Monday, March 26, 2007

Guess: What is the thing in common among these outfits?



Can you guess what is the common thing among these distinct outfits? Are they by the same designer? Worn in the same event? Not quite. The answer is, all six of the above outfits are chosen as The 10 Best Dressed of the week of March 24th, 2007 by Vogue's Alexandra Kotur. These outfits, while very distinctive, some better than other, commonly raise question regarding how is the "best dressed" and "worst dressed" list decided? I have started to question how biased worst dressed list can be, particularly these years. For example, how on earth did Kirsten Dunst make it to best dressed in Oscar this year? And why isn't Beyonce Knowles on worst dressed with her Armani Prive dress, which was so unflattering for her figure both in colour and style?
I am not going to discuss in detail why I question Victoria Traina's look, it is self-explanatory enough. The messy and dirty looking hair and the gigantic trash-bag-like Christian Lacroix gown make her look fresh from dumpster. Her sister Vanessa, marginally better with the vintage Bahmain leopard dress and Prada turban, seriously looks like some Gypsy in Africa, ready to do some fortune telling. I see that turban is going to be the next big thing after head ban, as Rachel Roy also wore hers to Mario Grauso's dinner and made it to the best dressed list. Despise the fact that I'm not a fan of this exotic urban hippie look, her whole look is just questionable. The neckline and the oddly positioned waistline truncated her body into 3 odd sections, which along with the loose fitting style of the gown, almost cancel out her body completely. The turban further adds weight to her head, aggravating the imbalance. I normally like the Traina sister, but that night was definitely a miss.

I love Rachel Roy's Lanvin trench coat a lot! The Roger Vivier shoes are also adorable, and they look gorgeos together. Perhaps it is just me, I seriously find the turban out of place in the first glance. After a bit of getting used to, I actually start to find the combination quite well put together. Downtown chic with a hint of hippie ease. Marina Rust Connor's ensemble is just not well matched. True, white with light silver is alla moda, but the white shirt just looks too casual to be worn together with the Nina Ricci gown, and it isn't cool enough to achieve the edgy-elegant look. In addition, the fit of the gown was not good, her chest looks sadly gravity-defeated, and the volume added by the white shirt simply made her look fat.

Lauren Davis doesn't look THAT bad in her Nina Ricci, but Best Dressed list? I have doubt. I love both the gown and the cardigan ---- separately. The cardigan is too long to be worn with a full length gown, it shortens her legs and drags her down. The overall silhouette is unflattering despite her long and slender frame. Wear the gown alone and save the cardigan for skinny jeans! Finally, Carolina Herrera in Carolina Herrera. Shirt dress taken to full length as evening wear, quite a creative idea, but I'm not sure if it works out well judging from Carolina's own interpretation. Although the drapping and silk actually makes the shirt dress evening appropriate, the buttons are way too casual and put the dress in an awkward position--too dressy for the day and not dressy enough for the night. It would probably have been a gd idea use material such as pearl, jeweled, or vintage inspired button for a better interpretation of evening shirt dress.
While none of the above commit serious fashion crime frequently, if they could make it on best dressed list with this kind of ensembles, I feel sorry for the truly tasteful and well dressed ones.

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