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I felt it truly best to just leave out my idiotic commentary in this post and let the gowns speak for themselves. She’s really outdone herself. So much detail, so much range of styles. Look at them again and again. You won’t regret it. My personal favorites are the first two gowns. Which are yours?
Carolina makes me swoon. For those of you who don’t know, my gown was Carolina, and I got it for $1,200. CRAZY. This woman is my inspiration. She’s a goddess.
A few of my favorites from recent bridal shows. I only picked one from each runway, with the exception to Angel Sanchez and Carolina Herrera, who will get a whole damn post. Cuz they are that good. I took all of these images from Women’s Wear Daily’s Spring 2014 archive. Leave a comment and let me know what your faves are!
Nicole Miller – what a unique sexy this is! I love how it hugs her body and reveals a little bit of her ribcage area for a subtle sex appeal.
Oscar de la Renta – so, the volume of this dress makes it! It totally has a Victorian bustle-esque pouf on the back and I love that! Don’t even get me started on the gorgeous cascading embellishment on the front. Swoon.
Reem Acra – oh, me and Reem walk a fine line. Some stuff I adore, and other stuff I cannot stand. I happen to adore this one. The plunging sweetheart and illusion neckline is stuff dreams are made of.
Rivini by Rita Vinieris – Her collection was quite disappointing. I chose this dress because it reminded me of Jen Aniston’s somewhat controversial Valentino Oscars gown. It works well for bridal!
Temperley – ok, honestly, Temperley just does not do it for me. I don’t get it. This was the only halfway decent one of the bunch. The rest looked like honeymoon nightgowns.
Vera Wang – do yourself and look at the rest of the collection. Black and white, really?! Girl, get back to your normal awesome self. I do quite like this gown, such intricate detail on such a modern silhouette.
Amsale – I’m pretty much in love with this. I can’t say I’ve seen it before. It’s great. Look at the baby bow!
Anna Maier-Ulla-Maija gown – love the silhouette and details on the bodice. The waist kind of points up and the sweetheart kind of points down, no? Very slimming effect.
Lela Rose – such a clean and urban silhouette for Lela! Usually she’s all about some lace so this was a refreshing addition to her mix.
Rafael Cennamo – this is a really unique take on lace. It has a sexy lingerie look – definitely not appropriate for a church wedding!
Romona Keveza – seriously, what’s not to love about this?! SUCH a showstopper. So sparkly and ethereal!
Legends by Romona Keveza – this hearkens back to the 50’s. Check out the sweet little swiss dots in the skirt.
Theia White – this is a very unique texture. Is it some kind of lace? It’s breathtaking.
Christos – this would be so great for the beach. I love the touch of sparkle on the bust – and a plus, no wedding diet necessary! It could even be a maternity gown!
Kenneth Pool – no offense to the guy but he’s probably one of my least favorite bridal designers. I find most of his gowns uninspired. That being said, there are a few exceptions and I have seen one girl take a Kenneth Pool dress and make it AMAZING.
So readers, which do you love?! I think the Marchesa, Romona, and Oscar are my favorites, but Oscar edges out the rest with that bootie bustle!
Here comes the… black and blue? I was interested to see how much of it there was on the red carpet. As always, dark dresses just don’t photograph that well. You simply cannot see the detail in these amazing dresses! That doesn’t mean that some of my favorite dresses weren’t dark this time – they most certainly were. Please excuse the out-of-orderness of the letter grades, I got distracted doing this post. On a side note, does anyone else wish that Emma Stone was on all the red carpets this season? I miss her…
Justin Timberlake in Tom Ford – A+. Yum. I like to call this nerdy hot.
Amanda Seyfried in Zac Posen – A+. I’ll excuse that truly awkward necklace. I love this gown. The hemline is amazing and unique, the color looks gorgeous with her skin tone, and her hair is stunning.
Jennifer Lawrence in Dior Haute Couture – B+. I love this dress, but not quite as much as Amanda’s. I wish it wasn’t quite so wrinkled, but she looks amazing and I really appreciate her minimalist styling.
