The delectable duo also bring some sexy back (see what I did there?) to W magazine and its compilation of ‘Best Performances’ for the February 2011 issue.
My absolute favourite at this event was Mila Kunis. The beautiful actress was stunning from head-to-toe. From her glossy chestnut waves, sultry eye make up and natural pink pout, to her bold red print Alexander McQueen dress. She was by far the best dressed at the event.
The Glee Girls looked fabulous, with Lea Michele and Dianna Agron leading the pack as always. I love Lea’s Oscar de la Renta look, in contrast to her frothy number at the Golden Globes I love the simplicity of this dress. Dianna Agron looks effortlessly elegant in her navy blue vintage Chanel dress. Jayma Mays and Heather Morris also looked lovely in their pretty girly dresses.
The women of Mad Men fail to hit the mark for me at this event. A lot of people complain about January Jones and her Versace obsession, saying that the gowns wear her and not the other way around, but I’d much prefer a controversial Versace number to this Carolina Herrera piece as I feel that it’s missing something. Christina covers up in L’Wren Scott but I feel like she fades into the background in black.
Newcomers to the A List, Jennifer Lawrence and Hailee Steinfeld (stars of Winter’s Bone and True Grit respectively) both made a colourful impact at the SAGs. Jennifer wore a bright pink Oscar de la Renta number with a black bow tied at the waist, and Hailee wore a young and fun striped number by Prada. Both of these girls are making the most of their time during awards season as they both continue to be on everyone’s Best Dressed lists. Jennifer Lawrence was my second favourite at the SAGs after Mila Kunis.
Above are a few other people who I feel the need to mention. Amy Adams stepped away from her usual choice of somber tones in this white fitted gown. Claire Danes opted for a printed Louis Vuitton number. Hilary Swank looked lovely in this Grecian style gown by Versace. Julia Stiles’ dip-die dress is gorgeous, the white looks like it is glowing. Katrina Bowden from 30 Rock showed us how fabulous blondes look when dressed in red. And, last but not least, Sarah Hyland looks simply stunning in this orange column dress which looks like it would feel so comfortable.
But the ‘glamorous’ looks from some of their fellow castmates left me feeling embarrassed to be British, is this really the best we can do? It was like looking at photos from a corporate company’s Christmas ‘do, where all the guests have got a little bit carried away with the ‘black tie’ dress code and free bar. I’m all for making an effort, obviously as I love a good gown, but there is a fine line between ‘effort’ and ‘over-cooked’, a line that many of the NTA’s attendees crossed.
It got me thinking about whether money really can buy good taste? If you look at the TV shows in Britain, they’re done on a much smaller budget than their American counterparts and they end up looking (excuse the French, but) shit. The same goes for dressing the cast for an awards ceremony. The casts of Glee, Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, even The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family, for goodness sake, all looked amazing on the red carpet, with a bit of Versace here and Oscar De La Renta there. Move back over to this side of the pond, and the actors from our homegrown series show up to the NTA’s in what looks like a mixture of the BHS evening department and Jane Norman.
Now, we have obvious examples of ‘no amount of money will ever buy her taste’. The most glaringly obvious (and depressing) example would be Britney Spears. She is one of the richest entertainers on the planet, but she continues to dress in ‘wife beater’ vests, without a bra, and has a penchant for overly-elaborate cowboy boots. Looking at Britney makes me sad because she could be such an amazing looking woman if only she TRIED!
But then we have Olivia Palermo, who is proof that even for us mere mortals on a high street budget can look chic if we pick the right pieces. Miss Palermo has an amazing gift for picking out the crème de la crème of the high street and mixing it with her high-end accessories. Now, I know we can’t all afford the ‘high-end accessories’ part, but the high street is well within reach. Even Emma Roberts wore a Topshop maxidress on the red carpet recently and looked 10 times better than most of the people arriving at the NTAs.
Maybe I’m just too used to all the gloss of American TV? I must admit that I don’t watch any British TV shows. I love (in no particular order) Mad Men, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, The Vampire Diaries, The L Word, Glee, True Blood, Pretty Little Liars, 90210, The O.C, Sex and the City, Gilmore Girls and Fringe. There just simply isn’t enough room in my life for the rubbish that this country churns out and calls ‘entertainment’.
I hope so much that we get to see a handful of these gowns on the red carpet at the OSCARs, especially the lilac lace (look 10), the red one shoulder (look 17) the silver beaded sweetheart neckline (look 21) and the black split front (look 40). I’m trying to pick people worthy of these gorgeous gowns, but I can’t quite put my finger on anyone for looks 10 and 21, but Angelina Jolie who would look amazing in look 40 and Cameron Diaz would be a knock out in look 17.
