Can we please make hats happen in the US? Who's with me?

*Ed. note: I started this post last Friday, but you know, I have a life. And a job. Deal.

You so knew this was coming. Being me and who I am and all that I love, I was naturally somewhat obsessed with the Royal Wedding. Although I'm pretty much a mutt culturally, I do know for sure that I've got some British blood in there somewhere (a. Clark b. pasty, pasty skin). My name also means princess in Hebrew so clearly I was meant to watch this. And who doesn't love a good commoner turned royalty story? Definitely me and Julia Stiles. It was inevitable that I would be all over this blessed event. Just look at these two! What's not to love?

What was not inevitable, yet a truly pleasant surprise, was the fervor with which I responded to the incredible millinery on display at the wedding. I am officially starting a movement to bring hats back to the US. For formal events, casual events, the workplace, and everyday chores. I can't imagine how a hat would not make any of those things better. Here are some of the hats that I love and love to hate from the Royal Wedding.

Queenie here (as my friend Lindsey has nicknamed her) looked bright and cheery in her lemony yellow ensemble. A classic hat for a classy lady.

The daughters of Prince Andrew and the ubiquitous Fergie definitely made a statement. I'm just not sure that I'd want that statement to include the terms "cracked out". However, I do kind of love the pale pink coat Eugenie is sporting. If only the tentacles on her head didn't distract from it.

Another one that I'm not completely thrilled with. While I enjoy a pop of color with a black and white outfit, this quasi-turban was just not doing it for me. Too much flower, too much tulle and too much turban.

Posh and Becks look smashing. I love them. I also love that he has a hat too. I have to wonder if he just carried it around all day or actually put it on at some point. Wouldn't want to mess up that banging coif he's got goin on. Posh can do no wrong in my book. I would like her to smile more in photos, mainly because the interviews I've read with her make her seem like a simply pleasant person. Her non-verbals do not express this. However, that fascinator is expressing plenty, mainly that she is fierce.

LOVE LOVE LOVE everything about this. The color the diamonds, the wide brim with simple, yet impactful detail.

I was undecided about this at first, but have come down on the side of love. Go big or go home, that's what I always say. Well, not really, but I might start.

These ladies seem super pleased with themselves. I don't know that I would be so smug if I were wearing my Great Aunt's holiday foliage from 1993 OR an inverted canoe that is threatening to change the very landscape of my nasal area.

Love. With all of my heart. Love the asymmetry (which is a very big deal since those that know me well know that I very much enjoy things that are symmetrical), love the jaunty angle at which the hat is tipped, love the structure of the adorning bow-like accessory.

Lastly, the greatest topper of all, a classic tiara on loan from Queenie herself. It is the perfect compliment to her amazing gown and doesn't overshadow Catherine's beauty or joyful spirit that she embodied on this day. Simply perfect.

Madness all around!

So there's this little tournament starting tomorrow that you may have heard about, something to do with it being March and involving some madness of some sort. Being a football kind of girl myself, I don't really pay much attention to it, but I know many of you are very very serious about it. I respect that, I just can't say I care so much. Another much more interesting tournament starts this week, one that I think you might get just as excited about.

FUG MADNESS

What is Fug Madness, you're asking yourself? Well, I'll tell you. The Fug Girls, of www.gofugyourself.com (one of the greatest blogs around, trust) creates a showdown of the most fugly fugtastic fuggers of the year and have them face of against each other to declare the 2011 Fug Madness Champion. It's an incredible competition and the celeb players take it very seriously all year, evidenced by their extreme fuggery. So fill out your silly March Madness brackets, but don't forget about the most important one and check back to see who prevails in the most exciting March tournament EVER!

For a larger, printable bracket visit Go Fug Yourself

Oscar Coverage 2011: All In the Name of a Good Cause

The time has to come to chastise those celebrities who thought they were bringing it, yet are sorely mistaken. Before we embark on this journey of fashion missteps I have to acknowledge the dramatic differences in people's opinions on this year's Oscar fashion - not only amongst the fashion bloggers and "experts", but amongst friends as well. My friend Grace writes an amazing blog (you should seriously check it out) and recently posted her best and worst dressed. We agree completely on some of the stars' looks and not so much on others. My friend Liz and I have the same 50/50 thing going on with our faves as well. It just goes to show that fashion is subjective and individual. I think that's what makes it fun. So as much as I will criticize and snark and almost combust about the following, just know that I recognize individual style is just that - individual.

On to the shit show!

 

I absolutely love Florence + the Machine. My friend Greg introduced me to them over a year ago and I felt very smug for knowing about them long before they broke through in 2010 with the song Dog Days Are Over. Florence Welch has an incredible voice, but the same cannot be said for her dishwater-hued dress. If only it had puff sleeves, Anne Shirley would be all over this biotch. And I'm just not sure you want to be basing your Oscar debut on the fashion sense of a fictional Canadian teenager from the early 1900's.

 

As promised, my take on the necklace of doom. UNNECESSARY, DISTRACTING, AND BUTT UGLY AND I DON'T CARE HOW BIG OF AN EMERALD IT IS. That's all.

