Best Dressed at the SAG Awards

I love awards season and all the opportunities it offers to critique and admire expensive gowns. Unfortunately most of the fashions at the SAG Awards this year were pretty blah. In the spirit of celebrating the dopeness, rather than focusing on the wackness, I've included above some of the lovely gowns which I did like.

The trends on the SAG red-carpet were blues, white dresses and halter-necks. As far as white gowns go, my favourite was Anne Hathaway's white Azzedine Alaia dress. It reminds me of the pink sixties shift dress I picked up from the Vintage Clothing Shop a couple of months ago with the embellished neckline and waist. She looked really pretty.

Kyra Sedgwick is the only actress I could see that wore vintage to the Awards. Her dress is early 80's Chanel and she looks very classy. Snaps to her for wearing something pre-loved.

Freida Pinto from Slumdog Millionaire fame (how great was that movie??) worked the blue trend really well in a vintage-like gown which is actually Marchesa. This dress reminds me of a 50's Jean Desses draped couture gown. In fact, you could say it is a complete rip-off, right down to the lovely blue colour. It is also very similar to the white evening gown Grace Kelly wears in To Catch a Thief. Regardless, she looks so, so pretty. And I was happy to hear the cast, who are all relative unknowns, won best ensemble in a motion picture.

Evan Rachel Wood, in a teal Monique Lhuillier dress, is definitely my favourite of the evening. Evan just missed out on making my best-dressed list for the Golden Globes where she wore a black tiered dress with a plunging neckline. You can check it out here: http://www.popsugar.com/2684431?page=0,0,85. I'm glad to see she is a little less Gothic here and is slowly shaking off the taint of Marilyn Manson (I'm not sure if they are still together, but I suspect not). This is Hollywood glamour with a twist. I love how she has accessorised with an antique brooch and the purple shoes and clutch complement the colour of the dress so well. What a pity that she is wearing so much make-up though. She is so beautiful, and so young, it would be nice to see her face looking a bit softer.

And finally I suspect that some haters will dismiss Marisa Tomei's Elie Saab dress but I think it is gorgeously romantic and as you know I LOVE yellow and anything with a defined waist. The frill which continues right down her back cinches this one for me as a highlight of the evening.

And although I don't want to harp on about all the truly awful dresses that had outings last night, there are a couple of people that I want to mention. One is Angelina Jolie who as far as I could tell wore a dress almost identical to the one she wore to the Globes apart from the colour. It also looked like she was wearing the dress back to front! Her lack of effort really doesn't bother me that much (she sells herself as an artiste and humanitarian after all), but if I see any online or print commentators gushing over her gorgeousness and fashion forwardness tomorrow, I may want to squeal.

And I hope I never have to mention Eva Longoria again on my blog, because I truly have no idea why she is so famous, but seriously WHAT WAS SHE WEARING?? Her dress had some weird sheer thing going on at the top, as though her boobs weren't enough to hold it up, it had frills all over the place, but in a bad way, and her hair looked like it belonged on a mother-of-the-bride. If you don't mind burning your retinas, you can see it here: http://www.popsugar.com/2735045

Pop Sugar is always good for timely red-carpet rundowns.

Comments on my site are now working, so feel free to spew forth vitriol or commendation as you see fit.

Dress of the Week

So this week's frock of the week was an easy pick, for how could I go past the fabulous Michelle Obama and the gorgeous evening gown she wore to the inauguration ball.

The floral lace in this gown is reminiscent, for me, of 1950's Givenchy. The one-shouldered look is shaping up to be the one for 2009. I'll be interested to see how many appearances it makes on the Oscars red-carpet. The style is very flattering on her, but I guess she is lucky to be so tall and slim. She looks stunning.

Can the Obama family be anymore photogenic? I loved the cute jackets Sasha and Malia wore for the inauguration. If I was 10 years old I would have been very envious of them.

I believe the designer of this dress was American Jason Wu. Michelle has been supporting American designers with her fashion choices and thus far, in my book, she has put nary a foot wrong.

The final result of the Cleo photoshoot ...

My darling Mum kindly sent me this scanned copy of the Cleo article and photo-shoot about 'what my wardrobe says about me' which is out now in this month's issue.

I still haven't gotten around to working out how to use the whizz bang copier/printer/scanner my boyfriend bought a couple of months ago. Oops.

I look so different from day-to-day Lou in this photo because of the huge amounts of eye make-up that was plastered on me. I am a minimal make-up kind of girl and now I know why as it took about three days to remove all the black gunk, plus it kept getting stuck under my contact lenses. However I did like the orange lippy she used and I might try and pick up something similar at some stage.

My boyfriends comment: they put you in an outfit that you would wear around the house on the weekend. Bless him.

