I have opinions on Golden Globe dresses, too! I'll start with some of my favorites.
Laura Linney in Elie Saab: Laura Linney almost always knocks it out of the park; I guess it's easy when you're as preternaturally lovely as she is. The subdued shade of egg yolk yellow was a welcome change from all the beige and tan dresses, and instead of washing her out, the color really
compliments her skin tone and hair. The one-shoulder silhouette and band at the waist kind of reminds me of a Valentino dress Cate Blanchett wore to the Oscars a few years ago. While Cate's dress has the advantage of the crimson band (a deeper contrast to the dress, and all around great splash of color), it's also fairly wrinkled and bunched around her ankles. The parallels of satin and limos! The softer fabric of Laura Linney's dress gracefully flows over her curves, towards the red carpet-- and doesn't she actually look sort of comfortable? That's the mark of a great dress.
Jane Krakowski in J.Mendel: Out of the army of women in neutral-colored dresses, Jane Krakowski had my favorite. The one-shoulder strap (enough huge trend) and column is very elegant, a nice change from Jenna Maroney's "I can pass as 27, right?" wear. I love how she doesn't look like she's trying to hard: the makeup and jewelry are relatively subdued, and the loose updo is perfect for the event (glamorous, but not the Oscars, or a Texas Beauty Pagent, cough cough Drew Barrymore). Tina Fey may have gotten to tell all the internet haters to suck it, Tracey Morgan may have gotten to tell Cate Blanchett to deal with the new face of post-racial America, Alec Baldwin may have tried to tell the world that he isn't the world's worst father, but Jane Krakowski got to send a statement of her own: she's totally hot.
Elizabeth Moss in vintage (I believe): I think the reason I love this dress so much is because it's perfectly suited for Peggy, Moss's character on Mad Men. The cap sleeves and cocktail length are youthful and charming, and the chiffon fabric is very fun. That color looks perfect on her, too. Good for her for wearing vintage without looking like she's in costume.
Jenna Fischer in Zuhair Murad: Ok, it's not perfect. The fabric looks a little like a carpet design, sure, but no one else had the guts to wear a print. Plus, the plunging neckline shows off her inspiring rack, and I'm digging the loose ponytail and big earrings. I also really like how Jenna Fischer never shows up looking like Hollywood royalty: she always looks like a Midwestern girl who, through talent and hard work and luck, got a great job on a great show and can hardly believe how fortunate she is to be at any awards show. I'm just sad that she didn't use John Krasinski as arm candy (Ed Helms had that honor).
January Jones in Versace: Emily wasn't a fan of the cut, and I also had some misgivings at first. But then I saw that it had pockets! It's different, and a little bit awkward, but I think she's pulling it off. It helps that January Jones tends to show up in public looking like a hot mess, possibly trying to differentiate herself from her perfectly put together Mad Men character. But here, she embraced the fact that she looks like a star from the golden years of Hollywood.
Her dress leads me into the a discussion of my least favorite dresses, most of which fall into the "fancy napkin" category. You know how you go into a really nice restaurant and the linen napkins are folded in swans and fans and what not? That's what many of the dresses last night reminded me of (if January's dress wasn't blue, you'd be tempted to shake it out and put it on your lap, right?). But then I saw how the Fug Girls described Eva Mendes's dress as having a coffee filter stapled to her hip, and decided that it would also be appropriate to describe these as stapler dresses. I just imagine the designer, looking at the finished dress, and saying to himself, "You know, it's a little dull... where's my stapler? I'm just going to put a staple there, and there, and there, and viola! A needlessly complicated dress?" I guess I'm just not a fan of structural ( or sculptural?) dresses in general-- fabric should drape, fall, swish and float, not be forced into some unnatural, unmoving position.
I do like Eva Mendes's necklace, though. She would have looked great if it weren't for the aforementioned coffee filter. Also, why is Eva Mendes still famous?
I really do not understand that giant ruffle on Kate Beckinsale's neckline. Or how she walks in such an extreme mermaid gown, because damn, it gets quite narrow around the knees.
