Oscars 2010 Fashion Round-Up

Hi everyone! Did you all watch the Oscars last night? Thoughts? I thought the show seemed a little stale at times, although there were some enjoyable moments. There are some more movies I need to add to my to-watch list, at the very least.

And of course, there was fashion! I don't know if I was just not feeling it, but I felt like as a whole the ladies didn't BRING IT. Lots of pretty but uninteresting dresses, lots of gold and sparkles. There are a handful of dresses that stand out in my memory but as a whole I was a little underwhelmed. Another contributing factor to my "meh"ness may be that there were several dresses about which I just couldn't make up my mind. Let's start with those first, in a category I like to call:

I like it! Wait, no, ugh, not up close. Well, okay, in this picture, maybe. I don't know... yes. Or not.


J-Lo's dress was a LOT of dress, and one of those where I think just one less element might have helped. This dress has an interesting fabric AND an interesting sculpted neckline AND an interesting (and voluminous) hip poof AND that's a lot for me to be interested in all at once. While I really love the subtlety of having a textured fabric, in this case I wonder if it might have been a little less complicated with a simpler, smoother fabric. So, to conclude, I don't know. I'm leaning towards yes. Also I like her hairdo, which looks kinda messy in this picture but was very lovely in person. Of course, by "in person" I mean on TV. Which is as "in person" to J-Lo as I'll ever be.



I quite like Maggie Gyllenhaal. In other news, I spelled that right on the first try without consulting Google. Anyway, I like her. Mmmmmbut I don't know about this. I like the shape of it, mostly, although this silhouette is rapidly becoming her M.O. I am waffling on the print. It's just so close to... tropical. Like that skirt could be repurposed after this event as a sarong-style bathing suit cover up. Couldn't it?

Sandra "Sandy" Bullock looked very pretty. I liked her smooth and shiny hair. On TV, I also liked this dress. But as I experience it the day after, I find myself kind of uninterested. The sequins of the skirt are so tiny that it almost looks as if the fabric is lamé. And my friends, there is a big, classy difference between sequined and lamé.

Aren't you bored already? Me too. Let's move on to the fun part.


Oh this is not good.


This dress worn by SJP is seriously fugly. A yellow sack with a chestplate and other accents that appear to have been sculpted from duct tape, all held up by a really weird neck strap? Did I cover everything? No? Oh yes. And a gigaaaaantic bun last seen on the business end of a showhorse.



Zoe Saldana looks stunning from the ribcage up. Unfortunately, from the ribcage down she's being slowly and quietly consumed by a gigantic drag-queen's eyelid. Seriously, look again. The black layer is the long feathery eyelashes.


Charlize Theron's mauve bridesmaid's dress is moving forward with a lawsuit, pressing charges of sexual harrassment against a different purple bridesmaid's dress. The first dress claims the second snuck up from behind and grabbed her, making us all feel uncomfortable. I don't think "rose boobs" is the first and last thing you want people to think when they see your Oscars dress. But, what do I know. I'm not an actress.


Here's what I think happened. Diane Kruger woke up on Oscar morning realizing, "No one will want to take my picture tonight since Pacey, I mean my boyfriend Joshua Jackson, won't be able to hit the red carpet with me. I have to think of some way to stand out. Desperate times call for desperate measures." That's what I imagine happened. Because what I CAN'T imagine is that a smart girl like Diane (and you know she's smart locking down the most adorable and (who would've imagined it) most successful of the D. Creek alumni) tried on this crazy Big Bird Couture number and thought it looked good. Because it doesn't. And of course her face still looks flawless, but you can't just scrape by with that, Diane, because it isn't fair. Prancing around in ugly dresses and knowing you still manage to look hot is just salt in the wound for the rest of us. And now I've gotten all flustered and we have to move on.


I see your effort and quietly compliment you.


I think this was a real improvement for Anna Kendrick over her ruffled Golden Globes dress. Because she's a brunette, the look avoids the dreaded hair/skin/dress unicolor trifecta that unfairly plagues blondes. Poor little blondes. Anyway, this dress is very soft and very romantic and very sweet. I think the fit is flawless, making her look tiny but still womanly. While I'm not in love with the lace edging the leg slit and I can't tell for sure but the shoes might be unattractive, as a whole I think job well done for Ms. Kendrick's first Oscars.



I think grey can be such a flattering color on pale blondes, and Elizabeth Banks is showcasing that effect in this elaborate dress. This style of dress I think is, for the next decade at least, always going to invite comparison to THE Penelope Cruz dress of 2007, no matter what color it is. I do like Elizabeth's version, though, even if the dress is a little bit wearing her as opposed to the other way around. I like the way the pleating of the bodice becomes the loose waves of the skirt.



I don't really have a personal opinion on the person of Miley Cyrus, although I know many people do and that may automatically prevent them from liking this look. Which I totally understand. However, if you'll just put your thumb over her face, I think you might find that this is quite a nice and still mostly age-appropriate dress for a 17-year-old. Sure, the bodice could be a hair less tight and yes, I certainly wish she'd stand up straight. But overall, a classy but still fun look for her.

And without further ado, my favorites from the night!

Yes! Also, call me, let's be friends!



