Sunday, January 22, 2012

2012 Golden Globes red carpet, Part 2

Here are the rest of the red carpet outfits from the 2012 Golden Globes red carpet. It took a lot longer to get through them than I thought it would; I guess I'm out of practice.

Interestingly, there weren't many black dresses at this event. There were more nude colours than black and even more jewel tones than nude colours. I think blue in its many shades were the most popular colour although green and red were well-represented. Even yellow showed up on this red carpet!

While there were a few all-sequin dresses, most dresses had only a small number of sequinned embellishments, if any at all. Lace is still making a showing but there weren't as many lace dresses as I'd expected.

There were a number of rather ugly dresses making an appearance which I don't understand at all. I also don't understand the trend of doing nothing with your hair and leaving it all scraggly. I know that this event is a bit of a fun party but that doesn't mean that you can skip combing your hair before you arrive.

Enough of my comments; let's get to the dresses. Enjoy them after the jump.

Glenn Close in Armani
How is it that black velvet can look so shapeless? The band on the bodice there adds some interest but she may as well be wearing a sack for all this dress flatters her.

Charlize Theron in Christian Dior
According to one report I read, during her red carpet interview she looked like she'd just smoked a big, fat joint, which is kind of hilarious when you think that the dress will to be returned to Dior smelling of pot. Maybe she's trying to get revenge for having to wear a mullet dress? 

Mary J. Blige in Michael Kors
When you can see the waistband of her undergarments, the dress is too tight. Go up a size. I wonder, did she dye her hair to match the feathery things on her skirt?

Salma Hayek in Gucci Premiere
This is one of those dresses that only a model or someone who's six feet tall and has no boobs. The dress makes her look short and her ample bosom is competing for attention with the bodice embellishments. It's not like they need help to get noticed.

Angelina Jolie in Atelier Versace
I gasped when she showed up on stage wearing this dress because this dress is so stunning. It fits her so well and is so flattering and gorgeous and perfectly accessorized that I could look at it all day. And I'm not a fan of hers.

Evan Rachel Wood in Gucci Premiere
There's something bird-like about this dress from the bust down. I don't mind that because the iridescent sequins and feathers are interesting. The tulle at the top looks weirdly proportioned with the deep vee neckline. It almost looks like the bodice was re-shaped for her at the last minute.

Tilda Swinton in Haider Ackermann
She often takes risks on the red carpet and this outfit is surprisingly tame and - dare I say? - beautiful. The colour is perfect for her and the style is forward enough to not look mother-of-the-bride. I also love that she doesn't wear makeup on the red carpet.

Michelle Williams in Jason Wu
She's a sweet looking girl who often ends up looking very sweet in her dresses. I like that she covers herself up and doesn't dress like a floozy but I do wonder why she doesn't wear something that isn't so ...sad. The colour is great but the silhouette doesn't do anything for her.

Busy Philipps in Temperley London
I love fringe as much as the next person. Well, actually, I might love fringe more than the next person, if the next person is normal, but even this fringe is too much for me.It's like she's wearing a cut up shower curtain.

Heidi Klum in Calvin Klein
I'm thrilled that she's no longer wearing dresses that are tight, short, and shiny. But why would she choose this shapeless dress? She even had the dress designed especially for her to go with that necklace. He must really dislike her. 

Kate Winslet in Jenny Packham
This outfit is well-put together and flattering. I'm not a huge fan of black tops on white bottoms because it makes the person look shorter and the white tends to make the bottom look bigger, both of which are happening here. The style of this top helps to counter the big bottom effect a little bit but she still looks shorter than she is.

Natalie Portman in Lanvin
I'm starting to come to the conclusion that designers dislike the celebrities they're dressing. Why else would the designer add that sticky-outy skirt panel? Not to mention that bodice band that looks like it was folded down for fitting and it never got evened out.

Mila Kunis in Christian Dior
She looks like she just smoked a big fatty, doesn't she? Interesting that both she and Charlize Theron look that way and they're both wearing Dior (even if Mila appears to be standing in a hole and the bodice just looks sad). Coincidence? 

