Promo Trail!

Michelle Williams - who just won a Golden Globe for her performance in My Week with Marilyn - has been hitting the campaign trail with aplomb. Pulling out elegant look after look, here she is in Jason Wu, Chanel, Miu Miu and then Jason Wu again. Some people find her style a bit too cutesy or whimsical, but I love the fact that she has a style 'persona' but it still happy to experiment too. And I LOVE her hair.
I read the books that the film are based on during a plane trip the other day. The first book The Prince, The Showgirl and Me was a fun and gossipy read about life on a film set in the 1950s. It appealed to the old movie buff in me. My Week with Marilyn (the author's supposed 'lost week' where he had an almost affair with Marilyn Monroe) was only so so, but I could see the filmic potential in it. I'm looking forward to finally seeing the finished product.

And what of the rest of the Golden Globes? I love to look at pretty dresses any day, any time, but these big events of late tend to be a bit ho hum. It's not very often that you see a truly dramatic dress. So, for me, my pick from this year is Evan Rachel Woods in Gucci Premiere. Not necessarily something I would wear but ERW looks smashing in it. And what's not to love about a plunging neckline, sequins and feathers, all in the same dress.

Red-Carpet Prints

Sarah Jessica Parker has been on the campaign trail for her new film I Don't Know How She Does It proving that despite saying 'I don't think about fashion all day long' in US Vogue recently (and I hope no-one does really, except the people that actually create it ... although wasn't SJP one of them for a while?), she is still one of the best dressed actresses out there. Both these print dresses are Prabal Gurung.

And backing up SJP's assertion that prints are so hot right now (and always will be in my opinion) Keira Knightley was spectacular in Mary Katranzou at a photo-call.

She also looked spectacular in Valentino Couture for the premiere of her new film Dangerous Method which looks very intriguing by the way. David Cronenberg directs, Viggo Mortensen plays Freud, Michael Fassbender plays his protege Carol Jung and Keira is the patient Carl has an affair with. Check out the trailer.

Frocks That People Wore in Cannes That I Liked

Zoe Saldana in Armani Prive; Le Seydoux in Louis Vuitton; Sarah-Jessica Parker in Elie Saab; Milla Jovovich in custom-made Prada; Alexa Chung in vintage 60s Balenciaga; Fan Bing Bing in Oscar de la Renta and a custom-made evening gown from her own stylist (stunning!). What were some of your favourites from the Film Festival?

Hooray for the Met Ball!

Hooray indeed as some seriously dramatic frocks finally hit the red-carpet this year. It is almost silly how excited I get about the Costume Institute Met Ball.
It's been an Alexander McQueen kind of week as the ball this year was ties to a Lee McQueen retrospective. This followed a frenzy over a certain Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen wedding dress that someone may have donned last Friday (if you are remotely interested in my two cents worth, I thought it was a beautiful if relatively unexciting choice. Tom and Lorenzo have an interesting take over here.)
Meanwhile, here are my favourites rom the fashions night of nights.

Edgy: Saoirse Ronan in Rodarte is brave and beautiful.

Vintage: Nicole Richie looked gorgeous in a classic 1930s bias cut down while Ashley Olsen had me coveting voluminous sleeves in vintage Christian Dior.

One-of-a-kind glamour: Natalia Vodianova in Valentino haute couture (die) and Michelle Williams in a custom-made Miu Miu gown covered in bronze swallows. Michelle's hair and make-up are divine too. She may just be my favourite of the night.

Elegant sexiness: Emma Stone in Lanvin and Diane Kruger in Jason Wu. They both look immaculate from head-to-toe.

Bringing the pretty: Dakota Fanning in Valentino. When you are 17 you should be wearing dresses like this. I have a feeling some people might not like this, but I'm forever partial to floral appliques and tulle. It was very fairy princess ... in a garden.

Bringing the drama: Crystal Renn and Christina Ricci both delighted me in dark and deeply dramatic gowns courtesy of Zac Posen. It's these kind of Met moments I so look forward to.

And finally, SJP and Salma Hayek (who was one of the event hosts) saw fit to honour the late Lee McQueen. I thought that more guests would've mined the archives, but there is no doubt these two ladies did his genius proud.

Now bring on the red-carpets at Cannes I say.