Cameron Diaz has had a wide range of looks on the red carpet, often trending toward something high-fashion, but while trying to also keep her sunny, surfer-girl look. I think mostly she hasn't been that successful. Which is why when I saw her appear on my TV last night, I was really impressed. This dress isn't reinventing the wheel by any means, but along with her hair and makeup it might be the best I've seen her look. I love everything about the dress - color, shape, fit, and the beautiful distribution of beading that is creating such texture. Her hair looks both washed AND combed, and finally her pension for candy-red lipstick is working in her favor. She still looks like herself, but extra awesome. Very nice.


Queen Latifah is consistently looking awesome every time she shows up at one of these things. I love her confidence and how crazy beautiful she is just being herself. The color of this dress is delicious and I love the bejeweled strap which continues across her back. If I ever had to attend one of these formal affairs I'd want to wear exactly this. Big girls of the world take note - Queen Latifah is getting. it. done.



And finally, my favorite of the night. I'll go ahead and admit, I like Rachel McAdams so much she could show up in... well, Diane Kruger's dress, and I'd probably be trying to find some way to compliment it. However, my personal bias aside, I really think this dress is awesome. I liked it when I just thought it was a blue/tan ombre, but against all odds I like it even MORE now seeing it is actual an oversized floral print. That could be a recipe for weird and tacky but instead it is soft and unique. The overall effect is of a watercolor painting, very fluid and romantic. I love it!

That's all for this year! Awards season is over, so now back to my other favorite thing to blog about: pictures of baked goods. Bye!

Hiking Fox Glacier (Or, The Hardest Thing I've Ever Done)

For the purposes of this story, it doesn't matter what you do or don't believe about climate change and global warming: whatever the reasons, glaciers around the world are receding. These ancient remnants of the planet's last Ice Age are tucked away in the steep valleys of mountain chains or stretching in ice sheets of the polar seas.

In New Zealand, the really cool thing is that the proximity of the Southern Alps mountains to the country's western coast means that a few of its remaining glaciers are no more than 15 miles offshore, and are only 250-300 meters above sea level. This makes them quite possibly the most accessible glaciers in the world... Which means that people who aren't skilled mountain climbers and hikers can visit them. Good thing I fit that bill!

There are two main glaciers in the area that are toured by visitors. Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier are snuggled right along the northwestern side of New Zealand's tallest mountains, descending from those peaks and ending amidst temperate rainforest. That's another unique feature of these glaciers, and it means that visitors are comfortable hiking to the glaciers in shorts and t-shirts.

Which is a good thing, because you're going to get warm hiking to Fox Glacier. Why, you might ask? Well, friends, that's because you're going to have to hike up 800 stairs. EIGHT. HUNDRED. STAIRS.

Quick, stair comparison stats! The Empire State Building has 1576 stairs. So, you know, I did the equivalent of half the climb of arguably the world's most famous flight of stairs.

I believe my previous stair accomplishment was climbing the 320 steps up to the cupola of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. I didn't remember this number before I started the Fox Glacier hike. So when I heard "800 steps" I assumed, true to my complete lack of spacial awareness, that it probably wasn't that much different than St. Peter's. And hey, at least walking the stairs to the glacier wouldn't be like a claustrophobic fun house:

Climbing to the St. Peter's Cupola

Besides, here was the fitness/activity level information suggested by the brochure: Moderate fitness and agility is required. Involves steady, well-graded uphill walking for 45 minutes.

Now I'll be the first to admit I'm not in great shape. I don't do a lot of exercising. I could stand to lose some poundage. But still, to my ears, "moderate fitness" means, okay, I don't weigh 300 pounds, I'm not a grandma. (Though as it turned out there was a grandma on our hike and she was in way better shape than me.) But I'm 26. I'm young. I'm on the vacation of my life, and I'm certainly not going to let a little "uphill walking" stop me from the experience of climbing on a glacier. Sign me up! 800 stairs, what is that, like... well, whatever I can do it.

Off we go!


Start of the hike, and hey, we're actually going downhill. Thumbs up for that.


I didn't get many pictures while I was on the stairs, because I was more concerned with not dying/passing out/crying/being laughed at by fit Europeans, but here's one we snapped from nearer to the top.


And one of our awesome guide Cole looking, well, awesome.


There's one section that involves creeping around the edge of a bluff, at which point we were sternly instructed to put our cameras away because it was too dangerous. I did some Google Image searching and found this one that someone took despite the warnings:


Do you see that chain the guy is holding? You have to hold that while you climb the rocks because if you let go and you fall you're going over 100 meters straight down. To your death.

There were times I thought I was not going to make it. I was reciting scripture in my head about the weary renewing their strength and soaring like eagles! And Ben didn't let me give up and somehow by the grace of God I did it! It wasn't fun. But it was rewarding.

This is the face of someone who WORKED for it!

And our reward was walking on a glacier, which has got to go down as one of the ultimate experiences of my life.

Crampons, which are metal spikes you strap to your boots for ice-walking.

Looking down a moulin in the glacier surface where water trickles down to the river some 150 meters below.

So the moral of the story is... for about $100 more a person you can take a scenic helicopter ride and get dropped off on the top of the glacier and then hike around it and there are no stairs involved. I'm just saying.