Nicole Kidman in Versace (with Keith Urban)
The embellishments are gorgeous: look at the way the diamond shapes on the center panel of  the skirt get bigger from the hip to the floor, and the way the embellishments narrow from the hip to the waist. This dress is sexy, fits well, and isn't too revealing.

Reese Witherspoon in Zac Posen
She usually looks so put-together in a well-fitting and flattering dress, which this is, and gorgeous hair, which that isn't. Was she smoking with Charlize Theron and Mila Kunis beforehand and forgot to get her hair done?

Helen Mirren in Badgley Mischka
She looks radiant in this navy colour, doesn't she? While I love the bodice with that touch of sparkle at the waist, I have mixed feelings about the skirt. It's got texture, and that's nice, but it's kind of heavy-looking as well.

Emma Stone in Lanvin
At first I didn't love this dress so much but the more I look at it, the more I like it. It's simple and elegant and flattering. The lighter colours on the sides add interest and work well with the main colour. The bodice fits her well and doesn't look trashy. This was a great choice for her.

Jessica Biel in Elie Saab Couture
That slit is all wrong because it's in the center of the skirt and a strange length: it appears to just stop for no apparent reason. The lace is beautiful, of course, and the back of the dress is gorgeous. I don't understand why she left her house with her hair a scraggly mess like that if she planned to wear this kind of dress. Maybe she wanted to be as unattractive as possible?

Maya Rudolph in David Meister
The best thing about this dress is that it makes her waist look small and gives her an hourglass figure. The top of the bodice has strange proportions to my eyes and her hair is a little drab but at least the dress is flattering.

Jessica Alba in Gucci Premiere
The colour is pretty, I suppose, although it's a little dull and grey for her skin colour. the empire waist sash is quite lovely, as is the beadwork on the dress.

Paula Patton in Monique Lhullier
This designer has been known to design wedding dresses that look exactly like this one. Those are usually white or ivory, of course; this banana yellow isn't a wedding dress colour. I don't think there are many occasions where one would want to wear this colour. It overpowers even her.

Jodie Foster in Armani
She looks positively beautiful in this shade of blue. Sadly, the dress doesn't really do anything for her: it's not that flattering and it seems kind of weirdly proportioned. Those black peep-toe shoes are all wrong for the dress as well. I love her haircut (and not just because mine is very similar). 

Tina Fey in Oscar de la Renta
Once again she proves that she doesn't really have much in the way of fashion sense. She looks like she's melting into a fuzzy fuschia hole. The only redeeming quality to this dress is that it's a good colour for her.

Amy Poehler in Naeem Khan
This dress is like mullet hair: business in the front and party in the back (unlike the mullet dress which, as Ian reminded me, is party in the front and business in the back). What's with elbow-length sleeves these days? 

Jenna Dewan-Tatum in Maria Lucia Hohan
I do believe she's almost completely naked under that skirt. This is a look that most people avoid because it's kind of trashy. I think she's doing it in the hopes that no one will notice how unflattering the dress is in every other way. Her strategy failed.

Andie MacDowell in David Meister
She looks lovely in this dress even if it is just a bit too tight. The colour is gorgeous on her and the silhouette works for her.

Rainey Qualley in vintage Rochas
She was Miss Golden Globes, or the person who tells people onstage where to go and she's Andie Mcdowell's daughter. This was her red carpet dress and I don't know how vintage it is but it sure looks contemporary. The colour and pattern are gorgeous and it fits her perfectly.

Rainey Qualley in Alberto Makali
This was her onstage dress and it looks a too pageanty for my taste. The pronounced embellishments were so obvious - some might even say gaudy - that when she was onstage she drew the attention away from the other people onstage. I always thought that the people doing her job onstage were supposed to fade into the background and this did exactly the opposite.  

Berenice Bejo in Gucci Premiere
You know, there's a lot going on in that skirt but somehow I love the overall effect. It's soft and floaty and drapey and I like that. I don't like that she didn't wear much in the way of jewellery; a statement necklace or larger cuff would have made this look even better.

Laura Dern in Andrew Gn
Apparently this was a last-minute choice because the one she wanted to wear didn't show up in time. I love this on her: it's perfectly proportioned and the colour is exquisite.

