Tag Archives: Sandra Bullock

Red Carpet Rundown: Golden Globes 2011, Part III

And now for the third section of my 2011 Golden Globes coverage entitled, ‘Ye God, My Eyes!’

Julianne Moore in Lanvin – A former favourite who has lost her way. Gone are the gorgeous jewel tones and classic elegance from pre-2009, instead replaced by an uncanny knack for choosing the worst gowns from various designers’ collections. This time, her obsession with Lanvin, its weird cuts and its bizarre sleeve policy rears its ugly head once more. The bubblegum pink isn’t terrible flattering for Julianne’s colouring, the creases have me itching to iron and the strange sleeve seems to have come from not just one different dress (possibly American quarterback-inspired?), but two! An unmitigated mess.

Halle Berry in Nina Ricci – Halle Berry is one of the most beautiful women in the world, blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda. But over the past year, no-one has been more alert to this fact than Halle Berry herself. It’s been permanently tight, short and bangers o clock round Halle’s place. Here, she’s turned up in her (slightly bondage-esque) underwear complete with fetish cuffs, with a sarong tucked around as an after-thought by Berry’s disproving Dr. Jekyll side. As such, it’s oddly unsexy and makes her look a little desperate.

Michelle Williams in Valentino – Michelle Williams used to get it red carpet right all the time. Remember that mustard yellow Oscars gown, widely regarded as one of the best of all-time?! Sadly, she lost her red carpet mojo when she had her hair cropped and bleached for her role as Marilyn Monroe, but where the hairdresser was mistakenly given a picture of Pat from Eastenders instead. It’s made her look old, dowdy and frumpy and she has started to dress accordingly, wearing stuff that you imagine grannies picking out as misguided presents for their recalcitrant relatives. This empire-line dress with an unfortunate case of boob-squeeze has managed the quite incredible trick of making her look both bottom and top-heavy. The print was last seen in the reduced aisle of tablecloths and shower curtains.

Helena Bonham-Carter in Vivienne Westwood – Oh, that Helena Bonham-Carter, she’s so ker-azy, isn’t she? So wacky, a one-off, a true British eccentric… isn’t it cool that she doesn’t care what everyone else thinks?! However, this ensemble makes me think she cares very much indeed. Wearing mismatched shoes that are actually the same shoe in different colours that both happen to match the tones of the dress make it look like someone has put rather too much effort into looking ker-azy, hence turning the look from breath of fresh air to contrived drama-school project. I actually like certain aspects of the dress – the neckline’s classic uber-flattering Westwood, although it looks like someone slashed it to death on its way to becoming a halter-neck – and the colours and the print are pretty. But it’s so obviously Westwood that it’s very nearly a pastiche and then she had to go and wear sunglasses too… if it takes you this long to look this silly, why not try looking great instead?

Christina Aguilera in Zuhair Murad – Christina’s red carpet run for Burlesque has been pretty poor, where she’s generally looked old, plastic, washed-up and like she doesn’t know what dress size she is anymore. She continues in this vein here, with her wig-like hair, overdone make-up and oddly plump face, serving up a definition of ‘sexy’ so hackneyed and obvious that even Martians with no concept of the word would be telling her to put it away. It looks like the sort of a thing a blousy Mae West wore in her 70s, that Miss Piggy would wear in an attempt to seduce Kermit and even her own tacky perfume bottle. None of those looks is a good thing, by the way.

Christina Hendricks in Romona Keveza – Christina Hendricks is famous for her boobs. In case you hadn’t realised this, she’s taken to sticking something oversize and attention-grabbing in the vicinity just to make it that little bit more obvious. Big red hair, big red flower, big red boobs. At least it’s an improvement on the baby falcon she sported last time. I feel like we’ve seen this all before and would like to see Christina switch up her style before it’s too late.

Jennifer Lopez in Zuhair Murad and Marchesa – J. Lo specialises in playing the diva. There’s nothing too overblown for her – feathers, sequins, beading, animal print, bling, cleavage, bring it on! To be honest, tt feels like a role for show (I’d love it if she really sat at home in trackies eating ice-cream from the tub) and here are two of her latest incarnations at the ceremony itself and then for the after-party: most creative way to wear a wedding veil (as a poncho) and better-late-than-never audition for Black Swan. If she gave me an Amber Riley-sized grin, it would look like just bit a fun but she’s taking it all far too seriously for me to not think she just looks ridiculous.