The girl in the pretty floral vintage dress (not dissimilar to one I own which I bought in New York three years ago) was shot first, and because she was shot in a vintage dress the art director really didn't want me to wear a dress and definitely didn't want me to wear vintage. It made life a little difficult seeing as well over half my wardrobe is vintage. The top in this shot isn't even mine! It was an emergency ring in from the fashion dept (although at least I got to check it out. I wish I got to throw around designer clothes that carelessly).

She also wouldn't let me wear jewellery or a belt, so the outfit isn't a true reflection of what my wardrobe says about me. But she was approaching the shoot from an art directors perspective, not a fashion directors. There was no stylist there - just the art director, the photographer (who was lovely) and me. I did feel a little bit like a Top Model contestant - albeit an elderly one with womanly hips.

What I Wore Today

So my oldest and dearest friend Rebecca held a joint 30th birthday party last night with her husband, and the theme was HATS. So I went and picked up this litle vintage number this week and paired it with a lovely vintage scarf. I can't quite remember where I got this scarf, but I have a feeling it may have been a gift from a friend. Apologies if that friend is reading this post. Be assured that I love it!

And I also love the hat so much that it has been to the beach with me as well as to the party last night. I was going for a 'garden party' look with this outfit, as they had the party at their home on their spacious outdoor patio. It was a bit of a pity that the weather turned chilly last night. Everyone ended up in coats and cardigans by the end of the night.

The gay boys in the block of flats next to mine were on their way to a Bollywood party and they approved of the outfit wholeheartedly. They were looking rather spiffy themselves.

I love this time of year.

Scarf - vintage

Hat - vintage

Blouse - Sewn

Belt - vintage

Skirt - Zimmermann

Shoes - new from Shag on Oxford St

Stylish Seniors

There are two lovely older ladies - I would guess in their 70's - who look like identical twins to me whom I often see when I'm walking to and from Bondi Junction. Whenever I see them they look super stylish, dressed in not matching but complementary outfits of floral dresses or skirt suits and considered accessories too of sensible but nice shoes and attractive bags.

I love whenever I spot them. They always look like they are on their way to somewhere 'special' and the fact that they are definitely sisters, if not twins, makes them cute as button. I'd love to take a photo of them someday, but I'd be too embarrassed to ask.

And speaking of stylish seniors (I was going to say groovy grannies, but now that my Mum is granny and I don't consider who to be elderly AT ALL, I didn't think that was quite the right expression), there is a fantastic blog called http://advancedstyle.blogspot.com/ which posts pics of dashing seniors, mostly out and about in New York, but they do accept submissions from all around the world. This site is proof that age should not weary you if you've got an eye for style. And that you can never be too old to work a unique outfit - as long as you've got the confidence to pull it off.

I also love how happy most of the models look in these photos. Better than the glum 20-something poseurs you see in a lot of street style blogs.

Photo courtesy of Advanced Style. Love the Chanel bag!

My Pick of The Globes Dresses (in no particular order)

So the Golden Globes this year were very, very star studded. Trying to pick my favourite red-carpet outfits has been pretty hard, as so many actresses pulled out all the stops and went super glam. I am in dress envy heaven.

From my shortlist above I can deduce that

1. I am loving what Galliano is doing at Dior at the moment. He has created stunning couture gowns this season and obviously Hollywood agrees as Eva Mendes, Demi Moore, Sandra Bullock and DrewBarrymore are all wearing Dior (and don't you love the new Dior ad with Marion Cottillard on top of the Eiffel Tower?).

2. Asymmetrical gowns, folds and draping and muted colours are all the rage. I love all three, if done right.

3. I've noticed that a lot of the ladies wore some gorgeous necklaces which is nice to see as I noticed the bling jewellery was rather hidden away on the red carpet in 2008. Fash mag slags will probably be able to find some correlation with economic downturns and flashy gorgeous jewels, but I can't be bothered. I'm going to put it down to coincidence.

I tried not to read too many online commentaries before coming up with my hitlist as I didn't want to be swayed by the so-called experts, but I couldn't help notice that Cameron Diaz's choice had already made it onto a lot of the worst dressed lists. Personally I love her choice and I hope I'm not being blindsided by my obsessive love of all things pink. Cameron always makes unusual red-carpet choices and tends to prefer sassy, girly numbers and I've got to say they are almost always working for me. This deconstructed Chanel dress really complements her lean, lovely figure and her hair and make-up makes her look super sexy. I also love the ring, the hot shoes and the gorgeous Edwardian style buttons down the back of the dress. Pooh to the experts.

Amy Adams black Oscar de la Renta is a little bit Italian widow and a whole lot of simply gorgeous. She's wearing it well.