Lea Michele in Marchesa
This dress reminds me of the one that Sandra Bullock wore when she won her Oscar which is no coincidence since they're both designed by Marchesa. I don't like this one so much because the nude net bodice doesn't match her skintone. There are a kabillion pictures of her at this event... and they're all of this pose. It's like she's trying to say that she's fun and not at all the diva she plays on tv. 

Jane Lynch in David Meister
When she wears dresses, they tend to have this kind of a-line skirt and a fitted waist. While this dress is ok, I think she'd look even more gorgeous in a slightly narrower skirt. This colour is perfect for her.

Dianna Agron in Giles Deacon
Lately I've had a bit of a fascination with paper cutting, possibly because the technique can be replicated in metal. Why do I bring this up? Because this bodice and the skirt base remind me of some of the beautiful paper cuts I've seen. I don't love the ruffle tiers on the skirt but they add something interesting to it. I think I like this one.

Julianne Moore in Chanel Couture
It's a tutu with a mermaid skirt attached! It sort of works on her, I guess, although the proportions aren't all that flattering. Sleeves or straps or something at the shoulder would have improved it almost as much as getting rid of the tutu.

Kristen Wiig in Bill Blass
Am I tired of nude-coloured dresses? Why, yes, I am, thanks for asking. I have no problem with nude dresses that don't match the wearer's skin tone exactly or nude dresses that are embellished. this dress, on the other hand, is almost exactly her skin colour and so turns her into a strangely-shaped alien. There are a ton of flattering colours out there so why didn't she choose one of them instead of something this bland?

Connie Britton in vintage
While there are some seriously ugly dresses on this red carpet, this may be the worst dress at this event. Has she never been to this kind of red carpet event before? Does she not understand what it means to dress formally? This dress is a day dress for shopping or lunch: it is much too casual for this event. It isn't even interesting enough for the more casual red carpet events. She needs a new stylist, stat.

Kate Beckinsale in Roberto Cavalli
I love the drama this dress brings to the red carpet. Even though it's a pale beige colour it isn't the same colour as her skin but complements it. She's also finished this look with sparkly jewellery. The only thing I would change is the way her boobs are popping up above the bodice because they look silly there.

Penelope Ann Miller in Pamella Roland
I love how the front part of this drapey skirt is standing straight and to the side - was this picture taken while the skirt was dancing? As well, while the colour is lovely on her, she might have given a thought to either bringing the bodice up or colouring the tops of her boobs so that her tan lines didn't show.

Laura Linney in J. Mendel
That is one weirdly-proportioned bodice. Those fold-over bits on the bodice look so sad. It's like they tried to stand up properly and they just fell down. 

Daniela Lavender in Versace (with Ben Kingsley)
Even though this dress is basically a nude colour it has an interesting sequinned design that makes it interesting. Unfortunately, the dress doesn't fit her perfectly: it's sagging at the bust, bunching up at the waist, and is too long. Do designers forget that their clients will have to move while wearing the dress?

Georgina Chapman in her own design
She's the Marchesa designer so I'm surprised she's wearing something this flowy. Most of her designs are fitted and sparkly. This has a Cleopatra sort of look with the lace collar and cuffs. I'd like it better if the bodice weren't so droopy.

Calista Flockhart in vintage Chanel Haute Couture (with Harrison Ford)
Someone is wearing a similar dress, only that one is nude in colour, floor length, and doesn't have spaghetti straps. I think I prefer this one because it's not a nude colour and seems to fit her well. 

Madeline Stowe in Vera Wang
What is the point of that long peplum? Instead of making her waist look small it makes her torso look blocky - which I think is something she'd want to minimize. I would, if I were her.

Helen McCrory (with Damian Lewis)
She's from the UK so this is probably designed by someone there. The style works for her (even though it's a mermaid dress) because she's accessorized it well with the opera gloves.

Sarah Paulson in Pamella Roland
The dress style is pretty with the bodice ruching and whatnot but the colour is a bit pink and pale for her. Some jewelry or sparkle or colour would have helped. As would less straggly hair.

