The 2018 Golden Globes was a showcase of modern fashion – some interesting, some ho-hum and some REALLY TACKY! Since it is our film stars and celebrities that drive the fashion industry forward (luckily there is also momentum from street-and grassroots- fashion) it is only fair to weigh in on the questionable sartorial choices of the stars. (Or their stylists, some of whom need job reassignment :-0 )
Exhibit A. Sharon Stone
Even if you are slender, there comes a time when a dress like this is not a good idea. At 59 years of age, her skin is no longer as tight as a drum – and this dress showcases that to perfection. Not the effect she was after I am sure.
Here is another lass from the Golden Globes event. How is this for gorgeous? 72 years young, Helen has a wonderful sense of style and always delivers.
Big difference – and Helen is a joy to behold!
So, don’t be afraid to cover up a little – less is more as they say. If in doubt, it probably is not right for you but send me snap anytime and I can give you a second opinion if you like.
Fashion still is wonderful, transformative and fun – let’s also make it attractive for those that have to look at us too!
The movie character of Bridget Jones made famous the concept of “Granny Pants” – largish, comfortable underwear that supposedly was an instant man repeller and therefore could not be worn by any member of the fairer sex until they were at least…oh…80 or so.
This concept was later picked up by Gok Wan, who as far as I know, has himself not worn the teensy tiny scratchy numbers he advocates for his makeover victims to look sexy in.
Indulge me while I rant just a litte…
I hate the connotation of “granny pants” – talk about ridiculous. You want underwear that covers, is comfortable, functional and makes your outerwear look as it should.
You don’t see any men in underwear that scratches, has body parts hanging out, cuts into them, rides up, or creates rolls and lines where it shouldn’t. I know we sometimes sacrifice for fashion, but uncomfortable underwear is a bridge too far.
One mission on my recent overseas trip was to find some decent underwear. Brought some home from the UK which is almost all right.
It is beyond belief how much underwear is out there – so many styles – and most of it I consider unwearable. Target has come the closest, but it’s getting hard to find even there. One sales assistant said to me that their fastest sellers were the high cut leg, high waisted styles and they just never got enough of them in (*scratch head*).
So here is the challenge ; a high leg (much more flattering for hourglass shapes); waistband at natural waist; full cut bottom (so there is no riding up or VPLs); a breathable fibre (bamboo, cotton); and elastic that doesn’t dig in. Am I asking for too much???
As promised, here is Haley Freeman’s fabulous article: Hadley Freeman, Ask Hadley, The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU.
Why are women so obsessed with makeovers? Pete, by email
Are we? Every one of us? It’s true, there are some days when I can barely get out of bed because my mind is so possessed by thoughts of how I can make over myself. But really, I think we can all agree that, when it comes to narcissism, a fashion columnist is probably at the thin end of the wedge.
The truth is, Pete, I don’t think women are obsessed with makeovers. But I do think that media aimed at women, from movies to magazines to TV shows, strongly believe they should be, and this is manifested in a variety of ways. There’s the subtle way: the constant message that women can and must improve their physical appearance in some way, and not to do so will result in loneliness and self-loathing. There’s the less subtle way, which is the media veneration of female celebrities who achieve Nobel prize-winning feats in self-transformation, such as losing weight after having a baby. Then there’s the straightforward no-bother-with-subtlety approach, which is simply to celebrate makeovers in themselves.
The latter has been a staple of TV schedules for so long now, it’s actually impossible to imagine a time when evenings did not involve a woman being marched in front of a full-length mirror and forced to marvel at her soon-to-be-transformed ugliness. The frankly baffling success of Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine about a decade ago – two posh women who went around the country and bossily told other women to change their lives by wearing long T-shirts under V-neck jumpers – was perhaps the most irritating manifestation of this tendency, but by no means the most extreme, or even the worst. For that, I’d suggest The Biggest Loser, a reality TV show in which fat people are screamed at on TV for the viewing pleasure of millions. But really, I hate all makeovers, if only for the simple reason that they almost always make women look worse than they did originally.
Just think of makeovers in movies. They always infuriate me. Allison in The Breakfast Club swapping her eyeliner and cool gothiness for a boring Alice band and sloaniness; Tai in Clueless, being torn asunder from her 90s skater-grrrrl outfits and sweet stoner-ness in order to wear kilts and be a Beverly Hills bitch; Laney Boggs in She’s All That losing her sexy nerd-chic style so as to attract the attentions of Freddie Prinze Jr, for heaven’s sake. Heck, I prefer Julia Roberts’ amazing curly mane of hair at the beginning of Pretty Woman to the tedious Los Angeles blowdry she subjects herself to for Richard Gere’s pleasure. Also, her Beverly Hills outfits are gross and forgettable. Seriously, try to remember a single posh outfit Roberts wears in that movie – you can’t, of course. But the mini skirt and over the knee boots she sports at the beginning? Movie wardrobe classic.
