless prom dress 101. Next time, Lauren, wear Nina Ricci. Honey, leave it to the experts. You can sell your dresses at Target, but not with millions watching.
TERI HATCHER: Teri’s Monique L’hullier ruffled yellow gown was pretty – but better for a summer awards show than a fall one. Maybe L.A. WAS in the eighties on Emmy day – but nowhere else was. Yellow is the hardest color of all to wear, as we know – and while it works well on brunettes, the dress just took over – and Teri’s slightly fell-out-of-bed hair and makeup made it look like she threw on her nightgown, hailed a cab, and ran over.
HAYDEN PANETTIERE: The young star looks fresh with her hair simple and pulled back, but the dress looks like it’s her mothers – it’s too long and it’s too mature. With all those fresh ballerina looks out there, it’s a shame she had to look so dour.
HOLLY HUNTER: First of all, Hunter didn’t know that the “young L.A. designer Jenny Packham” is actually a British designer. Know your designers, people!! You got the dress for free, now memorize a few lines! We liked Hunter in the lavender color, but the dress has little shape, and was built for a twenty year old. Hunter’s got a great figure, but could have used more tailoring and shape – not a halter that just hangs there. Also, her frizzy over-dyed blonde hair didn’t help matters. This is the way teenagers go to awards shows: NOT Oscar winners. Holly, fire your stylist.
Attention: The Emmy’s are this Sunday: do you know where your gown is? Inside word is it won’t be the most glam Emmy’s of all time, for several reasons: 1/ the economy, and 2/ many of the female nominees are of the older variety, i.e., Sally Field, Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, Diahann Carroll, Ellen Burstyn, Judi Dench, Candace Bergen, Jean Smart, Holland Taylor, Eileen Atkins – and these ladies are not fashion fixated. But of course, The Desperate Housewives will be there, so will the casts of “Ugly Betty” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” and Tina Fey, Christina Applegate, Mary-Louise Parker, Vanessa Williams, Susan Sarandon, Debra Messing, Rita Wilson, Mariska Hargitay, Rachel Griffiths, Kyra Sedgwick, Cynthia Nixon, Laura Linney and Anjelica Huston will all be on hand, too. At least Heidi Klum will add some fashion glam as one of the seven hosts of the show. We know she’s wearing Giorgio Armani on the carpet – but she will probably have at least six changes. Her stylist Maryam Malakpour is NOT talking, that’s for sure.
Once you’ve got the dress (Barneys has the fall Dries van Noten collection in the window), start thinking parties: The hot ticket party is of course the HBO after party, at the Pacific Design Center on Sunday night. That’s where the casts of “Entourage,” “John Addams,” and “Bernard and Doris” will convene (Ralph Fiennes at an Emmy party? Well, there’s a - for everything), and no doubt, more stars, writers, and directors. The other hot party is the joint effort between Entertainment Tonight and People Magazine at the Disney Hall, which will have Jason Bentley as deejay, and Billy Idol as musical entertainment. (A step down from Prince and Duran Duran, who’ve performed in years’ past - but from the same decade as they are, anyway.) TV Guide’s party has the hippest entertainment: new band MGMT and The Bravery will play. Twentieth Century Fox and Fox Broadcasting cancelled their usual post-Emmy soiree, blaming on the economy. Yes, we know Rupert Murdoch is hurting bad, right? - Merle Ginsberg