Marion Cotillard in Dior Haute Couture – A+. I LOVE this gown. I WANT this gown. It’s so preppy and unique and fun. Her hair looks so good too. This girl can rock an asymmetrical hemline and pick damn good shoes.
Nina Dobrev in Elie Saab – A+. This color and silhouette is just all right on her. She looks stunning. Elie Saab is really good at bold colors on tiny women. See Kate Middleton, Halle Berry, Mila Kunis, Mischa Barton, etc etc.
Giuliana Rancic in Max Azria – A+. I have too many A+, I know. But I love this gown SO much. The silhouette and color look so good on her and I really love her hair. Well done, G!
Julie Bowen in Johanna Johnson – A-. How FUN! You wouldn’t think leather + gown would work, but it really did. Sadly, photos don’t do it justice and I wish her hair hadn’t just been in a ponytail. But this look is so funky I just had to praise it.
Jessica Chastain in Alexander McQueen – B+. I was going to rank this among the top honors, but on second glance I really think this is much too tight on her and a little too wrinkled. She definitely wins most improved since the Golden Globes though.
Tina Fey in Oscar de la Renta – B+. You go Tina! This looks so good on her. I love the cut, tiered hemline, and belt. I just WISH it wasn’t black.
Jane Krakowski in Kaufmanfranco – B+. Another great, great color. She looks so stellar in this amazing coral shade and her hair looks great. I don’t love the bangle and the distracting red clutch.
Vanessa Lengies in Marchesa – A-. AHHH. Love this! I would usually not like this color but it looks so good on her! This dress is amaze. Accessories? Dull.
Sally Field in J Mendel – B-. Damn, Sally! SEE, she understands color. It looks amazing in photos! Her hair looks so so good and this color looks great on her. My only complaint is that the neckline kind of looks ‘tattered’.
Kiernan Shipka in Oscar de la Renta – B-. This is a great gown, I really wish I could see a close-up of the detail on the bodice. Such a wonderful, age-appropriate shape for her. Her hair/eyebrows are a little intense and I think she could have been more brave with her choice of shoe.
Rose Byrne in Valentino – D+. Gosh, I miss Rose Byrne’s jumpsuit from SAG last year. Sweety, that dress is way too fluttery and fabricy. I love her hair and makeup though!
Julianne Moore in Chanel Haute Couture – D+. Sweety, save the boobies for the bedroom. You are BEAUTIFUL. That dress could be beautiful, but the neckline is so wrong. And you wore black and white MUCH more successfully at the Golden Globes (thanks, Tom Ford). So sad.
January Jones in Prabal Gurung – F. This is just like a bad look all around. Bad hair, bad dress, BAD dress. Geez. So bad.
So what are your thoughts readers? My favorites are Marion and Amanda for sure. Comment below!
Red Carpet season has begun. I can officially quit holding my breath. This time of year is probably my second favorite behind Christmas. If you think I’m joking, you can ask my husband, who has to listen to me chatter endlessly about it – as if he cares. At all.
I’m going to give the ‘letter grade’ method a whirl. I have 4 top favorites, but I feel like I need to share more than just 4 and I want my readers to understand my logic in why I graded them what I did. PLEASE TELL ME YOUR FAVORITES AND DIFFERENCES OF OPINION IN THE COMMENTS! I LOVE TO HEAR WHAT MY READERS THINK!
Kate Hudson in Alexander McQueen – A+ I love this dress for a number of reasons. The gold accents really accentuate without overpowering, especially since she wore her hair down, slightly covering some of the bling. Kate always knows how to enhance one sexy feature – in this case her decolletage. Her makeup is soft, which is a good contrast to the edginess of the dress.
Jessica Alba in Oscar de la Renta – A+ The color is SO right for her skin tone. That in and of itself is reason enough for the A+, but the bonus is that amazing $5.8 mill Harry Winston necklace and furry Roger Vivier clutch.
