We can pretty much predict what celebrities will wear on a night time red carpet – that’s become predictable. But industry lunches are still “anything goes.” For instance, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association – the group that stages and votes on The Golden Globe Awards – held a luncheon this week at the Four Seasons Doheny. The attendees were across the board of film and television, and also, across the board, fashion-wise. For instance, Nicole Kidman wore an olive green sort of leafy color garden party dress in the fifties style that’s so popular for fall: a tight bodice and a full skirt. This is a silhouette we haven’t seen in many a season – leave to Nicole to kick off the trend. Jane Lynch wore a silver blazer over her black trousers. And Annette Bening and Eva Longoria (Hollywood’s most ubiquitous actress – is there a party she hasn’t been at?) both did the “safe black shift” industry look. Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad” and John Slattery of “Mad Men” also turned up. So we can guess who’s looking for Golden Globe nominations – which won’t be out till early December.

Usually, with red carpets at awards shows, there’s some consistency: at MTV events, girls go short and rocker. At most music events, the ladies go mini and fun. For the Globes and Oscars and SAGS, the long grown up gowns come out. Well, at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Vegas this weekend, there was every kind of fashion imaginable on the red carpet – including BAD. Our favorite, of course, was Nicole Kidman in a L’Wren Scott tuxedo mini dress and groovy lace up shoes. She was the perfect compliment to her husband Keith Urban, and looked fresh and modern and chic. Scott is Kidman’s former stylist who turned major designer, and of course, L’Wren’s boyfriend is a bit of a famous musician himself – Mick Jagger. After that, we loved Faith Hill in this white stark modern Kaufman Franco sheath, with a bit of extensiveness at the shoulder line – it’s not what you expect on Faith Hill, and that’s why we love it. She looks like she’s in L.A. or N.Y. and not at country music awards fest. She’s a country queen stepping gingerly out of her comfort zone.
LeAnn Rimes isn’t known for style sense, but maybe new man Eddie Cibrian is having a big effect on her – she’s wearing a tres chic navy satin Lanvin cocktail dress that’s VERY tight, but it looks damn good on her. Lanvin at the ACMS???? This is news!
As for Taylor Swift, the youngster went very traditional, in this big Marchesa ballgown. We wish she’d gone with her age, but she went with her position – belle of the ball. C’mon, Taylor- let’s break the mold, girl. You don’t have to look like the queen of the prom.

As every true watcher of Golden Globe fashion observed this Sunday, peachy pale pink was one of the major colors for gowns by the most fashionable women – blue and purple were the other two. We predicted color, so we feel a bit arrogant right now – and ladies went for color, despite the pouring L.A. rain and cold. It’s not like they knew how bad the weather would be when those choices were made – or there would have been matching umbrellas! This nude pink is probably THE biggest color for spring 2010, and it’s interesting to see how various stylists and celebs went fashion forward, instead of going with the NOW (black, dark green, red).

Our favorite pale pink was Emily Blunt’s mermaid shaped but chiffon ruffled Dolce & Gabbana gown. Emily usually wears black, and it lit up her whole face and skintone to wear this peachy pink shade, and even with simple hair, makeup and jewelry, she stood out. The dress fit her perfectly. We also REALLY loved Maggie Gyllenhaal’s more orangey RM gown by Roland Mouret. Maggie has never looked better or been more glamourous. She always looks chic and funky, but she rarely looks sexy – and this time, she did. The dress was really fitted, had a lot of origami detail, and with her hair up, she was breathtaking. Roland Mouret is an amazing choice and he makes very body conscious clothes. We have a feeling Maggie probably took up pilates in the last few months to wear that dress. It was worth it. Nicole Kidman’s peach silk Nina Ricci hasn’t gotten that much press, but when we looked at it again, we decided it was just so Parisienne and beautiful. It was a tiny bit flowey with ruffles and slightly loose, so it looked very Alberta Ferretti or Commes des Garcons – a bit more avant garde than Nicole’s usual, but then Nicole’s ALWAYS made interesting fashion choices. We love the dress. Drew Barrymore’s Aterlier Versace is a gorgeous color for her – but we’ve already talked about how the crystal detail at the hip of the dress isn’t flattering. Everything else about it is. Diane Kruger’s gradient pink Christian LaCroix haute couture gown is more pink than peach, but we LOVE all its detail and ruching and rosettes. Now THAT’S a gown. We’re amazed it hasn’t gotten more press – it’s a stunner and it really stood out. And Christina Aguilera’s peach Versace with metallic is a nice combo of sweet and sexy, and with her new bob, she looks very young and girlish and soft – it’s a lovely new look for her movie debut. If Mariah can do movies, why not Christina?
In conclusion, peachy pink is THE spring color, so start stocking up on pieces now – it’s a better color for a blouse or dress than a skirt. Marni’s new peach ruffle blouse is one of the best spring pieces we’ve seen for an LA wardrobe picker upper.