Sandra Bullock in Jenny Packham – This dress is actually beautiful, a glimmering cobweb of loveliness that’s utterly delightful, uncontrived and perfectly-accessorised. The problems begin and end with Sandie’s facial area. The heavy blunt black fringe hangs over this feather-light confection like a black cloud of doom, Emily The Strange having an even worse day than usual. It’s one of those things women in their forties get told makes them look younger, when in fact all it does it make their face look the size of a postage stamp. Secondly, she looks so very sad. I understand why she might be feeling sad at how much has changed since last year’s Golden Globes, but no one wants to see Sandra Bullock sad, do they? It’s like kicking a kitten. It makes me feel sad and it probably makes the dress feel sad. Which is a shame as it really is a lovely dress.

Red Carpet Rundown – Oscars 2010, Part III

Oops… so I forgot about these photos and since it takes so long to edit them, it seems a shame not to include them. Unfortunately, my genius method of categorising only took me as far as two groups so ummm… ‘The Rest of The Rest’?

Demi Moore in Atelier Versace – *Goo goo eyes* Ruffles! This is essentially a less nice version of Elizabeth Banks’ gown (and by the same designer too); I say less nice because I’m really not sold on the colour, which PR guff probably refers to as ‘blush’ but which I see as not terribly attractive muddy off-tan shade. Despite my love of all things romantic and ruffly, it also reminds me of Emily Blunt’s Golden Globes dress… which in turn reminded me of Frieda Pinto’s Oscar de la Renta at 2009’s Baftas. And out of all those dresses, it still ranks fourth.

Sandra Bullock in Marchesa – This dress was unlucky to make the ‘Favourites’ category, as every time I look at it, I think it looks more beautiful. With each awards ceremony she’s hit up, Sandra’s look has become more refined and she may have just saved the best dress for last. It’s sleek, it’s elegant, it’s shimmery in a subtle way (compared to the Quality Street wrapper shine of her Golden Globes gown… although I really did love that dress); it fits like a glove and the embroidery really is stunning. Her hair’s immaculately groomed and contrasts beautifully with the pale champagne shimmer of the dress and the finishing touch of that bright pink lipstick really was an inspired touch. For an actress whose career has so far been based on pratfalls and tomfoolery, I never thought I’d see her look so poised – a winning outfit in every way. Miss Congeniality would be proud.

Anna Kendrick in Elie Saab – This gown has a slightly vintage feel about it, but I’m not entirely sure I mean in it a good way. The lace around the slit seems a tad too fussy for me and it all feels a little Victorian. The nothing-y colour also contributes to the aged feel as it just looks kinda… old. In fact, it reminds me of these voile drapes I used to have that we never washed and went yellow with age. There are positives (love the off-the-shoulder cut) but the colour kills them all. It’s just so blah.

Jennifer Lopez in Armani Prive – What is J.Lo these days? She’s not been in a decent film for ages, her last album flopped and her last single seems to have been created more with an eye to getting her free Louboutins than for the sake of the music. She still knows how to bring the red-carpet glamour though… even if this dress is a little bridal and the top looks like the peak of your Mr Whippy just flopped over. Minus marks for messy hair though.

Kristen Stewart in Monique Lhullier – I do far prefer when Kristen brings a big of an edge to her red-carpet dressing, but this trumpet-shaped gown oozes gorgeous. Being a bit Gothic, inky midnight-blue dark and very dramatic, it also marries well with the whole Twilight thing whilst showing off an enviable figure and Stewart’s flawless porcelain skin. It’s a grown-up dress for a young girl and I think she pulls it off well – and proves she can crack a smile to boot! Oh Kristen, never stop being your slightly awkward, clueless red-carpet posing self as it’s so endearing and stops me hating on your ridiculously-high levels of talent, beauty and ability to snag a hot boyfriend quite so much.

