Tag Archives: Jessica Alba

Atelier Versace Exhibition, Pacific Place: Gonna dress you up in my love!

Posted on September 7, 2011 | Leave a comment

I love beautiful dresses. I love seeing them, buying them, wearing them and, as this blog proves, writing about them too! Sadly, with the most beautiful designer dresses worn by the most beautiful celebrities, that’s about as close as I get – seeing them on a computer screen and then detailing my lust in writing afterwards. But not anymore…

Kawai Wong, the lovely Shopping & Style Editor of Time Out Hong Kong, tipped off her followers on Twitter that there would be a mini Atelier Versace exhibition in Pacific Place shopping mall. I made a mental note and promptly forgot all about it but as chance would have it, I just happened to be in Pacific Place that weekend – and thank God I was. Because I got to see some of those beautiful dresses that I had previously only written about IN PERSON. And they were BREATH-TAKING.

Apologies for all the caps but as you can see from the photos, upper-case in this case is totally deserved!

I squealed with delight when I saw this stunning gown that I adored on Charlize Theron at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party standing there in all its glory right in front of my eyes! This was my favourite gown of the lot simply because I remembered writing how much I loved it – and there it was!

Even on the mannequins, everything draped just so and looked utterly beautiful. This gown was worn by Eva Mendes at the Rome Film Festival last year. I didn’t really like the dress in photos but up-close, all the detailing was just exquisite. What was missing was the gorgeous sense of movement that Eva managed to create but I think this proves just how much a million flash bulbs wash out a dress, as it was much more of a vibrant tan colour in person.

This cobalt beauty was worn by Jessica Alba at this year’s Baftas and was another one I wrote about! She worn it sans feathers but this was every bit as vividly gorgeous in person. I love how effortlessly flowing it is.

This cascading grey ombre dress hasn’t been worn by anyone famous – yet! Love the cut-out detail on the back too. Stunning. By now, I was nearly going into seizure at being close enough to touch these gowns. Waaaah… just one stroke!

Fan Bing Bing’s ruffled purple gown (as worn at the Cannes Film Festival, which marked the beginning of many of our style crushes on The Bingster) was probably the true show-stopper of the collection. It was just so big, pouffy and spectacular in real-life. Again, the detail of all those flounces was just amazingly lush up-close. It was so delicate yet dramatic and that skirt looked like it was made up of crush flower petals. Divine.

There was lots of ‘oh my God’-ing and longing sighing that my boyfriend didn’t totally understand but ugh, I need more of these exhibitions in my life! Just five dresses isn’t enough! Hurry up and get that Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty show on the road to Hong Kong please!

Atelier Versace Exhibition, Pacific Place mall, Admiralty

Red Carpet Rundown: Met Gala 2011, Wedding Fever

Posted on May 5, 2011 | 2 comments

It seems even A-Listers weren’t immune from Royal Wedding fever, as several turned up at the Met Gala 2011 in gowns fit for a princess bride. And if it wasn’t fit for the bride, then it was fit for a bridesmaid (£1 wiggly worm optional), a guest (nut job headpiece included) or just a princess in general…

Chanel Iman in Dolce & Gabanna – Chanel was one of my favourites at this event, I just adore this dress. Who says white lace can’t be classy? It’s so pretty and lady-like but Chanel, despite the prim and proper chignon, is giving it so much oomph that it’s pretty damn sexy too. I can’t believe this is the same chick who rocked a gold lamé jumpsuit at last year’s Met Ball – talk about a style chameleon! This is a dress that would look fresh as a daisy all night long, whatever the decade. LOVE.

Miranda Kerr in Marchesa – Marchesa dresses always run the fine line between being amazingly beautiful red carpet gowns and amazingly beautiful bridal-wear; here’s yet another example. Admittedly, this is more funky bride working a ballerina/Tinkerbell vibe (helloooo awesome Nicholas Kirkwood shoes!) but Miranda’s got the youth, beauty and husband handsome enough to make it look cute and exuberant rather than sad and desperate. I imagine someone trod on her shoe or put out a cigarette on her skirt as there’s just too much prettiness going on here!