Sure, everyone and their brother is nominated for a Golden Globe – what with all those tv and film categories, divided into dramas and comedies, and even tv movies getting their own categories. The Queen of the Globes this year will undoubtedly be Sandra Bullock, who now that “The Blind Side” passed the 200 million dollar mark is now the highest box office earning female star in the world – beyond Meryl Streep or Julia Roberts. But these ladies have been named presenters and will also add to the fashion mayhem: Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren, Jennifer Aniston and Julia Roberts. So now new stylists will be employed, and new hair and makeup people will be working – and will see more amazing outfits, jewelry, and the like. On the guy side, Colin Farrell, Sam Worthington of “Avatar,” Gerard Butler, Mel Gibson and Gerard Butler will be GG presenters. More fodder for Armani, Prada and YSL.

One would hate to be standing next to Nicole Kidman in a fashion competition. The Oscar winning actress has proved again and again that when it comes to fashion, she’s in a class by herself. Even in a cast of femmes as provocative as the cast of “Nine,” Nicole rules. Sure, Penelope Cruz can look amazing, she’s got the goods – but she inevitably almost always wears something simple and black. That’s not a negative – unless you’re standing next to Nicole Kidman, who’s in an amazing shade of dusty rose, with a small feathery cape in the same shade over it. Even Fergie in her tiny cut out dress, super sexy, dulls in comparison to Nicole. So that’s the story, ladies. Black is fabulous for looking slim -and color is what to do when you want to stand out! Meanwhile, where was Kate Hudson? She was in New York, shooting the David Letterman Show – in this chic black tuxedo coat and killer legs.

Wireimage.com has photos of last night’s Country Music Awards – the red carpet, backstage, the audience. Some performers, like Carrie Underwood, changed outfits – but she was one of the ABC show’s hosts. (She went from long glittery gown to short glittery Nicole Miller cocktail dress.) But which of THESE looks did Nicole Kidman – accompanying her husband Keith Urban – actually wear? The Jimmy Choo people sent out a release of Nicole in this short red strapless dress and their pumps – to the Country Music Awards. Wireimage’s photo of her with her husband shows her wearing another red dress – this one a gown, with Nicole showing a fair amount of cleavage – something she’s not only never shown – but never HAD before having a child. The long gown look sports curly big hair and looks very “country.” We will get to the bottom of this and report back. We doubt Nicole wore both looks.

Harvey Weinstein has just become actress Anne Hathaway’s knight in shining armour. He’s cast her in the lead of the “Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland.”

Hathaway was a dancer in her teens, and is also a good singer, as we saw on the Oscars last month, when Hugh Jackman swept her up into a song and dance routine on stage. The movie’s based on a book by biographer Gerald Clarke, who interviewed hundreds of people in Garland’s life, all the way from her childhood stardom from “The Wizard of Oz,” till her death in the late sixties.

It’s a huge undertaking for Hathaway, who proved she can deal with dark material this year in “Muriel’s Wedding,” playing a recovering addict. Garland, of course, was both an alcoholic and an addict – so Anne’s got her work cut out for her.

Harvey Weinstein has a great track record with musicals, even though The Weinstein Company isn’t having the best time right now – he produced “Chicago,” and this fall, TWC has “Nine” coming out – a musical by “Chicago” director Rob Marshall, starring Daniel Day Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson and Marion Cottilard.

We hope “Get Happy” gets an incredible costume designer! Judy Garland was actually rather chic – when she was sober. Remember, her daughter Liza Minelli became a huge part of the Halston crowd in the New York of the seventies.

They haven’t named a director, castmates or a release date for this movie yet. No doubt, Anne is on a soundstage somewhere right now, belting it out Garland-style. 

You’ve probably read stories that tell you that guys like Tom Cruise and David Spade – not exactly the tallest guys in Hollywood – stand on apple carts or platforms when acting opposite tall ladies like Katie Holmes, Nicole Kidman or Charlize Theron. And let’s face it – how is a guy of normal height supposed to deal with ladies wearing 4 and 5 inch heels for the last few years? They say women are okay with towering over their men  - but we’re always wondered how the guys feel about it.

Now we know. Three (smart) Hollywood guys just invented a great product to level the playing field, called Liftkits (Myliftkits.com) For somewhere between $15.00 dollars and $35.00 depending on the style of the insert, men can now be a full 2 inches taller. Like every other beauty product, Liftkits become hot by being on the celebrity circuit – and actors were grabbing them at one of the Oscar gifting suites like free botox. There are hi-top and lo-top models, they fit right into any men’s shoe, and allow the average guy to now be the longer, leaner guy – which gives him the advantage in the job world, the dating world – and what other worlds matter? You can buy them on the site, and as women who love to wear Louboutins, we are all in favor of guys grabbing these!!! They’ve got to be more comfortable than 4 inch high heels. And they’ll even make you look better in your clothes. But you might need to wear longer jeans!!

Designer L’Wren Scott was back in L.A. this week, where she lived for many years in an old Charles Bukowski house in the Hollywood Hills, to do both a fall 09 collection trunk show at Barneys – where she sold MANY pieces (what recession?), and to finesse Nicole Kidman’s Oscar gown, which was from her spring collection (she changed the decolletage and some other details for Nicole), and to go to Oscar parties with paramour Mick Jagger.