I actually quite enjoyed Anne Hathaway's many wardrobe changes throughout the evening and shared my favorite yesterday. These, not so much. The red carpet look was a fab color on her, but no girl, I don't care how thin you are, wants to add volume to the butt/thigh area. It just doesn't do anything for her and I would argue that without the extraneous material this might actually be a winner (and I pretty much put my money where my mouth is by including Sandra Bullock's dress on the best list, which is essentially this dress without the poof). 

The black layered taffeta monstrosity was just that - a black layered taffeta monstrosity. I'm fairly certain a little gnome named Frederick could live under there.

Oh the blue dress. A lovely color on her, to be sure, but when you look like you wrapped a Slip N' Slide around your tiny self and secured it with industrial strength straight pins, no one is happy. Except maybe those lucky bastards who live in a climate warm enough to use a Slip N' Slide right now.

 

As discussed at length at my Oscar party, Halle Berry is unbelievably gorgeous, never ages, and may very likely have magical powers related to her youthful beauty. From the waist up - I love. From the waist down I am reminded of my bedside table that was recently covered in used tissues whilst I was recovering from a nasty head cold.

 

Oh Marisa, such a pretty girl in such a poofy, stomach-pooch creating, overly dramatic sweetheart necklining, wrinkly, wide-strapped, asymmetrical dress.  Also, as my mom would say, get your hair out of your face.

 

Another piece of commentary from the Oscar Party - Nicole looks like she spilled something on her dress at dinner and grabbed the table runner and wrapped it around herself to cover the stain. Excellent description Kara, couldn't have said it better myself. 

This is gold lame covered in a doily like fabric. Let me repeat. Gold. Lame. It is 2011. Gold lame has it's place these days - namely a 1970's Roller Disco party in which the gold lame is worn with a certain sense of nostalgic irony. I don't believe Melissa Leo here was trying to be nostalgic or ironic. 

 

ScarJo here can't act her way out of a paper bag these days, but I will admit that she is one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood in my opinion and I like her even more now that she's retracted her claws from Ryan Reynolds so he can be my boyfriend. (Although if he is dating Sandra Bullock like the rags insist, I'm totally ok with that because I love her and love them together and love the Proposal and want that to be real life - sorry, tangent). However, I do not like the purple lace dress that does nothing for the cleave and the matchy-matchy eye shadow that manages to wash out her entire face. On the other hand, I do love her hair, SCANDALOUS, I KNOW. But I think it's fun and kind of flippy, casual. It just doesn't go with the look she's trying to pull off here, which really, she shouldn't be trying to pull off in the first place, you follow?

 

At least the Black Swan bit it for a good cause.

Oscars 2011 Coverage - Wackadoo Magoo Makes a Surprise Appearance!

Get ready my few, yet loyal readers! Oscar Coverage 2011 is about to begin! I fully expect this to take all week, so bear with me. I'll be covering the winners, the losers, the fashion, my own fun-filled Oscar party, and I will try to decipher exactly what mix of pharmaceuticals Franco was smoking, snorting, or ingesting. Again, it may take me all week.

As discussed earlier, I truly love Oscar fashion and get excited to see exactly what the stars (or their stylists) have chosen for the red carpet. I focus mainly on women's fashion, because honestly, it's just more fun. To me, a tux is a tux, unless of course you're this handsome devil:

As you can clearly see in the closeup, Colin is sporting SPARKLY buttons. Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I am a sucker for the bling. Mr. Darcy made my night with his acceptance speech (more on that later this week), but truly won my heart with his event-appropriate, yet still manly, sparkle.

But onto the ladies! These are my best-dressed of the evening. Some of my choices are unconventional and I will explain my reasoning, so reserve judgment until you hear me out. Disagree violently? Let me hear it in the comments!

 

Might as well start with one of the most controversial! Cate Blanchett continually rides the cutting edge of fashion, and last night was no exception. I enjoyed this dress and loved that it was interesting, especially on a red carpet that overall played it safe. I think the details were interesting and the shape was lovely on her. One marine-minded participant at my own Oscar party compared her to a barnacle, which I can see to a certain extent, but I still contend that she was one of the best, and, at the very least, most interestingly dressed of the night.

Hailee Steinfeld looks like a wee princess in this dress. She told Seacrest that she had a hand in designing it and that comment completely took me back to my 14 year old self and is pretty much exactly what I would have wanted to wear at the Oscars at that age. It's age-appropriate, a lovely color for her skin tone, and I will bet you $37 that she twirled in that dress before leaving the house. That is totally a twirling dress, right?

Speaking of Seacrest, he did his darndest to get anything out of Michelle Williams on the red carpet. Maybe she wasn't in the mood to talk or maybe she just didn't want to talk to Ryan (who I'm convinced was standing on a box), but she came across as quite affected and uninterested. It's too bad, because if we were just given a shot of her in the dress I think it comes off quite well. The slim-fitting beaded column dress works well with the close-cropped bleach blond pixie cut that I only wish I could get away with. The photograph really doesn't do it justice, but it fit her frame and sense of style well.

