Gone With The Windows

All this talk about the fashion at the Golden Globes has me kind of burnt out.  Best dressed, worst dressed, fashion police, Joan Rivers says yay or neigh, Giuliana Rancid, uh, I mean Rancic's red carpet comments...so much pressure!  I would guess that Hollywood stars and starlets have enough money to pay for a good stylist if they can't figure out what the hell looks good on them, but nobody looks perfect ALL of the time.  I bet even Tim Gunn wears sweatpants on occasion or has a bad hair day.  But, he "makes it work!"

OK, I scoured the Internet and could not find a picture of Tim in anything but a suit!

 So, I think they should all take themselves a little less seriously and just follow WendyB's mantra, "wear what you want."  Just take it from Carol Burnett...

Rhett:  "That gown is gorgeous."

Scarlett: "Thanks, I saw it in the window and I just couldn't resist it."

Best Dressed

Being a designer, people ask my opinion about fashion a lot.  I'm happy to give it, though it's only an opinion and you know how the saying goes!  So, what did my taffetadarlings think of the Golden Globes last night?  There were a few disasters which I won't even touch on (why destroy the possibility of a potential future client, right?), but for the most part I thought that Hollywood did okay!

I'll start by awarding "best dressed" to my hostess for the evening, Wendy Brandes.  Wendy greeted me in a black tee shirt, black gym shorts and cozy slippers!  She's never looked better.  LOL... kidding.  It was that kind of evening -- the kind where it's best to stay indoors sipping Champagne, watching the hilarity that is Ricky Gervais in the comfort of your own home on the comfort of your own couch, safe from the wintry chill!!

Ricky should have busted out some of his dance moves last night

Okay, back to the show!  If I were to select a winner from last night's event, it would be Francisco Costa.  Who, some of you might ask?  Shame on you!  His name should be as familiar to you as Giorgio Armani or Marc Jacobs or... Calvin Klein... because he IS Calvin Klein.  Well, not literally, of course, but Mr. Costa has headed up the Calvin Klein Collection since 2003 when Mr. Klein retired.  Costa dressed my number one pick last night, Claire Danes as well as Emma Stone (who never looked better).

Claire Danes

Photo: Style.com

Emma Stone

Photo: Style.com

Olivia Wilde looked stunning, but that was sure a whole lotta dress!  Co-presenter, Robert Pattinson didn't know where to stand when the two were on stage together.  There was just no room for him and the poor chap had to strain his neck to reach the mic.  Under her Marchesa dress (could have been just about anything), Ms. Wilde wore the most fabulous Louboutin stilettos!

Olivia Wilde

Photo: Style.com

My pick for the boys is, well, a BOY.  Jesse Eisenberg looked simply adorable and perfectly put together in Dolce & Gabbana.  Generally, I think the men did well last night... Ryan Gosling in Ferragammo, James Franco (a.k.a. my boyfriend) in Gucci and Robert Downey Jr. broke the mold, as per usual, and wore a grey Prada suit.  Fantastic.  And Michael Douglas was wearing Canali, but who really cares.  He just looked GREAT and healthy.  His opening line about a "standing o" was brilliant!

Jesse Eisenberg

Photo: Style.com

Susan and Robert Downey

Photo: Style.com

One final comment... I do love Tilda Swinton and appreciate that she has her own sense of style.  I would be happy to dress her!  Tilda wore Haider Ackermann before anyone knew who the hell he was.  Last night (in Jil Sander), I thought she looked quite striking, but also bore quite a striking resemblance to David Bowie.  I mean, she was definitely channelling 70's Bowie!

Tilda Swinton and David Bowie... or is it David Bowie and Tilda Swinton?

The SAG Awards!

Following my review of the Golden Globes just one week ago, I wanted to take a different approach with the SAG awards. I thought it would be fun to get some audience participation this time! That’s not to say that I didn’t add my two cents here and there (I just can’t help it!), but I’d like to hear what you all think. Be honest, be brutal, be flattering… I wanna hear it!

Anna Kendrick in Alberta Ferretti

I did love this one. Sorry, couldn’t bite my tongue.

Carey Mulligan in Lanvin

Joan Allen in… a macramé necklace she saved from her old Girl Scouting days.

WTF? Now, that could be an acronym for many things, i.e. “wow, that’s fantastic.” But, I think you all really know what I’m saying!

Diane Kruger in Jason Wu

Kyra Sedgwick in Vera Wang

Are you getting a military vibe?

Kate Hudson in Pucci

TWO white dresses in a row Ms. Hudson? Are you that desperate to get married?

Sandra Bullock in Alexander McQueen

Tina Fey in Ferragamo

OK, it’s a much better effort, but somehow she manages to make Salvatore look cheap. The fabric isn’t behaving properly because I’m sorry to say, the dress just doesn’t fit her. Sorry – love you Tina!

Anna Paquin in McQueen

Drew Barrymore in Monique Lhuillier

Oh boy. Almost, but not quite. Waist down is a disaster. Thumbs up from the waist up (except for her bird’s nest hair).

Marion Cotillard in Elie Saab

Nicole Kidman in Oscar de la Renta

Mariska Hargitay in Vera Wang

Is she preggers? That would be the only reason to wear this unflattering sack. And Mariska is so beautiful, what a shame.

Vera Farmiga in J. Mendel

Jane Lynch

Did she sew this herself?