Jessica Alba in Ralph Lauren – Just like Kate Hudson before her, this also has the whiff of ‘pregnant lady getting married’. However, whereas Hudson’s at least seemed to have the various component parts of a whole dress, Alba’s just looks like a giant wedding veil.

Jennifer Hudson in Vera Wang – Jennifer’s devoted a significant amount of time recently to showing off her new bod, meaning lots of tight short form-fitting dresses, so it’s nice to see a more floaty princess look. And if you’re looking for floaty princess looks, you can’t really go wrong with Vera Wang! This is basically a wedding dress with a light grey overlay; alternatively, it’s basically Mila Kunis’ gown from last year’s Met Gala but with all the crazy embellishments ripped off. Either way, it’s still very pretty and Jennifer looks lovely.

Fergie in Marchesa – I chose this picture because Fergie just looks so cute and happy! However, this is just WAY too bridal. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fergie struck a deal with some paps so she could take home some snaps, as she’s gone off the ones from her real wedding. An abundance of froth and lace, a big train, a man in a suit AND a headdress?! Too much, Fergie Ferg, too much.

Lily Donaldson in Erdem – She’s here mainly because her dress is lace and yes, it’s blue lace and it has a Peter Pan collar and it’s actually kind of see-through so it would never work as a wedding dress at all, apart from for those fashion-y types who are too cool for school and would probably wear Gaga’s meat dress for their big day given the chance. I admit to a bit of a style blind spot as far as Erdem is concerned because I tend to just blindly love all his designs because ooooh… aren’t they just so pretty?! And yes, this one is see-through and a bit Grandma’s tablecloth and I can see Lily’s sports bra but ooooh… isn’t it just so pretty?!

Serena Williams in Oscar de la Renta – Here’s where things veer into bridezilla territory. Was Serena sat at home, weeping copiously whilst watching Prince William saying his vows, screaming ‘It should have been me!!!’?! This feather explosion looks as if she said ‘Screw it, I’m just gonna wear the wedding dress I secretly hid at the back of my wardrobe years ago before the moths get to it’; the hideous fascinator says ‘Where the hell was my invite? I still could have changed his mind!’ Jokes aside, this kind of twee pretty stuff just doesn’t work for Serena; she needs to bring the fierce and I’m not sure anyone can ever do that whilst wearing a fascinator. Ever.

Demi Moore in Prabal Gurung – Another disappointed would-be Royal Wedding guest – just because you dyed it black doesn’t mean we don’t know your game, Demi! Black, white, purple with green spots… I honestly doubt there’s a colour that exists yet that would make this dress look good. Not only is it moulting down below, but there’s a parasitic sea anemone sprouting from her breast; meanwhile, the fascinator was rescued from a long-defunct cabaret show. It’s like Demi has been holding in this insanity for so long with all her tasteful flattering dresses all year and has just had a complete meltdown. Which makes it sort of amazing. That’s the Met Ball for you!

Rumer Willis in Badgley Mischka – Meanwhile, Demi’s daughter did an even better job at hiding her Royal Wedding guest-list aspirations. Seeing how ridiculous Mummy and Serena looked, she hastily pinned her fascinator onto one side of her dress instead! I actually think this dress is rather awesome, the detailing all over the gown looks like pieces of stained glass or a not very well fitted together mosaic, but in a good way. On any other night, this dress would be a show-stealer but sadly, because it’s boring black and she’s only Rumer Willis, it got lost in a fug of outrageous fashion statements, huge trains and crazy people wearing fascinators.