And yes, I do prefer Gigi’s adorable schoolgirl outfits in the eponymous 1958 musical to the evening gown her grandmother and great aunt make her wear so as to look like an escort (yes, really). The only film makeover I can vaguely get behind is the one in My Fair Lady, when Audrey Hepburn is transformed from a cockney flower seller to a society queen bee, but that is more to do with bad casting than any improvement in Eliza Doolittle. Hepburn is the most unlikely cockney of all time – and I am including Dick Van Dyke – so watching her force herself at the beginning of the film to drop her aitches and smear mud on her cheeks actually makes me itchy with anxiety, and don’t even get me started on her dubbed-over songs (no disrespect, Audrey Hepburn, but, seriously, that casting director must have been smoking something when he picked you over Julie Andrews for the part).
The point is, the reason I hate makeovers is that they are predicated on the idea that personality and individuality are nothing next to conventional ideas of attractiveness, and anyone with a modicum of a soul knows that this is bullcrap. Makeover stylists insist they are merely helping a caterpillar emerge from their cocoon of badly fitted leggings and become a butterfly. I’d like to see any evidence that a person who is subjected to a makeover on reality TV leaves with anything other than decimated self-confidence. Ahh, tomayto, tomahto. I mean,just look at old (pre-2009) photos of Kim Kardashian and see how much happier she looked wearing patterns and baby-doll dresses than she does now, forced by Kanye West into horrible fashion-forward (read: “fugly”) clothes.
And yet, because so many women grow up with this ingrained belief that self-improvement is all, there will always be something fascinating about looking at Before and After comparisons and imagining that such a transformation is possible. Because it is, ladies, it is. It is honestly not that hard to look like everyone else. The question is, though, do you really want to?
As a wardrobe stylist, I have taken a professional interest in the art of the “makeover” particularly as displayed on our television screens. And let’s face it, this is not about learning “what not to wear” – it IS, like everything else on commercial TV – about entertainment. For you, the viewer. Not the hapless victim.
So, you expect some cringe-worthy moments, but I confess that I NEVER get used to them. The worst scenes are where women of all shapes, sizes, and ages, are begging to be chosen by the “experts” to be publicly humiliated on national TV in the name of improving their daggy looks. It’s like giving your baby to Attila the Hun.
Any stylist worth their salt – and your money and time – should have the basics of CPR for a woman’s self-esteem down pat. A good friend of mine, a charming male, said to me long ago “I have never met an ugly woman.” And he is right. There are as many types of beauty as there are people in the world, and yes, that does include YOU. Sometimes I have to reintroduce a woman to the lovely features about herself she has overlooked in the rush to criticise what she sees in the mirror.
One major problem is that these “experts” have no idea what they are doing! And the finished result is way worse than what they started with. (Hmmmm, shall be be cynical, and say it is all about selling yet more clothing to an already saturated market?)
Hadley Freeman of The Guardian wrote a delightful article recently that I shall share in Part 2 of this post. Meanwhile, here is a pic she included, stating that Julia Roberts was naturally prettier, and more herself in the BEFORE photo. What do you think?
The Fifty Shades of Grey phenomena may not seem relevant to a stylist’s blog. But bear with me here.
Your image – and especially, your image of your own self – is a very important part of your style and how you show up in the world. Caring for and loving the person you are is crucial if you are ever to achieve sound relationships and worthwhile goals.
So, I’ve declared war on anything in pop culture that denigrates beauty and goodness – and FSoG does exactly that.
Check this marvellous blogger’s views on just why you and yours and everyone you love should avoid the books – and especially the movie- from this wretched trilogy:
Peak body for all things colour, Pantone has announced the 2015 colour of the year and it is – well – an unusual choice!
MARSALA is the name of this reddish-brown hue, and you will be seeing it in stores and on home-wares, advertising and possibly cars as well. To me, it is a wintry type of colour – so I suspect the winter fashion drops are more likely to carry it.
Here is a selection of items in this colour.
My feeling is that those who wear Autumn tones well, plus some of our muted Summer types will carry this off to perfection. Darker, more intense versions may suit the Winter types, and our Springs will probably loathe it – which is good as I think it will look ghastly on them!
