Golden Globes Fashion 2012

I love movies... but this year, I have seen so few. I think I went to the theater three times, and two of those were to see Harry Potter. I did catch up with a few more via Netflix and Redbox, but still, I watched this Golden Globes show and found myself saying repeatedly, "Oh yeah... I wanted to see that one!"

But enough about movies. We all know why you're here. Dresses, yay!

For the most part, everyone looked very nice - classic, elegant - but there wasn't a lot of wow factor. Aside from some yellow and a handful of neutrals, it seemed like dark colors and jewel tones dominated the night. Here's my take on some of the night's looks!

Does anyone watch Julianna Margulies' show, The Good Wife? Is it good? I hear lots of positive buzz about it online and in entertainment magazines, but I don't know anyone who actually watches it, and I'm curious about it. Anyhoo, I really love the color and texture on this dress, but I just am not feeling the high neckline. She looks great, but I am just never personally a fan of the style. Interesting textures and high necklines seem to be a trend, however...

There weren't many other dresses with this vibe out on the carpet, and so Claire Danes definitely stood out. I really loved the back of the dress more than the front, perhaps because every time I saw her on screen, it was really clear that she was not wearing any kind of bra.

This is so weird, but also awesome. It's one of the most feminine things we've seen Tilda Swinton wear in a while - almost has a mother-of-the-bride vibe - but it's very dramatic in that way that only she is. Like a dramatic mother-of-the-bride who might destroy you with her stare. I always get a little nervous in the presence of the evil Ice Queen of Narnia.

I don't love this in photographs (it looks like purple leopard print, which I'm pretty sure it wasn't), but on screen I liked it quite a bit. It is very much Michelle Williams' style, but without being too precious, even with the headband. Here's a high neckline again, but it suits her and it isn't as severe as some of the others.

This dress was sooo va-va-voom, Jessica Rabbit-esque, which isn't usually the style one associates with Reese. I guess that is her point! She makes it look good, but I really thought her hair was too casual and I think she could have loaded up with some more jewelry.

I have mentioned this before, but I really try not to watch or read any other fashion reviews until I after I finish writing mine. Even so, sometimes a certain look will be so controversial that I can't help but overhear some of the chatter. Such was the case with this dress that Sarah Michelle Gellar (Gellar-Prinze?) wore. The general consensus seems to be amazing dress, but not the right dress for her. I'm inclined to agree, although I think it could've been saved with different styling. I love the dress, and I love SMG (Buffy 4eva) but something just isn't clicking for me. Maybe if her hair was different? Or jewelry? Or maybe it was just a dress designed for someone with different coloring? What say you, reader? Can you put a finger on what is off here?

Speaking of dresses with buzz, Zooey's was another one. I wanted to like it, and I did like parts of it, and I really like that she went with a look so different from the "adorable" style with which she's so strongly associated. But in execution, I'm finding it lacking. I think it might be the hair? The retro-styled hair seems to clash with the gown, both editorially and literally. I think a sleek ponytail would've allowed the dramatic neckline to shine. I don't think sister Emily fared much better, as her dress is feeling like a frumpy satiny robe meets 80s power suit. Great color, though. And she looks pretty fabulous for someone with a 4-month-old.

I love Melissa McCarthy so much. And I love that she's real-life-married to Secretly-The-US-Marshall that she accosts in Bridesmaids. She looks very beautiful, if a teensy bit like she's headed to a Renaissance Fair.

I love yellow, and I love sequins, so Maria Menounos's dress is seriously doing it for me here. This is the kind of thing that I long to have a reason to wear.

Jessica Chastain is carrying on the high-neck trend. I think this dress is just a little too tight. I've seen her wear some really beautiful dresses, but this one isn't my favorite. Redheads look so beautiful in colors that no one else can wear; I would've loved to see her in something vibrant.

I feel I am staring down a long tunnel when I look at the bodice of Salma's gown. I am also afraid that if she sneezes, things are going to get R-rated in a flash. Pun intended. I would just feel a lot safer if it had straps.