Isla Fisher in Reem Acra – A+ People haven’t really been raving over this dress on the blogosphere the way I have, but I think that this is the best she has ever looked. This is an example of flawless styling. That lip color and hairstyle is to DIE FOR. The dress is beautiful with the illusion neckline/sleeves, and it just fits her so well. There’s just nothing wrong with this look. Pat yourself on the back, Sacha Baron Cohen, you’re a lucky bastard.
Michelle Dockery in Alexandre Vauthier – A+ I really really love this dress. It has such interesting gold lace detail at the top, and it’s so modest, yet so so sexy.
Naomi Watts in Zac Posen – A- Ok it truly pains me not to give this an A+, but the color just didn’t quite do the trick for me. I just think a royal purple or blue would have done it better justice. The back of this dress is ah-mah-zing and I love her side-swept hairdo.
Marion Cotillard in Dior Haute Couture – B+ There is lot I love about this look, the shoes, the asymmetrical belt and the minimal styling. My only qualm is that the length feels slightly awkward and the gown is casual compared to lots of other outfits I saw.
Kerry Washington in Miu Miu – B+ I love how unique this gown is. The color looks great on her and I love the sheer neckline but I could have done without the sheer hemline.
Olivia Munn in Armani – B- While the silhouette is somewhat plain, I love the bodice detail/color and the ombre belt. I also dig her sleek hair. She’s just such a tomboy I like seeing her dolled up some.
Jennifer Garner in Vivienne Westwood – B- I love this gown on her a lot. The color works great and the silhouette is super-flattering. The loose updo accentuates her beautiful shoulders. The only reason I don’t give this a higher score is because I don’t find this dress particularly exciting. It’s a very classic silhouette though and it looks stunning on her.
Julianne Hough in Monique Lhuillier – C+ I want to love this gown. When I saw it move, I really really liked it, but for me, her styling totally screws up the ethereal glamour of this beautiful dress. She’s trying too many things with the rocker hair, smoky eye, and bug jewelry.
Lucy Liu in Carolina Hererra – D+ I appreciate a good couture gown as much as the next red carpet junkie, but this just does not work for me. Strange pastels and a medieval pouf silhouette just does not fit into the context of the Golden Globes. Perhaps for a more indie occasion? And a braid? No.
Halle Berry in Versace – F This is just gross.
Weigh in below, friends! And stay tuned for the SAG Red Carpet post coming soon!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 23,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 5 Film Festivals
So, I have this obsession with rings. Big time. I got this brilliant idea last week – why don’t I show off my FRIEND’S rings instead of random pinterest rings?! So I begged some friends, who were all gracious enough … Continue reading
Can we please discuss the absolute perfection of this custom Valentino gown Anne Hathaway wore at her wedding this past weekend? I mean, it’s a floaty, cloudy, heavenly dream.
“According to a rep for Valentino, the design team created a strapless ivory silk point d’esprit tulle dress, which includes a pink hand-painted shaded train embroidered with satin flowers. The 1920s-inspired veil consists of a lace ribbon with a large flower, adorned with small crystal beads.” – Original article found here.
And then it gets even freakin’ better. Check out the sketch from Valentino himself.
Die. Seriously. Total perfection.
That is all.
My wedding hairpiece / garter designer and now email buddy Molly Gee is the Southern Bride of the Month over at Southern Weddings! Check out the post here. She is an AWESOME designer and is very inspiring – to be so young and have your own business! Talk about chasing your dreams!
I shared photos of the garter and hairpiece she made for my wedding below. Photos by Stephen DeVries Weddings.
I spotted a GORGEOUS pair of mint gowns on one of my blogs yesterday and learned that it was part of the Reem Acra Resort 2013 Collection. I knew I had to google that collection RIGHT AWAY and boy am I glad I did. There was SO much gorgeousness packed into one collection, I knew I just had to share with my readers! Let’s dive in, shall we?!