Amanda Seyfried in Armani Prive – Not you’re not seeing things, this is a definite case of déjà vu. Same designer, similar colour, similar style = very similar dress to J.Lo. For me, Seyfried edges it thanks to that immaculate bun, which would make every prima ballerina proud. Unlike Lopez’s scrunchy mess, it’s the perfect topping to a classic dress. Also, the gown’s shape is simpler, making for a cleaner silhouette. Pure personal preference and Lopez will always have more charisma in her perfectly-manicured little fingernail than Seyfried carries in her whole body, but Amanda’s look is the winner for me.

Red Carpet Rundown: Sandra Bullock

Awards season is upon us, which can only mean one thing – the chance for us to drool over designer gowns for a month. Whilst fashion editors’ attempts to let guys in on the red carpet action is touching, it’s wholly unnecessary (a suit’s a suit and the only actors that get the look wrong are invariably those that turn up sans suit or one in a ker-azy colour) – it’s all about pretty dresses, pretty hair and errr… more pretty dresses.

Each awards ceremony has a flavour of its own, getting more grandiose in tone the closer you get to The Oscars – the dresses get bigger, longer and slinkier (and often, safer) in a directly proportional gradient to the number of A-Listers that show up. Yes, there’s a reason that so many of the worst-dressed list at The Grammy’s are folk you’ve never heard of; they’re desperately trying to become people you *have* heard of, albeit not in a good way. Television actors and musicians get weeded out with each ceremony until only the crème de la crème of above-the-title stars are left (apart from the obligatory randomers nobody has heard of yet we’re obligated to invite them as they’re nominated category).

It can prove fascinating viewing (well… to girls and gays anyway), watching the stars treat each new ceremony as a sounding board to experiment with their looks in the hope of peaking come the big ‘un. The next few posts are dedicated to tracking certain actresses’ sartorial struts towards Judgement Day.

…Kicking off with Sandra Bullock, who is certainly clocking up the red-carpet hours in what could finally be her year (alas, I think “The Academy” may decide she is too lightweight an actress and figure it’s been a while since they gave Meryl Streep one) and whose outfits perfectly demonstrate the casual-to-formal formula I’ve been banging on about.

The two dresses on the right are from two of the first ceremonies out the blocks – the People’s Choice and the Critics Choice Awards. The two on the left see Sandra, having already won those awards and getting an inkling she might be headed for glory, inching closer towards having her moment in the Oscar-shaped sun. No prizes for seeing which are more dressy.

Alberta Ferretti (far right) – This dress is just ok for me. The bare shoulders, sequins, shorter length and tousled hair make it feel young and fresh which fits the occasion nicely, yet the embellishment and fringing are oddly haphazard, making it look like Sandra whipped it out from under Ferretti’s sewing machine a day too early. The shoes are those hoof-like platforms that I’m not a fan of.

Vivienne Westwood (second right) – The cut and pattern of this are unmistakably Queen Viv but it’s a case of the colour killing the ensemble. The dusky mustard not only blends in strangely with Sandra’s tan, yet makes the brocade pattern look like old curtains/carpet rescued from the attic. The ruching is ultra-flattering and I love the neckline but grey shoes?! I know there’s such a trend as contrasting colours yet this just doesn’t work.

Bottega Veneta (far left) – This was possibly my favourite dress at the Golden Globes, purely for the shot of intense colour it offered. Can’t really improve on my original thoughts – it’s purple, it’s shimmery and I think I used to own one just like it for my Barbie.

Alexander McQueen (second left) – This made for an elegant choice at the Screen Actors’ Guild Awards (SAGs) and you’ll soon see that where the Golden Globes are about glitz and glam, the SAGs tend towards a more restrained sophistication (is this just to do with it its more grand title?!). The dress is an instant classic, yet still looks fresh thanks to the cut and colour of the neckline (love the burst of electric blue).

Favourite? – My heart says Golden Globes but my head says SAGs. I guess my inner Barbie just about edges it.

At least Sandra’s choices seem to be improving in line with the highly-scientific gradient we invented… which bodes well for Oscars night. Go Miss Congeniality!

Awards season is upon us, which can only mean one thing – the chance for us to drool over designer gowns for a month. Whilst fashion editors’ attempts to let guys in on the red carpet action is touching, it’s wholly unnecessary (a suit’s a suit and the only actors that get the look wrong are invariably those that turn up sans suit or one in a ker-azy colour) – it’s all about pretty dresses, pretty hair and errr… more pretty dresses.