Dakota Fanning in Valentino –I don’t know if this dress could get any prettier unless fairies floated around it at all times. Can you imagine how cute this would be shrunk to miniature for little bridesmaids or flower-girls?! Adorable! However, I’m not impressed with Dakota’s make-up, which is so barely-there that it’s not at all. I do think neutral was the right way to go but it hasn’t been executed well; she looks pale and shiny rather than dewy and glowing. Her hair also has no style to it whatsoever – how about romantic waves or a classy up-do? At least we’re reminded that Dakota is still actually in her teens, as she looked scarily adult all dolled-up in The Runaways, but I find myself swooning over the dress and regarding her face as an afterthought.

Jessica Stam in Tommy Hilfiger – This pretty blush number would also be simple enough to look sweet on a bridesmaid, although it’s stunning enough to work as the main number too. Although there were far too many beige gowns going on at this event, this is just a winsomely gorgeous dress, being sold beautifully by Stam. Note the flawless makeup and the lovely half-up half-down hair, Dakota!

Ashley Greene in Donna Karan – And so we continue our tour round Switzerland i.e. the neutral zone. This is a big pouffy princess number, designed for waltzing round in Disney castles, and there’s no doubt that Ashley looks exquisite – I love how the earrings bring out the silver detailing and how a simple up-do stops it all from being overkill. But every time I look at it, I’m reminded of Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lopez doing the same look last year and absolutely slaying it in their respective princess and diva ways. As yet, Ashley just doesn’t have the star quality to make this any more than an absolutely breath-taking dress on legs.

Renee Zellweger in Carolina Herrera – Yes, this is a picture of Renee’s back. That’s because it was a whole lot more interesting than the front, which honestly could have been mistaken for slightly cobwebby looking skin. I just love the shape here – the plunging back, the sprinkle of silver fairy dust, the trailing train. Or perhaps I’m just won over by the composition of the photo – a moment of stillness and serenity amidst a scrum of screaming paparazzi. Even so, what does this say about Renee’s face that I’d rather stare at picture’s of her back?! [Incidentally, I read some amazing guff that the plunging back was inspired by McQueen’s low-slung, butt-grazing jeans. Well, OK Carolina, if you say so…]

Maggie Q in Tadashi Shoji – I frigging love Maggie Q and her kickass ways. My enjoyment of Nikita is entirely based around her being her badass self, breaking things, beating people up and blowing stuff up, all with just one swish of that glossy mane of hair. So this dreamy romantic concoction is a change of scene from her usual slinky sexy ways. The dress is gorgeous, a tumbling cascade of roses, and bar a little heavy-handedness with the eye make-up, Maggie’s pretty gorgeous herself. (Please click for an enlargement, Maggie will shoot you if you don’t look at her pretty up-close)

Emma Stone in Lanvin – Finally we come to the wedding guest section i.e. an excuse for me to shoehorn florals into this post. Since Emma’s dress looks neither like a tablecloth, curtains nor wallpaper, we can conclude that it is a reasonable successful take on a floral dress. I absolutely love how big and bold the print is, while the monochrome palette prevents it from looking too big and bold and the cut is doing all sorts of sexy things to Emma’s figure. Yes, the hair is still blonde and seems to be getting even blonder out of spite to all us non-believers but that pop of pink lipstick is an inspired touch.

Sofia Vergara in Carolina Herrera – You all know I’ve been critical of Sofia ‘va va voom’ Vergara in the past and what do you know, she looks reassuringly lushly gorgeous once she puts the armoury away, back to the chest area where they belong as opposed to somewhere near her eyeline. This is a simple silhouette that works entirely because of the floral embroidery (even if it appears to have had pieces of sticky tape placed on it at random) and she just looks lovely. A stand-out for all the right reasons, this is probably the best she’s ever looked.