Drew Barrymore has blown my mind with her choice. Her taste can be a little hit and miss but either her, or her stylist, really hit the mark this year. How gorgeous is her Brigitte Bardot-esque hair and equally retro make-up? The sexy off-the-shoulder sleeves and movement of the unusual fish-tail make this dress something really special. I adore her bracelet too. Sigh.

Demi Moore is rocking the popular nude look and of all the stars who went with this palette, she suits it to a tee. I think the nice tan helps. I am really drawn to this dress because of the cross-over straps on the bodice. Plus she looks sexy and age-appropriate. No-one could ever accuse Demi of looking mumsy.

Sandra Bullock comes a close second to Demi in her Dior dress which embraces the asymmetrical look, which according to the holy fashion bible that is Vogue (debatable??) is the look for the season. I love the ra ra like fishtail on this dress.

I realise that Olivia Wilde looks like a dolie, but whatever, I like doilies. I also like belted dresses and mauve, so she's ticking three boxes for me with this outfit. Such a fairy princess dress.

My Cate didn't make an appearance at The Globes this year but most of the Aussie girls walking the red-carpet did me proud. Well done to Melissa George for looking so supremely elegant. This dress is a little bit different and the piping, feature at the bust and saucy slit really grabbed me. Her hair and make-up are also stunning. She is rocking old-Hollywood glamour with a twist here.

People are always bagging out Maggie G's fashion sense but I just had to include her here because I LOVE her and because no matter what anyone else says, I think she always looks fab. Maggie seems like a real fashion girl to me, which means that either a.) I am challenged in this area and the majority rules or b.) Maggie is an acquired taste for for the tragically clothes obsessed. Maggie gets snaps from me for wearing green and black leopard print to an awards ceremony and I think the bouffant one-shoulder is super cute. She always looks like she hasn't tried to hard and is having fun. Maggie - will you be my friend??

I probably would have included January Jones even if her Versace dress wasn't absolutely stunning because I'm completely addicted to Mad Men. I cannot wait for Series 3. I almost included Christina Hendricks - who wore a classy black strapless dress - and Elisabeth Moss - who rocked a super cute retro red dress (albeit with bad accessories) - but of the Mad Men cast January is definitely the winner. Can this girl be anymore gorgeous? The folds are super cool, the shade of blue is divine and those pockets look kind of handy. This dress manages to be modern and classic all at once.

Isla Fisher is another Aussie girl rocking a gorgeous dress. I'm not sure who the designer is for this, but this dress is great for Isla's figure and colouring. This is another sexy asymmetrical dress with an interesting detailed skirt. Isla gets definite finger snaps for this one.

I reckon some will say that Heidi Klum's dress isn't exactly appropriate for the Globes but I can't say I really care. Not only did Heidi wear vintage, she wore a vintage polka-dot balloon dress featuring an over-sized flower belt. What is not to love? Nice red lippy and hot shoes too.

Eva Mendes has been looking STUNNING on the red-carpet lately and this dress is no exception. She has worn white without looking bridal (the beautiful turquoise necklace helps), I adore the cinched waist and the falling fabric from the waistline and her hair and make-up are all perfect. This dress wouldn't have looked out of place on Marilyn Monroe.

So much to love, I dare not focus on what there was to hate. All I'm going to say is that I think Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce Knowles probably should have re-thought what they were wearing. J Lo's dress was a bit too Grammys for the Globes (i.e. too much flesh on display). I could say the same for Beyonce, whose dress was doing weird things to her boobs.

And I also wish that the vocal minority of people out there who think Angelina Jolie is a style icon (or a good actress for that matter, but now I'm being cheeky) need to take a good hard-look at Angelina's wardrobe (and maybe their own?) and realise that Angelina is NOT a fashion girl and consistently looks dull, dull, dull. Very beautiful, of course, but nonetheless dull. Her Globes dress wasn't ugly, but it wasn't interesting either, and I've certainly come to expect no more from her.

Do you agree/disagree with my choices? If I had to narrow it down even further, I'd have to say Eva Mendes, Drew Barrymore, January Jones and Amy Adams were my absolute favourites of the night. Though I might change my mind tomorrow.

And how excitement that Kate Winslet won two Globes? She is one of my favourite actresses and I can't wait to see both her new movies. Kate was on my long-list in a very elegant black number, wisely accessorised with the scrumptious and equally worthy Leo DiCaprio.

Dress of the Week

So trawling red carpet photos for this week I was a tad underwhelmed, but my pick of the week has to be the Balmain dress Anne Hathaway wore to the Palm Springs Awards. The lace embellishment across the midriff reminds me somewhat of my Year 12 formal dress (frightening) which, come to think of it, was quite stylish, at least for 1995.