Um, hello gorgeousness. These were the gowns that caught my eye, and for good reason! The color, the sashes, the necklines, the lace, the draping…truly flawless!
Here’s some more of my favorite looks. Notice the color palette (some jewel-tones, some nude, some metallics, the details, the elegant use of sleeves, and the abundance of lace. It’s no wonder she’s an incredible bridal-wear designer as well.
This dress above is very similar to the dress Julie Bowen wore to the Golden Globes this year. Olivia Wilde has also worn this gown.
GORGEOUS.
LOVE LOVE this one. Such a unique neckline!
SO so honeymoon resorty glam.
So what are your favorites of the bunch? I love the last one, the mint green ones, the pair of nude ones, and the pair of coral ones the very best, but I really love them all! Don’t forget to view the ENTIRE collection here. You won’t regret it for one second!
In honor of Spider-Man coming out the other week, I thought I’d do a post about my favorite red carpet fashion maven, Ms. Emma Stone. I love her for more reasons than one. She’s a great actress, she’s incredibly stylish and poised, and she is, best of all, absolutely hilarious. She’s almost a year younger than me but is definitely far more mature! Enough of that, let’s get to the fun stuff!
Favorite Emma Stone movies (all of which are really, really good and really, really funny): Crazy Stupid Love, Friends with Benefits, The Help, Easy A, Zomebieland, Superbad, and Housebunny
Favorite Emma Stone looks:
Emma Stone in Martin Grant at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards. I love the volume and angles of this outfit and the pink lips.
Emma Stone (in Bottega Veneta) at the Amazing Spider-Man premiere in Rome. Such an elegant and unique evening gown. I love the peplum and the high neckline.
Emma Stone (in Chanel) at the Los Angeles premiere of The Amazing Spider-Man. I absolutely love the contrasting colors and elaborate details in this gown.
Emma Stone (in Gucci) at the premiere of The Amazing Spider-Man in Paris. She never ceases to surprise. Going for the goth glam look at this premiere.
Emma Stone (in Elie Saab) at the London premiere of The Amazing Spider-Man. This is absolutely one of my top looks for her. It’s so modern and glamorous and age-appropriate.
Emma Stone in Giambattista Valli – Oscars 2012. She is a total knockout in red. I love the oversize bow, cat eyes, and smooth hair.
Emma Stone at the Met Gala wearing Lanvin. I love this gown because it is playful and flirty. Amazingly, it has 3,000 plastic flowers sewn to it!
What is NOT to love about this Lanvin look she wore to the Oscars this year? I love the peek of red down the sides, the detail on the shoulder, and the rock and roll belt. Such an age appropriate and glamorous look!
This is a FANTASTIC menswear look by Gucci. I LOVE the emerald green against her hair color and the smoky eye.
Another fabulous emerald look from Emma, this time she wears Dolce and Gabbana. I LOVE the lace, and pairing the red lips/nails and leopard pumps with the gown takes it to the next level.
This is a love or hate look and I tend to LOVE this Giambattista Valli look. The color combo and unique waistline is SO quirky and cute. She pairs it with simple nude pumps, any other color would have been too much!
Emma Stone in Tom Ford at the Crazy, Stupid, Love premiere. I absolutely love this dress, again for the unique details. The volume at the waistline and the laser cut lace with the nude background is so glam! I also love her soft hair and red lips.
Emma Stone in a silver Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière gown with a gilded chain-link collar. This look is SO sultry and sexy and such a change with the blond hair.
This is such a simple and figure-flattering gown by Calvin Klein. Love the clutch and the updo and the color of the dress.
This is such a unique Bottega Venetta gown. She clearly loves lace and layered colors. The fringe at the bottom is a playful and fun detail that makes it appropriate for the event. Note the fun clutch and shoes too!
These are just a FEW of her best looks, but I love almost everything she wears. What are your favorites? I love the 2 menswear inspired looks, the D&G lace look, and the Calvin Klein coral number.
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