As was mentioned previously, I love yellow, and so of course I love this dress, but who is Paula Patton?

I have been waffling hard over Nicole Ritchie's dress here. But let me start by saying I loved her hair. The styling of her whole looks is flawless. I love the way the cut of the fabric creates the pattern in the gown. I just get a little twitchy with this neckline that looks like your basic work-out tank top.

If I scroll down so that all I see of Lea Michele is from the waist down, then I love her look. Waist up, I have no idea what is happening, but it feels icky.

My apologies to Tina Fey, because this picture is crummy. But I thought her look was truly the best we've seen for her in many a red carpet. Love that it is a color, when she so often favors black. It's nothing earth-shattering, but she looked really nice.

Emma Stone looked gorgeous - doesn't she kind of look like she could be Mila Kunis' redheaded sister in this picture? Anyway, love the dress, love the makeup, love the black accents. You can kind of tell from this picture but when she was being interviewed on the red carpet there were these strange straps hanging under her arms and it drove me crazy. What were those things?!

I don't like this nearly as much in picture as I did on screen. When she presented on stage, I thought this was breathtaking. Incredible details and a flawless fit. Love how her hair color seems to pick up the coppery tones of the beadwork. Well done, Nicole!

I feel like Jessica Biel has a history of picking these frumpy gowns. Girl, you have a smokin' hot figure and you just (allegedly) locked down Justin Timberlake. Let's celebrate that via future fashion choices.

I don't know that I can ever see Evan Rachel Wood as anything other than a woman who used to date Marilyn Manson. However, even I can give credit where it is due. This dress is amazing. A work of art - kind of fascinating how it has these assorted animalistic features, with the feathered bottom and the scale-like sequins in the middle. Weird, that feathers and scales could come together and not be costume-y. One of my favorite dresses of the evening. I wouldn't wear it, but she sure is.

Love this red number on Glee's Amber Riley. The dress isn't reinventing the wheel, but on her it is so flattering and fabulous. As a woman of some size myself, I can say that it takes a lot - literally, a lot of undergarments, but figuratively a lot of courage - to wear a strapless dress. I love that she is wearing it and looking great!

That's all for this tired mama. Who were your favorites? Did I miss any good ones? Talk it out amongst yourselves in the comments! See you come Oscar time!

Downton Abbey

I just finished the first (and currently only, but a second is in the works) season of the BBC/Masterpiece miniseries "Downton Abbey." It was deliciously good! It tells the story of an entitled (literally, he's an earl) family with an expansive estate in 19-teens England. It's a really interesting look at the old world intersecting with the new, where electricity and telephones are the new-fangled rage, but the daughters of the family still must marry in order to receive their inheritance and preserve the estate.

It also examines the "upstairs/downstairs" spheres of proper society, following storylines amongst the servants as well as the family.

The service staff. Some are nice and some are naughty!

There are great performances, particularly from the utterly awesome Maggie Smith, who steals every scene she's in as the crabby old-school grandmother, the Dowager Countess.

The icing on the cake is the gorgeous period costuming, which is so wonderfully detailed. Sumptuous!

Eldest sister Mary, who cannot inherit and thus needs to marry well in order to preserve the estate. She's kind of cold and pragmatic.

With her sisters Sybil (left), the forward-thinking youngest, and Edith (right), the jealous and overlooked middle.

Edith with their mother, Cora. She's American and was initially married by their father for her money, although after all these years they are quite in love.

Here's Sybil shocking everyone with her new dress - with pants legs! Pants!

It has just been added to Netflix streaming, in the seven 1-hr episodes, or you can watch it until the end of February on PBS.org in four parts. Here's a trailer to entice. Enjoy!

Watch the full episode. See more Masterpiece.

Emmy Fashion Rundown 2010!