Kyle Richards in Oday Shakar
She's one of those made-up celebrities (also known as a so-called "real housewife"). This dress is a little tight and her hair to the side looks scraggly. I wonder, too, whether the bodice was too low so that extra panel was added because it looks out of place next to the pointy bits.

Amber Riley in Badgley Mischka
This wasn't the worst dress she could have chosen but I don't know if it's the best one, either. It's makes her hips look kind of blocky below the waist and the ruffles haven't been scaled up to be proportional to the dress size.

Kathleen Robertson in Maria Lucia Hohan
I love the straps on the front because they're very flattering. They become skinny little things in the back that look kind of strange but at least they look awesome in the front. There's a certain apron quality about the big bodice and skirt that I'm not sure I love but at least it fits her.

Kat Kramer
Although the base gold colour is a little close to her skin tone, the black print adds enough interest that the dress works for her. I do think she could use a necklace or something to balance her shoulders out against the dress.

Hannah Simone in Romona Keveza
This particular designer does a lot of wedding dresses that look almost exactly like this one. Somehow the dress translates very well into evening wear because it doesn't look at all like a wedding dress. In fact, it looks elegant and gorgeous. And the colour is perfect for her.

Livia Giuggioli in Armani (with Colin Firth)
I'm not in love with the style of this dress because it's a little too prom dress for my taste. However, I love that this dress was made entirely of recycled plastic bottles. Apparently Livia has does a Green Carpet Challenge where she recruits designers to design "green" dresses for her to wear on the red carpets; this is one of those dresses.  

Naya Rivera in Vera Wang
I swear, none of these celebrities own proper mirrors. All of their mirrors are of the funhouse variety that show them what they want to see and not what's really there. What other explanation is there for a beautiful woman wearing something as hideous as this out in public?

Kate Mestitz (with Guy Pearce)
I'm showing the back view because I love her back tattoo :) I can tell that the dress is a little tight by all those horizontal wrinkles between all the seams. Apparently he really likes a tight dress because he was all over her on the red carpet, kissing her and running his hands on her. Get a room.

Meltem Cumbul in Chloe
This is a little boring, colour-wise. Why would someone choose to wear something that makes them look shapeless and/or pregnant? And washed out?

Elizabeth McGovern in Armani
I'm surprised that this wasn't dress labeled "vintage" because except for the colour, this dress looks almost exactly like something that could have been worn fifty or sixty years ago.

Katherine Tokarz (with Eric Stonestreet)
There's nothing really special about this dress, except for the bridesmaid-seafoam ribbon belt. The colour is bland and doesn't do anything much for her. Why wear something that doesn't do anything for you?

Eve Mavrakis in Marni (with Ewan MacGregor)
Is fringe on the way back? Wait, was it ever really in? Either way, it seems to be here, and it isn't sharing the spotlight with sequins. No, this fringe isn't showy at all; it's just part of the outfit, the way it is on those sleeves there. 

Mika Newton in Aiisha
I thought that this dress was sort of cute until I noticed the draping at the hip. And the way the lace seems to stop at the waist, making her torso look super-short.

Eva Amurri in Lela Rose
Between the hem puddled on the floor and how her boobs don't look completely covered, I think this dress is falling down. She could think about reworking the bow into straps so that she can keep her dress up.

Wendi Deng (with Rupert Murdoch)
I love the allover fringe. There's even fringe on the sleeves! The fit and silhouette are very flattering and the darker colour on the bottom grounds the dress. This is gorgeous.

Jo Andres in Nanette Lepore (with Steve Buscemi)
The stripes on that skirt are all wrong: they're neither straight across nor fully on the diagonal. I'm surprised that this was made by a well-known designer.

Belinda Montgomery
Who goes out of the house wearing something that makes them look like the pear-shaped Hunchback of Notre Dame? Does she not own a mirror? 

Lauren Miller in Angel Sanchez (with Seth Rogan)
I'm not sure she could have chosen a worse colour or style to wear on the red carpet. She looks positively sick in that colour (and I don't mean sick in the good way) and  shorter and wider in that style than she is.