We caught up with her at Barneys, where the 6’2” beauty – taller in heels (her very first L’Wren Scott shoe collection debuts in the fall, and it is GOOD) – was wearing her own pale grey jeans cut like trousers, and an amazing jacquard pale grey and white corset tuxedo-cut vest over a white bow blouse – and was also wearing some of her own jewelry designs in diamonds that had the Barneys’ ladies drooling while trying on pieces from spring and fall.

“The spring pieces just came in last week, and a lot of it’s sold out already,” a Barneys employee told us. The women who showed up – Lindy G, wife of musician Kenny G, Jaclyn Smith (yes, the “Charlies Angels” one) shopping for looks for the next and last season of “Shear Genius,” Peggy Washburn, Susan Becker and others – didn’t know what to go for first: spring – in mostly pales – or next year’s fall, in blacks and deep forest greens. It was a toss up. A saleswoman was wearing a three quarter length sleeve tight white sheath from spring, over the knee, covered in a light black lace – for around $4500.00. That dress was nearly sold out.

Scott brought along a video of her tightly edited fall show from New York last week, and was pointing out looks to women. “That’s the new headmistress dress,” she explained of a tight dark knit dress with thread embroidery around the neck, with a tight silhouette that fits snug over the knees – her dresses are NOT short – but they ARE tight. “But they look good on all sizes of women,” she explained. “We make up to an Italian size 48 now. Women with fuller figures look great in these clothes – they look like WOMEN.” If you remember how hot Ellen Barkin looked in “Oceans 13,” she was wearing all L’Wren Scott dresses, made singularly for that film, in shades of pink and rose. She never looked better.

Scott is in her 4th season of designing, which grew out of styling such chic ladies as Nicole Kidman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Barkin and Julianne Moore. “I enjoyed styling,” she says, “but that was executing someone else’s vision (she often worked with Herb Ritts and Karl Lagerfeld). “Now I get to execute my own vision. something I’ve always wanted to do.” Her showroom is in Paris, and she fluctuates between Paris, London and New York – not a bad life.

FASHION RULES: Do you miss L.A.?

L’WREN SCOTT: Absolutely. I have so many friends here. And I miss this weather. It’s freezing everywhere else in the world right now.

FASHION RULES: So Madonna is wearing one of your looks in the new March W – a black long sleeved dress with white collar and cuffs.

L’WREN SCOTT: Yes, that’s pretty exciting – it looks great on her.

FASHION RULES: So what was the overriding theme of the fall collection?

L’WREN SCOTT: I like to build my collections on colors and on staples, so when you buy pieces, you are really adding to your wardrobe, and you’re getting a new color palette. The clothes are timeless and modern at the same time. You can see that for fall, I’m working in dark greens and bright greens, along with black.

FASHION RULES: Even the coats in fall 09 look sexy! It’s hard to make coats sexy – or make suits sexy.

L’WREN SCOTT: Well, I think that’s why we’re selling so well. These clothes are all about the body – and they work in every city. They look good in L.A., N.Y., Paris or London.

FASHION RULES: Nicole Kidman’s Oscar gown was modelled on a dress you designed for spring, but you added couture details. Do you do a lot of couture?

L’WREN SCOTT: I do. I love to create a single dress with amazing embroidery or fabric – and they always seem to find a good  home! I do a lot of special orders for people. I find it fun.

FASHION RULES: It sounds like you travel all the time. How do you get all of this done? (the fall collection includes a dark green feathered bolero jacket that looks like it’s made of leaves, and some dark green jacquard prints that are amazing)

L’WREN SCOTT: I’m always working. I work wherever I am. I travel for fabric, I go to fabric fares – finding that leaf jacquard was not easy. Sourcing the great fabrics requires travel. I’m always trying to find something new for my customers. Every season I try to top myself, and push it a little further. I work very hard on the colors, too. Like spring looks like a palette of pales  - but there are whites, shades of grey, ecru – they’re actually very different. Part of the fun for me is creating a new palette every season. It’s fun to see the ideas in your head spring to life. Because it all starts in your mind.

FASHION RULES: Your shows are very thematic, very precise, very – edited. Your look and point of view is so clear.

L’WREN SCOTT: That’s intentional, and that’s what shows should be about. But there are more looks in the showroom than what’s in the show. You have to tell a story in a short period of time in a very precise way. And the editing process is a big part of being a designer. When you own your own business, you understand the costs of things, and the process.

FASHION RULES: Are you still tight with the celebrities you styled for so long?

L’WREN SCOTT: Yes -  I keep in touch with all those girls.

(Someone exclaims about a beaded sheath on the mannequin on the second floor, that is part of spring.)

L’WREN SCOTT: I do love that dress. But it sold so well, I didn’t get one! I’m the last one to get my clothes!

(A woman tries on a gold lame tight sheath with blace lace encrusted into the fabric.)

L’WREN SCOTT: I had that fabric specially designed. Now, THAT dress I DID get – and it looks great when you move.

(The woman immediately buys it)