Something Old, Something New

The Oscars just ain't what they used to be. Sure, the ceremony has got shorter, the awards are more diverse and my TIVO means I can fast forward through the dull songs, but it seems that actresses these days are too wary of the more mainstream fashion pundits to make a real statement in their dress. Personality is definitely missing and after this year I'm more convinced than ever that the Costume Institute Ball and Cannes are where it is really at for red-carpet fashion.

Having said all that, Anne Hathaway was totally gorgeous in each of her eight costume changes. I think these were my faves: Armani Prive, Givenchy and Vivienne Westwood.

The only person who really blew me away was, unsurprisingly, my aspirational friend Cate B. I remember marvelling at this Givenchy gown when this couture collection was first showcased. Comprised of only ten gowns, each of them is a work-of-art from a truly gifted designer. Riccardo Tisci really is working at the height of his powers and funnily enough this dress was one of my favourites (who doesn't love lavender?). The hours that would have gone into all the intricate beading on this dress boggles the mind and Tisci could not have hoped for a better fashion plate than Cate. She has such a regal air and her hair and make-up were perfection too.

Another star who isn't afraid to take risks is Marisa Tomei. She regularly wears vintage to big events and as I was blown away to see her wearing Charles James, the father of American high fashion. I don't think I've ever seen a real-life human being in this century wearing a James couture gown; usually they are found on mannequins in museums. Marisa sourced her James from Lily et Cie in Los Angeles, which is the same store where Renee Zellweger found her Oscar Jean Desses a decade ago. I've got to admit though that while this dress is AMAZING, I don't think it fits Marisa that well, particularly around the bust. The catch-22 is that it would be sacrilegious to alter a piece of design history like this, so I've got to give Marisa credit for wearing it and thus raising the profile of this oft forgotten great designer in the process. You can read more about him at an old post of mine here.

Red-carpet Vintage Spot

I always love seeing vintage on the red-carpet. Glee actress Dianna Agron wore vintage Chanel couture to yesterdays Screen Actors Guild Awards. It's a navy lace strapless dress courtesy of Rare Vintage, although I'm not sure what era (although the nineties can be considered vintage now, right?). I love the length of this dress, and it is classic, beautiful, flawless Chanel. I'm not totally loving her hair and her shoes - a bit clunky perhaps - but I'm loving everything about January Jones in brand new Carolina Herrera on the same carpet.

All this Chanel talk has got me lusting after vintage Chanel suits. Suits or gowns, what a pity I can't afford either. Knock off anyone?

The Best Frocks of 2010

When I think about the most jaw-dropping celeb fashion moments of 2010, the first images that come to mind not unsurprisingly feature the forever perfect Cate Blanchett. Now that she's keeping a relatively low profile in Sydney (I was in Hunter's Hill the other week but I didn't see her, although the hubby caught sight of her a couple of weeks ago), she doesn't walk the red-carpet as much, but when she does, golly she's gorgeous. LOVED her in Alexander McQueen at Cannes this year and she was equally as lovely in vintage Lacroix in Japan.

Another highlight: Kristin Davis' efforts for the SATC 2 promo trail. She wore designer vintage from Decades for every event and looked spectacular each and every time. It's hard to pick a favourite, but the Balmain and Jean Desses were flawless.

(By the way I relented and finally watched the film in a hotel room one night while I was working. It was entertaining in parts but I thought it was culturally insensitive and the overt displays of wealth left me feeling queasy. Is it just me, or is Sex and the City not really Sex and the City if it isn't set in New York? And Stanford and Anthony hated each other. No way should they have got married).

The Costume Institute ball always brings me vicarious frock joy, even more so than the Oscars or the Globes I'd say. Particularly memorable in 2010 were Bee Schaffer's Balenciaga Edition (a copy of an original from 1948) and Dutch supermodel Doutzen Kroes in Zac Posen. I'm a sucker for periwinkle blue.

Though Diane Kruger looked very, very pretty in Lacroix at the Golden Globes.

Shoe designer Charlotte Dellal wore the wedding dress of the year back in May, in this custom designed Giambattista Valli. AMAZING.

And outside of these lovely ladies, my picks for the consistently best dressed celebs of the year go to Sarah-Jessica Parker, Anne Hathaway, Keira Knightley and Michelle Williams.

What were your favourite frocks?