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February 6, 2016
So - not sure you all watched the SAG Awards, but they were the next big show after the Golden Globes. And we had some great and not-so-great SAG moments on the red carpet....here are some of the most notable.
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What a fantastic beginning and it was great to see her win awards, cause this dress was such a killer. Is is retro (YSL) or good color blocking? It really rocked.
I've reduced to b&w and you can instantly see that all the white (projecting color) is on top and dark (receding color) is on bottom, with a dominant (contrasting) line right down the middle. This sort of arrangement makes for a great lengthening, and you can see instantly that Nicolas Ghesquière - pronounced guess-care with a really pronounced guttural "r" at the end, really knows what he's doing - he's a pro, and it's evident with this dress,
but we can learn from it!
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Uh - NO!
Too tricky, too much twining and cut out going on. It may be couture, but it won't work for 95% of the people out there. The little twist tie thingies are interesting, but only as a side note, and they do not make the dress OK.
The high slit is too high for most of the population to. That said, there are some things to take note of...notice the pleating on the actresses left side? That's done masterfully, and had this just had the tie from the left to drap around the right waist, with a classic (draped or pleated) right shoulder to left waist under it, it really would have been a kicker dress. But there's just too much going on here - too much movement. It doesn't take a
brain surgeon to know that this doesn't work. It's different and that's about i. |
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The color is so right, so what's wrong with this dress? Up front...she does not look even remotely comfy. It also looks a tad off kilter, which could be for several reasons If you're going to wear a couture dress (Givenchy Haute Couture), work it, act like your comfy, even though you aren't.
This fails only because it doesn't look like she's happy nor comfy in the dress. So what does that say about how you feel in your garments? It says that how you feel DOES show!
Therefore it's worth the effort to tweak your garments so that they do feel comfy and you feel elegant, fashionable and modern at the same time! |
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Classic is classic and it never goes out of style. In the blog links below is a link to my YSL blog - read it. The guy was a genius and one of his tenants (all are discussed in the blog post), is that if you show the silhouette of a woman's figure and nothing else, you will have a striking dress....this is an example in spades....or rather in pink!
Not much on the see-thru, but you don't have to do that - I promise!!!! |
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What is it with the British actresses. They go out looking like normal people instead of people who either live on a treadmill or eat one rice cake a month. Lovely figure which is normal (like Judi Dench - another fav of mine). Winslet always appears in some pretty killer outfits as well and this is a great example. Classic, with a great mermaid shaped flare at knees - anything below that and she's moving around like a geisha cause her
stride will be restricted; capped sleeves and a wonderful black trim around the neck and sleeves for detail. The whole look works, but it is a little snug, but the young kids today seem to think that's a fit - it's not, but it's a trend now. Course we sewists don't have to do that, we can actually have ease (a little less in the waist and more in the hips would be killer gorgeous). |
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Nicole Kidman seems to know what she can wear and what she can't. Believe it or not this is a little trompe l'oiel (French for trick of the eye or optical illusion). Those sirls at the bottom are drawn onto a skin-colored netting. This means the dress fits a lot closer and yet looks flouncy and full.
Trompe l'oiel is a great technique to use to get an effect you may not want but look like you want it. OK - that's not that confusing I promise. But in this case the dress looks flouncy and full, but isn't. Another great technique to keep in mind. |
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Elie Saab is one of those designers I love to keep track of. He's got classic on the brain constantly. Here's a great example of half see-thru and half with a skin-toned under. Lace makes a great show of this, and before you just brush lace away as anything you might wear, think about making part of it see-thru (maybe your sleeves) and part skin-toned backed (like the bodice). Nothing could be more modest and attractive.
And lace is still in! |
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Sometimes it's just as important to see what doesn't work as what does.
First (from the little I can read this figure), this actress has no waist. Folks who have no waist should not wear anything accenting the waist - it just doesn't work - it will never work - don't ever do it. OK there might be once, but after that NO!!
That said, don't put too much around the waist. Here we have pleats right above, a belt and then some sort of effort at fit, which looks like something the Wizard of Oz's Tin Man would wear, and then a pleat thingie right around the very worst part of a woman's body with a flowing fullness right below that.
You have to hand it to her thought she looks like she's having fun, which has to be a real complement to her acting abilities cause she doesn't really look that good. She looks like she's really thick through the middle. |
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Another British actress who knows how to walk the red carpet. They must give them fashion lesson in British drama schools.
Ms. Mirren has a gorgeous figure anyway, but the beading and line of beading of the dress is fabulous. She almost borders on too many accents (from the YSL list in the blog link below), but not quite....bust, waist, silhouette (part) and any more than that and she'd look a tart, but in this it's classic as hell!
And she even has a tummy which shows but because the dress is so focused around the top, you hardly notice. And this dress looks like is moves with a fabulously high sashay factor - something I love about formal wear. |
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This has all the right points.
Look at those bust/waist darts and how they end.
Look a the fit of the shoulders.
Look at the great sleeve header.
Look at the sleeve insertion (eased but not gathered)
Look at the self belt.
Look at the skirt - not gathered but extremely full at the hem. OK, the slit is too high, but you don't have to have that. And it's too long for normal street wear, but shorter and no slit, this is a kickin' outfit!
And this is why we need and should pay attention to couture. For we sewists, it's the last example of clearly beautiful sewing. |
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Hands down this is one the most flattering strapless lines you can wear. I like it even more when the tips of the points have little spaghetti straps on them. It makes it that much more comfy but also it sort of finishes off the line. Strapless is boring to me now because it's been so over done. But take this neckline with little spaghetti straps and use it for a cami under a see-thru top, and it's all dress up without
all the suffering of uncomfy strapless.
And I can't not say anything about the symmetrical embroidery - one sure sign of couture.
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I think a lot of people think that just because you're not on the "A" list of stars, that you can't get a good design. This is an Antonio Berardi, and looks fabulous on Juliana Margulies mostly because I love the way that strapless is not used here. Nice clean fit; no funny lines (cut and style lines); beautifully embroidery (featuring the waist); and nice neckline.
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My big takeaway from the SAG awards is thatpretty and waistlines (even when some bodies don't have them and shouldn't show them off) are in. So really what do you do if you have no waist line - do a Juliana Margulies or an Amy Poeler or a Kate Winslet - keep it simple and sleek - no belt or extra accent around the waist.
The other takeaway is that individuality is what it's all about. Each star and their stylist (cause it's really the stylist who has picked everything out), can pretty much have carte blanche and stay well within the styles of the times. What does this mean to sewists? It's like whatever we look best in is what we should be wearing. How neat is that.
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