Emmy ladies, I gotta be honest, you were a bit of a letdown this year. Many of you looked just fine - okay, so your "fine" is still better than I'll ever look in my whole life - but only a few of you distinguished yourselves as particularly memorable for good or bad reasons. Here were a few of my thoughts!

I don't actually like the pattern on Tina Fey's dress as much in pictures as I did on camera. In the picture I'm really distracted by the pattern of the dress, which I guess I'd call "Cave Art." But on TV it was really elegant and I thought the shape was very chic. I even liked her teased-out extended ponytail. It was a nice look for her after the Lampshade Incident of 2009.

Nina Dobrev is really beautiful and holy crap, how tiny is her waist? But to me this feels a little bit like how Hayden Panettiere always dressed about 15 years older than she is. Nina is 21. This dress with this hair with those earrings and this pose... it is very elegant and mature. Which are good things, really. So why am I not on board with this?

Dear Mindy Kaling. I am all for taking risks. And I am all for being outside the box and not trying to conform to look like the rest of the twigs out there on the red carpet. I have loved when you did this in the past, such as when you wore this. But Helena Bonham Carter called and she says nice try but only I could pull this off.

Let me first say, Lea Michele is so adorable I could barf. And I love this dress. But her hair just ruined it. The bangs parted in the middle is bad enough, but it is covering up and competing with that stunning statement necklace. One or the other, dear.

How I do these blogs is I watch the red carpet coverage and then the actual show and I have a notepad and I just write down all my comments and impressions as I see the dresses appear. Then when I get around to sitting down at my computer, I review what I said and make any necessary elaborations or adjustments. Much of the time, the little one-liner I scribble in the heat of the moment is better than anything else I come up with. Here's what I wrote for this one: "Lauren Graham - That dress is the worst." I think that about sums it up.

I don't really have any strong opinions about Kyra Sedgwick's dress one way or the other but good gravy woman, it might be time for a haircut. Or a style. Something that says more, "Fancy Celebrity" and less, "Hippie Witch."

I don't really have a good reason for liking Kristen Wiig's dress, but I just do. I should hate those weird shoulder poofs but I just don't. Here's an example of a look that only a skinny, un-buxom woman could pull off. It's fun and kinda summery and chic and I just want to like it and not have to explain why.

When I first saw Keri Russell during the red-carpet arrivals I was a little skeptical on the color. But when I saw her on stage I decided I loved it. She's petite enough to pull off this tricky length and tiny enough to pull off the cut of the top. I don't really like how the fit looks in this picture but I couldn't find a better one, so just trust me that it was really pretty and unique. Yay Felicity!

Jewel looked really lovely. This dress was something to talk about. So soft and delicate and vintage-y. The only thing I could've done without was the little bow at the bust. Otherwise, just really pretty and the kind of dress you'd wanna find in your dress-up box as a little girl.

You probably heard about this one. There's nothing I can say about January Jones's dress that hasn't already been said. There's nothing I can say about her hair that hasn't already been said. Maybe the best I can do is to say all the words everyone else is saying, but say them all at once. Here goes: Bedspread ugly busy shiny cone-bra peacock weird brush your hair.

I have long loved Maura Tierney from when she was Abby on ER, so I'm glad to see her back again since she battled breast cancer. Again, the picture is not doing it justice, but I really liked this dress on screen. The silhouette and fabric are strong and the color is unique but she still looks pretty and relaxed.

I looooooove Bones. And therefore I looooooove Emily Deschanel. She is straight-up robbed every year that she isn't nominated for one of these awards for her brilliant portrayal of Temperance Brennan. That being said, her bangs look like she borrowed them from a twelve year old and her dress looks exactly like a roll of crepe paper streamers that is being unraveled.

The only thing I know about Jennifer Carpenter is that she is on Dexter, and that she plays Dexter's sister even though in real life she's that actor's wife. I guess that's less awkward than the other way around. Anyway, a full on one-sleeve is pretty intense but I am a sucker for sparkly things and so I find myself just staring at this picture and wanting this dress real bad.