This is a super elegant look. Anne has been looking very pretty lately. Cute peep toe shoes as well.

What a pity she said yes to that horrible Bride Wars movie that looks like absolute RUBBISH.

However, I do want to see Rachel Gets Married.

What I Wore to the Beach Today

It is super hot in Sydney at the moment. Bliss. The last two summers have been somewhat lacklustre, but so far this one is shaping up to be absolutely gorgeous.

I've been getting in a lot of quality beach time and after a very bad day at work today (I found out I'm being made redundant), I decided to cheer myself up with a new bikini, a copy of the latest Vanity Fair and a trip to the beach.

Bikini - Zimmermann

Shorts - from Ra Ra Superstar, Bondi

Thongs - Havaianas

Necklace - gift from a friend

Bag - French market bag from gardening expo

And speaking of 50's melodrama's ...

While on my Christmas/NY break, my Mum introduced me to director Douglas Sirk, who made a name for himself in the 50's with women's melodrama's. We watched All That Heaven Allows and Magnificent Obsession and I adored both of them. The Julianne Moore film Far From Heaven is actually a homage to All That Heaven Allows.

They are both pure soap opera, but soap opera done very very well. They feature fine performances from Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman, emotional story-lines, stunning art direction and of course great 50's costumes. Oh for the days when women and men took such care with their clothes (although all those undergarments would have been pretty time-consuming). Those gorgeous dresses and the required girdles meant people weren't assaulted by muffin tops day in and out. Lycra and low rise denim have a lot to answer for ...

Anyway, if you get a chance to check them out, watch for Jane Wyman's red dress in the early cocktail party scene in All That Heaven Allows and her cute dress in the beach scene in Magnificent Obsession. They were my favourites.

I jump on the Twilight bandwagon

I've been off-line for a while as I've been on Christmas break in Port Macquarie, the land of beautiful quiet beaches, sunny weather and no broadband. I had a really chilled out time, swimming and running amok at the beach, watching 80's rom coms and 50's melodrama's (was it just me, or were romantic comedies so much better in the 80's?) and reading, amongst other things, Twilight.

So my colleagues of all ages - from 20 to 60 - had been telling me to read the Stephanie Meyer books for yonks. My assistant (who is not yet 21) has been a big fan for some time. I remember her going on about these vampire YA novels she was into, and being only vaguely interested, reasoning that 1. I'm not a teenager and 2. I'm not into vampire anything. At the time her protestations that the books weren't really just about vampires didn't hold much sway with me. But after my colleague Jane got into the books (along with her 16-year-old son), I relented. I reasoned that I couldn't go and see the flick Twilight featuring the scrumptious Robert Pattinson, without first reading the book.

And I've got to say, the book was hopelessly addictive. For mass market fiction, it isn't terribly written, and Meyer must be doing something right, as I couldn't put the thing down. I even started dreaming about hot teen vampires.

For me the aspect of the book that grabbed me and wouldn't let me go was the romance, with all the delicious elements of delayed gratification, star-crossed love (in this case human/vampire love), a dreamy perfect man, teen angst and the whole ordinary girl being 'picked' by the mysterious boy that all the other teen girls covet and the boys fear - expect in this book he is one of the non-dead - a vampire who was actually born over 90 years previous but who still looks 17, and has all the wisdom and experience that comes with those years, plus mystical physical and mental capabilities to boot.

Oh Edward, how I love thee.

Of course I realise that the book completely plays into the age old female fantasy of the ordinary girl being 'chosen' by the extraordinary man, and I could go round in circles on why this fantasy (which may or may not have been encouraged by men in the first place) could be dangerous or at the very least disappointing, but instead I'm going to take the tack that fantasy is an important element in life, and I don't think anyone should be that afraid of the popularity of Twilight - a romance that oozes sexual tension while containing no actual sex, and with quite a realistic portrayal of a teen girl and the highs and lows of first love.

I've got to say that some of the scenes, particularly in the earlier part where Edward is really struggling with his desire for Bella's blood and his love/lust for her, were pretty sexy. I'll be interested to see how she'll sustain the tension through the next three books.

I care not that a lot of it was pure cheese.

As soon as I finished the book I persuaded one of my girlfriends to come and see the flick with me, and I thought it was pretty good and she really enjoyed it as well. The director did a great job re-creating the setting in Washington State in the US, and I thought the two leads were perfect. Robert Pattinson was so gorgeous that my girlfriend and I audibly swooned in a few parts. His beauty is breathtaking. And Kristen Stewart is beautiful too. I think she could become a big star. The movie really was eye candy galore.

What can I say, I've been suckered in. New Moon, here I come.

Twilight is published by Atom, distributed by Hachette.