Randomer in Erdem – Yes, I know nothing of fashion. Tyra would be screeching at me and throwing me out of the model house after I gaped vacantly in one of her challenges after she asked me to pose like *insert obscure model’s name here*. But I had to put this in because this dress is soooo gorgeous. The very best illustration of how florals can look elegant and effortless, with not a hint of tablecloth, curtain or wallpaper in sight. I absolutely love how it works with Randomer’s milkmaid braid – such a pretty romantic look all-round. Good work, Randomer, whoever you are.

Kirsten Dunst in Chanel – Oh Snaggletooth, what happened? You used to be so cool and hip and now you look like a soccer mom. I dislike the dress (it looks like the kind of floral design people paint onto canal boats) but I dislike what Kiki is doing to it even more. Blowsy hair, puffy face, frumpy feel. This is Chanel?!?! Seriously?!

Pictures: Just Jared, Style.com, Look.co.uk, Socialite Life, Huffington Post Style

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Tagged Ashley Greene, best dressed, bridal, Chanel Iman, Costume Institute Gala 2011, Dakota Fanning, Demi Moore, Emma Stone, Erdem, fascinators, fashion, Fergie, head-pieces, Jennifer Hudson, Jessica Alba, Jessica Stam, Kirsten Dunst, Lily Donaldson, Maggie Q, Marchesa, Met Ball 2011, Met Gala 2011, Miranda Kerr, photos, red carpet, Renee Zellweger, Rumer Willis, Serena Williams, Sofia Vergara, Style, wedding dress, worst dressed

Red Carpet Rundown: 2011 Bafta Awards

Posted on February 17, 2011 | 1 comment

Initially, I wasn’t going to write about 2011’s Bafta Awards, which were a bit low on star wattage compared to previous years. But then I found I needed a distraction from the slag-heap of ugly and tacky that was this year’s Grammys and Brits, so here we are.

Thandie Newton in Monique Lhuillier – Thandie, as she so very often is, was my best-dressed at this event. Not only is Ms Newton blessed with exquisite good looks but she seems to have exquisite taste too, as I can’t remember the last time I saw her put a foot wrong on the red carpet. It’s a dramatic gown in a dramatic colour, yet Thandie carries it off with effortless elegance. A dream.

Emma Stone in Lanvin – I’m still not sold on Emma as a blonde but this is an outfit she probably could have never worked as a redhead and she looks fabulous. Blake Lively wore a gown from the same collection and looked like she was auditioning to be some Valkyrie-inspired superhero; Emma looks like a gilded Grecian goddess. I love the warm colour palette that’s tying everything together, right down to her gold clutch and hoop earrings. That smile is just adorable. I just want to caterwaul ‘I’ve got a pocketful, pocketful of sunshine!’ every time I look at her.

Rosamund Pike in Alexander McQueen – I’ve loved Rosamund Pike’s style for years as she can make youthful edgy outfits feel classy and lady-like. This mustard McQueen is carefree boho grown up and done to red carpet standards (something I felt Mila Kunis didn’t quite pull off at the SAGs). Could her hair be any more perfect?

Amy Adams in Elie Saab – Yes! Amy Adams is back! Gone are the done-to-death jewel tones and instead we have a look that is just outrageously pretty. No one brings the pretty quite like Elie Saab and Adams positively glows. I never expected coral to work with red hair but Amy delightfully proves me wrong. This couldn’t get more springy and refreshing unless those shimmers came from a sprinkling of morning dew and a fluffy bunny bounded across the picture.

Julianne Moore in Tom Ford – I wanted Amy to step away from the jewel tones; I frankly couldn’t wait for Julianne to get back to them. After a really terrible run of late, which has seen Moore mired in a series of shapeless fits, unwarranted sleeves, unflattering colours and even a pair of knock-off Ugg boots, this marked a return to her red carpet best – old-school Hollywood glamour. The deep sapphire velvet gown, smouldering smoky eyes, bright red lips and tumbling Titian hair are just a perfect combo – and that’s before we’ve even mentioned the Tom Ford-shaped arm candy she sported for most of the night!