I love this navy blue dress on Amy Adams. Again, noting my love of all things sparkle, this should not come as a surprise. A full sequined dress is right up my alley and this fits her perfectly.The high neck, cap sleeves, and slight flare add to the understated drama. I am purposely leaving out commentary on "the necklace of doom" until tomorrow. Just wait.

There was a lot of red on the red carpet this year and I thought Sandra Bullock pulled it off beautifully. Red is a good color for us brunettes and the simple, yet structured construction of the dress added to the sleekness of her look.

 

This Best Actress winner has been a fixture on the awards circuit this year for her dramatic, somewhat sociopathic turn in Black Swan. She's had some fashion ups and downs, but she clearly saved the best for the big show. That mommy-to-be glow also doesn't hurt either!

Much has been said already of Anne Hathaway's turn as Oscar host and I will definitely weigh in on it later in the week, but today I want to focus on my favorite of her many dresses. This strapless red number has interesting detail, is fit to perfection, and is accessorized beautifully.

I was very undecided about this dress for quite a while. After sleeping on it and paging through the online photo books of the red carpet, I've decided I like it. I did fear for Mila that she would be the first wardrobe malfunction of the evening, but apparently they make double sided tape stronger than they used to, so good for her! I think it's an interesting color on her and I like that it incorporates lace without verging into the Victorian era. No Anne of Green Gables jokes from me this time!

I know, I know! You're thinking to yourself, Sarah has finally lost it. All of the award shows this year have warped her mind and desensitized her to Wackadoo Magoo up there. Yes, Helena Bonham Carter (HBC to her confidantes) has her own style, which the polite will call unconventional and the snarky will call outright crazytown. Here's what I love about her - she does her own thing and is unapologetic about it. She clearly has fun with fashion and dresses for herself. She's not manufactured by a stylist and puts her own spin on the red carpet, which quite frankly was kind of a snoozeville last night.

Which leads me to the other end of the spectrum. Jennifer Lawrence was the first to arrive on the red carpet last night, and for me, no one could top her. I was blown away by the simplicity of the dress, the perfect hair and makeup, the minimal jewelry and the overall glow she exuded as a first-time nominee for her breakout role. Many have already criticized her for not blinging it up more, and I realize this is a shocker coming from me, but she doesn't need it. She has a rockin body in a perfectly fit dress that hits the red carpet at just the perfect length to be formal. She is my best-dressed.

Thoughts? Opinions? I want to hear them! This is the best part of the Oscars - everyone disagrees! That's what makes it fun.

She wore WHAT?

Awards season is by far my favorite season. I love the recognition of excellent work in film, the inevitable Cinderella stories, celebrities celebrating themselves, the drunken acceptance speeches, the awkward jokes made by a celebrity who thinks he can host a major event, but mostly I love the fashion. It's true, I'm really into film and consider myself a pretty major movie geek, but these awards shows aren't really about who gave the best performance or which film deserves the most accolades. I feel like it's gotten so political that the results don't matter so much. But that soapbox is for another post. 


No, this post is about my true love of awards season - the fashion! I love the red carpet and all the crazy that comes with it. Joan Rivers is my all-time favorite red carpet host and she is sorely missed these days. She wouldn't hesitate for one second to completely blast a celeb. Priceless. But, on to the dresses! These are some of the Oscar dresses that I love and others that I love to hate. Regardless of whether you sigh in envy or outright gasp in horror when they walk down that red carpet, you've got to love a statement.

Julia Roberts in a vintage Valentino the year she won for Erin Brockovich. Classic.

This Francisco Costa dress failed to impress at first. And then Hilary turned around.

My favorite actress in my favorite color. Kate Winslet can do no wrong.

The Versace gown that inspired a barrage of imitators, who never pulled it off as well as Penelope Cruz.

Reese Witherspoon glowing in plum during what I like to call the "Nina Ricci phase"

Michelle Williams in my all-time favorite Oscar gown. I love the color, the cut and the unexpected lip color. It's a little different, a little off, but just enough to be completely stunning. The downside is that it makes me want to attempt to pull off this color. Not a good look for me, although I just keep trying. Onto the crazy/amazing!

Bjork in the infamous swan dress. Lady Gaga might have paraded down the red carpet at this year's Grammy's in an egg, but has she ever LAID ONE? Amateur.

Celine Dion, mayor of Crazytown in a backwards white suit. Just because you're wearing sunglasses doesn't mean we can't see you.

Demi Moore coming straight from a charity triathlon - at least that's what I choose to believe to excuse this monstrosity.

Everything about this is completely wrong from the too tight curls, the too long fringe - actually, the fringe at all - the lunchbox purse and the high neck. Kate Hudson usually looks great on the red carpet, but this one just fell completely flat.

Oh Gwynnie, I love you on Glee and even saw your crappy movie about drunk country singers who SPOILER ALERT! off themselves in one of the most cliched movie scenes ever, but this is truly inexcusable. The chicken cutlet goth look is not good on anyone. I'm glad we've moved past this.

Who knew Uma had endorsed Swiss Miss?

From one pale brunette to another, oh honey no. Jewel tones are your friend. So is a good strapless bra.