Christina Applegate in Cavalli

Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Dolce & Gabbana

No. Just no.

Sofia Vergara in Carolina Herrera

Cheryl Hines

Did she and Jane Lynch plan to dress alike?

Julie Benz

Rancid Rancic

I didn’t include Giuliana DePandi Rancic in my post yesterday even though she deserved very much to be on the worst dressed list. She also should win for the worst hair… and the largest forehead. Yikes, I sound so catty! I can’t help it. Rancic was the most annoying correspondent I’ve seen lately because she was so consumed with herself. There were several bad moments and bad interviews, but perhaps the most appalling came when Rancic “interviewed” Anna Kendrick, one of the stars in the nominated film Up In The Air. This was a probably a pretty important moment for the young actress, wouldn’t you think? Well, not if you’re Giuliana Rancic, apparently. Rancic could have cared less what Anna had to say, instead, she was more concerned about throwing herself at George Clooney. Here’s a look at her making a fool of herself…

Globe Review

The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards took place last night and the overall winner wasn’t Avatar, it was CLEAVAGE. Mariah Carey is always spilling out of her dresses, but last night, she wasn’t the only celebrity flaunting her bosom on the red carpet (she was, however, the “biggest” offender). Anna Paquin, Felicity Hoffman, Halle Berry, Olivia Wilde and Fergie jumped on the bosom bandwagon. Even flat chested Kate Hudson faked some cleavage in her “stuffed” Marchesa dress.

So, let’s get to it…

My number one choice for best dressed female is Reese Witherspoon. Reese looked very elegant and beautiful in a midnight navy, one-shouldered dress by Armani.

To round out the top five (OK, 6) best females…

Jennifer Aniston in Valentino – sexy and revealing, but tasteful!

Rose Byrne (“Damages”) in Lanvin – love the clean lines and purple color

Zoe Saldana in Louis Vuitton - it's a beautiful color and the multi-tier look works on her waify frame

Heather Graham in Elie Saab - pure glamour

Diane Kruger in Christian Lacroix - she gets kudos for color, plus "it’s Lacroix, darling, sweetie, darling!"

OK, now the fun part! I am torn between Cher and Drew Barrymore for the worst dressed award, so I’ve decided to call it a tie. Cher’s lacing detail on the shoulder accentuated her broad shoulders making her look even more like a drag queen, while Drew looked like she was being attacked by sea creatures.

Rounding out the top five worst…

Mary Poppins…uh, I mean Tina Fey – when will she get a decent stylist?

Julianne Moore – how could her escort, Tom Ford, allow her to wear this frumpy and tacky dress?

Jennifer Morrison ("House") in Luis Antonio – I think this Puerto Rican designer was inspired by the crumpled papers he must have been throwing on the ground with every failed attempt at sketching something aesthetically pleasing!

Christina Hendricks chose to wear a creation (for lack of a better word) by Christian Siriano (former Project Runway winner). Bad choice. The asymmetric ruffle extending across the bottom and falling on her right hip makes her look WIDE. Oh, you didn’t notice the ruffle? You were too busy staring at her giant breasts that refuse to be contained by the flimsy bodice?

Since I’ve only given myself five picks for the best and the worst, I’ve reserved a few more that I will put into a category called “other interesting ensembles.”

Chloe Sevigny as a Portuguese Man o' War

Tea Leoni in David Duchovny's shirt?

Mickey Rourke

Going for Gold

In preparation for the Golden Globes soiree I’ll be attending tonight, I perused my closet for something to wear. I wanted to wear gold, of course. Unfortunately, my closet is pretty much a sea of black! I guess I’ll have to rely on accessories (a.k.a. costume jewelry!). Perhaps my beautiful friend, jewelry designer WendyB will let me borrow something REAL as she so graciously does from time to time.

Siobhan perma-stacked ring in 18K yellow gold, diamonds, pink saphhires, ruby

by Wendy Brandes

Last week, I wrote about a pair of shoes I wanted and how I put pictures of things I covet on my fridge or bulletin board, etc. Well, I came across this photo I ripped out of a 2007 magazine (I didn’t make a note of it, but my best guess would be Italian Vogue). This stunning body suit (below) is the creation of Russian designer Igor Chapurin. Believe it or not, it’s actually stretch jersey printed to look like molten gold. I was and still am, blown away. I want it. I also want the models mile high legs!

stretch jersey body suit - Igor Chapurin, 2007

Igor Chapurin was born in 1969 in Belarus. His parents ran a sewing factory and his grandfather was a specialist in the production of linen, so it’s not hard to see how Chapurin became interested in fashion. In 1992, he won a competition for young fashion designers in Paris. In 1993, he created dresses for the Miss Europe, Miss World and Miss Universe contests. Chapurin, who has long been called the “Russian Armani,” showed his first collection in 1995 which he titled "To Russia with Love".


Chapurin is a multi-talented, creative mind. He is a theatre lover and has designed not only costumes for plays, but entire sets, lighting and decorations for several productions. He was the first Russian fashion designer to be invited by the Bolshoi Theatre to design the costumes and stage sets for the ballet. Chapurin partnered in his first jewelry line in 2000 and in 2003 he did the same with a furniture and home accessories collection called Chapurincasa. In 2005 he launched Chapurinrg, a ski wear line. He regularly shows his RTW collections at Paris fashion week(s), so be on the look-out for his Fall show the first week in March!