Gemma Arterton in YSL – My boundless love for Gemma (she was the sole reason I sat through St Trinians 2) is the main reason she’s here as I’m still undecided over whether the bed-head hair and gift-wrap bow work. What I am sure of is that she is working the hell out of it and that she should wear scarlet lipstick ALL the time. This isn’t a red carpet picture but it was the only one I could find where it’s obvious that her handbag is a fish, which is obviously all kinds of amazing. Marriage proposal’s in the post, Gemma.

Jameela Jamil in Dolce & Gabanna – There were lots of randomers on this red carpet, although thankfully, the Kardashians have yet to spread their tentacles across the Atlantic. Quite what Rachel Stevens, Sarah Harding or even Tracey Emin were doing there has yet to be explained and Jamil (a T4 presenter?) gets another shrug of the shoulders from me. She’s here purely on the merits of her dress, which is just gorgeous. However many tacky Anne Summers lingerie sets get produced, red and black will always be one of my favourite colour combinations and this dress is just so flirty and feminine – lace! ribbon! flowers! Another hit for red lippie too.

Bonnie Wright in Clements Ribeiro – Another victory for redheads, another victory for print and another victory for red hot lipstick. I like the dress a lot, even if there’s something a bit ‘charity lunch/day at the races’ about it, and the floral print is another deliciously light spring touch. Yet given how rarely I give two hoots about bags on the red carpet (unless they’re shaped like a fish obviously), that this drab black clutch sticks out quite so badly means it must be really awful.

Annette Bening in Marchesa – This dress makes me think of a snowflake. In a good way. I’m not sure I can get much more coherent than that.

Noomi Rapace in Givenchy Couture – Some are saying Vegas showgirl; I’m saying ghetto frigging fabulous! Ultimately, glitter appeals to our baser instincts (the kind that meant all your kindergarten artwork would invariably be covered in sequins given the chance) and in the same way that Marion Cotillard used to pep up proceedings with sequin-covered dresses that made her look like a mermaid or an angel, so it falls to another European actress to inject some vitality into the night. Sporting more gold bling than a rapper with a point to prove, Noomi looks sensational.

Jessica Alba in Atelier Versace – Alba is walking away with many people’s best-dressed of the night and whilst there’s no denying that this electrifying blast of cobalt is stunning on its own right, Jessica just never does it for me. She sits alongside Jessica Biel and Kate Bosworth as perennial red carpet bores, partly because they seem to have about as much personality as a tin of paint and partly because said tin of paint could probably out-act them too (I’d include Camilla Belle in this group yet I’ve never actually seen her act, or attempt to anyway). They could probably pull a Gaga or Bjork on the red carpet and merely elicit a yawn. Back to the outfit, which made her look pregnant – and she’s just announced that she is so pats on the back all-round – and yet another winning blast of crimson lips. Unlike many, I actually like the milkmaid plaits as well

Jennifer Lawrence in Stella McCartney – Lawrence continues to mine her saloon girl dress-up box with this dress, which might have been pretty had someone hoiked it up and superglued it about three inches higher. The cheap-looking choker makes her look like a heroine from the front cover of a Mills & Boon romance – from the 80s – but mostly, you just feel sorry for her boobs.

Emma Watson in Valentino – Let’s end things with everyone’s favourite. I’m going to come out and say it – I just do not like that hair. It has killed every one of Emma’s outfits of late for me, even the pretty ones, but I don’t particularly think this is one of those either. Whether it’s the washed-out colour, frill overload and mumsy print that makes her look frumpy, or whether it’s the frumpy hair that makes the dress look mumsy, I’m not sure. Either way, I can’t wait for her hair to grow back.

The more I’ve written about this red carpet, the more I’ve decided I liked it after all; it’s nice to see some people other than the usual Hollywood roll-call of likely suspects. Unusual prints, interesting colours and red lipstick worked to within an inch of its life – not a bad showing after all.