Honestly, the fierce gladiator-esque shoulder pads are my favorite thing about Anna Paquin's dress. I don't understand why it appears the front of the hem is stuck to her knees and I find the whole torso highly unflattering. But if we're talking strictly about the shoulder business, I kinda like it. Probably because it is sparkly.

Up next, Sofia Vergara. I like her dress, although it's a leeeeeeetle bit pageant-esque. But there's no denying that she is gorgeous and the whole look is really wowza. Still, the longer I stared at the top, the more I wondered why it just didn't look right, and finally I decided that this dress gives her a uniboob. Right? Just a little?

You know who definitely does not have a uniboob?

Oh Christina Hendricks. I feel you, I really and truly do. Well, at least in the chest department. The rest of you is pretty much incomparable. I just feel like this dress is not doing you justice. The color is vaguely "Dishwater Lilac." The stringy parts on the skirt are sloppy and the stringy sleeves are just ugly. Whatever reinforced steel corset is being used to defy gravity and hold those girls in place is making your ribcage and torso seem lumpy and misshapen. Your hair and makeup are really great, though. And you could wear a burlap sack and men would still be drooling over you so, fine. You win.

Well folks, that's all she wrote! I will now resume my regular schedule of not blogging for weeks at a time, followed by three days in which I post seven times.

Got your own Emmy fashion thoughts? Leave 'em in the comments!

It's Almost Time.

Six years of amazing television all comes to an end this Sunday night when LOST airs its series finale. I cannot wait! This is a fan-made trailer but it is somehow more awesome than all the promos ABC managed to put together.

Emmy Fashion Roundup & Rundown! (Part 3)

MILA KUNIS

To be fair to Mila, I saw this as she walked the carpet, and I didn't think it was that bad. I just think that this length of dress is for people under the age of 12 and/or ballerinas. Unfortunately, she kind of looks like both.

MINDY KALING


In a surprise turn of events, Mindy might be one of my best dressed of the night. Even though I personally wouldn't want to wear this dress, I was really impressed with how well it suited her. It is funky, cute, and contemporary. I love the unique art-deco-esque detailing on the bodice, the color of the dress with her skin, and her youthful, fresh hair and makeup. Kelly Kapoor would most def. try to be recreating this look from Scranton's local department stores.

OLIVIA WILDE

Last year Olivia Wilde was my best dressed from the Emmys. You might want to go look at that dress again, because I don't even have words for what is happening to her here. If I was forced to come up with words, some of them might be "bride," "figure skating," "doilies," "what," "is," and "this."

ROSE BYRNE


I don't know Rose Byrne personally, but I'm kind of mad at her. Because this dress is REALLY gorgeous and I want to be raving about her right now but unfortunately her hair is just ruining everything. It's like her body knew she was going to the Emmys, but her head thought she was going to audition for a part as a small town single mom in a Lifetime original movie. Thanks for nothing, Rose Byrne's hair stylist. Ugh, can't you just imagine how gorgeous it would've been in a low loose chignon? And in her natural dark chocolate hair color? Okay, okay, moving on.

SANDRA OH


I think Sandra looks great. She is glowing in the gold color and I am even going to give her a pass on the little gold rope belt, which I kind of want to rip off. The fit is wonderful on the dress and her soft loose hair is the perfect accessory.


TINA FEY


I was a little disappointed in Tina for going back to a safe, relatively plain black dress after she looked so great in the purple strapless number last year. From the front it just looks a little matronly. But I'm giving her props because I also saw it from the back:

...which looked very classy and elegant with the low draping and jeweled piece. And no matter what I thought of her dress, she got the last laugh as her series 30 Rock won five Emmys including Best Comedy. Or maybe we get the last laugh because we get the pleasure of watching that hilarious show. Either way, someone is laughing. And there's nothing unfashionable about that.

Until next year... or the next awards show... aj