What is the point of all the folds and creases in America Ferrera's dress? Besides to annoy me? Also, I don't think this is quite the right color for her.
Christina Hendricks, Friedo Pinto, and definitely Cameron Diaz wore stapler dresses, too-- scroll down to
Emily's post if you need to refresh your memory.
I do want to cover a bit of the same ground as her, though, with regards to Mary Louise
Parker's strapless blue dress. At first I thought, "I like it, but it looks so similar to something I've seen before... has someone already worn this dress to an awards show?" But then I realized that I fell in love with this Carlos Miele dress during last fall's fashion week, and
posted about it, too. I guess MLP and I have similar taste in fashion. I just wish we had seen more
Monique Lhuiller on the red carpet (I read somewhere that she's one of the designers canceling their Fall 2009 fashion show, which would have taken place in the next few weeks. I'm so disappointed, even though it's not like I'd be going to the runway show and she'll do some sort of presentation that'll get posted online. Still disappointed).
Finally, I'd like to give some props to the men. This category should be so easy, but surprisingly few guys got it right by: shaving, washing their hair, taking off their sunglasses, and generally not looking like a hobo. WTF, Sting, did you just get off a desert island? You're scaring the children!
Simon Baker was my favorite man of the night-- he looks so refined, yet not at all stuffy. Great hair, clean shaven, and I dug the thick black-rimmed glasses he wore at several points during the ceremony. Very dork-inside-a-surfer-god's-body, I think. I sort of wish he had decided to wear one of the hot vests he often rocks on The Mentalist, but I'll forgive him, because I really want to touch his hair.
Speaking of vests, I like how Colin Farrell used plaid to put his own spin on a classic suit. Sure, he isn't clean-shaven, and his hair is a little to spiky for me, but when Colin Farrell doesn't look like he rolled out of a gutter, we call it a victory. And speaking of glasses, Colin Farrell wears some very cute wire-rims in In Bruges, and I would recommend renting it just for how adorable he looks in those scenes.
Aaron Eckhart wins the George Clooney Award for Excellence in Formal Menswear, presented on occasions that ol' Cloons, with the help of Armani, doesn't show up and put all the other men to shame with his debonair hotness. I like how Eckhart combined the expected bowtie with some subtle patterns on the label; it shows that he, or his stylist, has excellent taste and isn't just wearing the basic awards show tux.
I love this dress. I know that January Jones got fugged by a lot of people, and I can understand why; the messy hair, the lack of accessories, the bodice that looks like her boobs are covered in metallic cupcake holders, the skirt is a bit like a mullet, it's more than enough to give me pause. But here's what it comes down to: on a night where everyone seemed to be wearing the same old mermaid dress or one-shouldered gown, January Jones absolutely stood out. And it's an old truism that "the girl should wear the dress, the dress shouldn't wear the girl," but here it absolutely applies. She looks comfortable in that dramatic, poofy gown, and looking comfortable goes a long way towards looking hot. The other thing that really delights me about this dress is that it's being worn by January Jones, who is the definition of "pretty but boring." It would be so easy to coast through award shows looking like Grace Kelly, but instead she pushes the fashion limits and shows a playful side. It makes me wonder if she could actually be a fun or interesting person, worthy of Jason Sudeikis. (Just kidding--she's totally not worthy of J.Suds.)
Heather Morris's sparkly column dress is very similar to Claire Danes's, but I think Heather did it better. The black belt makes it look extremely polished, and not like one of Taylor Swift's cast offs, and her hair manages the rare feat of evoking Old Hollywood without obscuring her youth. And it's another instance of how playing against type on the red carpet can yield great results; her character on Glee once taught us "sexy epilepsy," and here she is looking classy and glamorous. Not bad for a former back-up dancer for Beyonce.
Sally Draper is, not kidding, one of my favorite characters on Mad Men--I would absolutely watch spin-off in which she joins a cult or goes to Woodstock or whatever angsty teens did to spite their awful mothers in the 1960's. My love for the character extends to the actress, Kirnan Shipka, especially as she grows into a beautiful and poised tween. The glittery headband! The kitten heels! The bell skirt! Well done, all around.