Kelly Macdonald in Lorena Sarbu
The most interesting thing about this dress is the colour of the sequins because they have an iridescent quality to them. The style isn't all that interesting and the dress doesn't fit her very well. 

Janet McTeer in Jovani
She's standing so straight that either she's got a pole up her back or the ruching on the dress is super-supportive. I hope the dress is what's keeping her upright because otherwise it isn't that interesting.

Julia Kurbatova in Roland Mouret
This is one of my favourite shades of yellow so I'm extra-sad to see it on that bodice. An asymmetric shoulder paired with a symmetric hem makes the shoulder look like an afterthought.

Romola Garai in Alessandra Rich
Why are people wearing this designer's clothes? This dress is too tight, a strange length, weirdly hemmed, weirdly lined, and that belt and those sleeves just look odd.

Connie Nielsen
This dress looks a lot like the one Stacy Keibler wore but I think the two dresses are different. This one doesn't work so well: she's a bit too skinny and that cowl droops too low to be flattering and that red colour is too orange for her colouring.

Orly Adelson
She's the president of Dick Clark Productions and an executive producer of the Golden Globes. I couldn't find out who designed this dress; I suspect the reason for that is that the designer doesn't want his or her name attached to that neckline.

Zhao Xiang
Although she's an actress, I don't think she's appeared in anything recently so I don't know why she's at this event. Maybe she crashed the party in this soft, romantic, flattering dress?

Sheila Shah
Maybe I'm just partial to sequins but I think this dress is gorgeous. It helps that it fits her perfectly and she looks amazing. I especially love the shoulder design because it's unusual yet perfectly proportioned.

Elle MacPherson in Zac Posen
I thought this was a red carpet event, not her wedding. If she's not getting married, why is she wearing a wedding dress? Sure, it's a lovely dress, but it belongs on a tall model bride, not a tall model.

Jessica Lange in J. Mendel
This silhouette is simple and gorgeous. the ruching at the hips and on the bodice are very flattering and add something interesting to what is a basic dress.

Meryl Streep in Alessandra Rich
I couldn't tear my eyes from the screen when she was accepting her Golden Globe because that top was just so hideous. Seriously, who wears a button-down lace Western-style blouse on a red carpet? Well, apparently Meryl Streep does, although I can't imagine why. 

Madonna in Reem Acra
Oh, Madonna. As long as you're still breathing, you'll wear something interesting, won't you? There are things I like about this dress - like the skirt and the bodice -  but there are also things I really don't like - like the transition between skirt and bodice, this skirt with this bodice, and the way the bodice fits.

Uggie the Dog (from the Artist)
The bow tie is an inspired look and one that definitely works at this formal event. However, he could use some lessons in posing on the red carpet because showing off one's sexy bits isn't considered appropriate at this event. Still, that's some great smile!


photo credits: zimbio.com, hindustantimes.com

2 comments:

Ruby said...

I love your post! I usually don't see that many dresses together from a specific event, so it is refreshing to read the criticisms.

I have to agree with how many bad choices there were. It is really surprising that with publicists, designers and tons of money so many celebrities can make those bad choices. Perhaps they have to endorse certain designers, or they leave the choices up to assistants?

As for the nudes; I don't mind the colour, I have warmed up to the idea of nude lipsticks and shoes, but to have a statement dress like that makes no sense.

Out of all of those, I only had a couple of favorites; Zhao Xiang was stunning, Tilda Swinton, Angelina Jolie, Dianna Agron, and Emma Stone. It seems (at least for me) that it is better to stick with a classic cut/shape and be daring here only if you know what you are doing.

Thank you!

manchester fat acceptance said...

omg there was so much fail this year on the Globes red carpet. but there were a few i liked, but not many.

i do love Hannah Simone's dress! i'd like to see her in brighter lipstick though, because i stare at the dress and not her face.

i was so severely pissed at Angelina Jolie looking incredibly awesome! wow she looks just amazing. the dress is like fresh creamy white chocolate pouring down her body.

Kate Mestitz has a very cool tattoo, but i think she could stand to wear a dress that doesn't chop it up so much, or she should completely cover it.

Zhao Xiang looks lovely.

love the surprise puppy at the end!

love,
vicki