71st Golden Globe Awards: Two Views

Diane Keaton

I don’t know what I was most looking forward to at last evening’s 71st Golden Globes Awards (the first Red Carpet event of the year and one that is traditionally fast paced and highly entertaining): watching Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, in their second stint as hosts; seeing Diane Keaton accept Woody Allen’s Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award; or the fashion (or the lack thereof), since Red Carpet Fashion, is a complete oxymoron. (If you’re a true lover of fashion, you are bound to be disappointed at these kinds of events, but they are still fun to watch).

For the record, while I don’t think Tiny and Amy were quite as brilliantly hilarious as they were last year, they were certainly witty, smart, and up to the task, if not at times, outrageously off color (as in their joke about Leonardo DiCaprio and  “supermodels’ vagina”). And while they made several wardrobe changes, none were exactly memorable. But that’s beside the point, since fashion is not really the duo’s strong point. As for Diane, (who is truly aging beautifully), she always stands out fashion wise at these events, because she always looks like herself and not some manufactured doll. When everyone else is in glamour puss gowns, she almost always taps into that Annie Hall side of her, with an ode to menswear, which suits her so well. As she did last night, wearing an impeccably tailored black tuxedo pantsuit, white shirt, and black tie (Ralph Lauren?)

Lupita Nyong’o

So, in a sea of cloned and borrowed fishtail strapless gowns, who stood out? My choice of best dressed goes to Lupita Nyong’o, in a brilliant red Ralph Lauren Collection gown with cape effect, which was a standout on Ralph’s spring 2014 runway. Unembellished and minimalistic, the style and color suited Lupita perfectly and she looked like a true star. (FYI, Lupita has become quite a fashion hit with designers, and many of the big names were vying to dress her). Best Actress winner Cate Blanchett looked ethereal and every inch the star in her black lace Armani Prive (Cate always manages to select dresses that really suit her perfectly). Julia Roberts’ Dolce & Gabbana (a crisp white shirt worn beneath a strapless black dress accentuated with a crystal belt) looked unfussy and modern.  Sandra Bullock’s Prabal Gurung’s graphic tri color satin gown was one of the prettiest from the resort 2014 season.

Caitlin FitzGerald

While I’m not necessarily a pale blue person, I loved Caitlin FitzGerald’s pale blue short sleeved gown with uneven hem by Emilia Wickstead. It looked quite fresh and more importantly, I loved how she minimally but effectively accessorized it with a peach satin clutch and peach and pale blue striped satin pumps. The very pregnant Drew Barrymore looked like the essence of spring in Monique Lhullier (the dress was covered with pink and red petals and she wisely accessorized with red satin Roger Vivier pumps). Lena Dunham’s strapless gown by Zac Posen was pretty much all about the vivid shade of yellow.

Cate Blanchett

Disappointments for me (there are far too many to list), included Jennifer Lawrence in her white strapless Dior Haute Couture gown which looked too poufy and too ‘bridesmaids’ to me; Zooey Deschanel’s Oscar de la Renta confection was a bit too old fashioned and prom like; Reese Witherspoon’s green Calvin Klein was too plain and simple; Helen Mirren’s green Jenny Packham did nothing for her; Naomi Watts’ silver beaded Tom Ford was too lackluster (and the color rather unflattering).  Uma Thurman could have done a lot better than that black Atelier Versace (what’s happened to her these days?); Amber Heard, also in black Versace Atelier, looked as though she was trying too hard to channel Angelina Jolie (the year she wore that long black gown and flashed her leg); presenter Paula Patton’s white gown with overblown side ruffle was way too busy and distracting.

Jacqueline Bisset

And finally, even though I personally found Jacqueline Bisset’s predictably embellished dress a bit aging, she is still beautiful, I’m glad she won in her category, and her very “salty” acceptance speech included her observation that “forgiveness is the best beauty secret”.

– Marilyn Kirschner

Tina Fey and Amy Poehle

Despite the large puddle on the red carpet (a broken sprinkler flooded one area of it) and some problems with cues and teleprompters
during the actual telecast, not to mention some really rambling, spaced out
acceptance speeches (see below) the 71st Annual Golden Globes are now one for
the history books.  Did anyone else think that Tina Fey and Amy
Poehler didn’t quite bring it this year and I’m not referring to their fashion
which was generally on point.  To note: The Globes are the only
awards show which features food and more importantly, drink, and I often wonder
if perhaps the combination of starving actresses and alcohol don’t mix as
seamlessly as some of the designer gowns.  Here’s my breakdown of
what worked and what actually “brokedown.”

Lena Dunham

G:  “Girls”   Lena
Dunham looks like the canary that swallowed the cat.  Although
somewhat improved from last year’s brown off-the-shoulder creation that made her
look like either a football or a linebacker, the bright strapless yellow mermaid
is almost working but something was a bit off, even Lena admitted.
I know Zac Posen is her friend but maybe she should seek out a designer
that doesn’t instruct her to “make her body into an ‘s'” when “posen” on the red
carpet.  Perhaps Zac is more friendly to latina curves (see Sophia
Vergara).  Allison Williams went for black and white striped
Alexander McQueen with a strange neckline which also wasn’t her best
look.  Zosia Mamet wore a somewhat matronly black and white Reem
Acra dress and bobbed her hair for the occasion contributing to the more mature
look.

Julia Roberts

Paula Patton

O:  Ooops!  The water cooler
moments include:  Was Jacqueline Bissett drunk, drugged or
unhinged? By the way, hers was only the second award of the evening which didn’t
seem to bode well for the rest of the show coming in at under 5 hours!
Did Paula Patton show nipple on the side that wasn’t swathed in the
“ruffle that ate Detroit”?  Emma Thompson in vintage Lanvin
unceremoniously tossed her painful Christian Louboutin’s away at
the podium (she actually referred to the iconic red soles as being “her blood”)
however she managed to hold onto her cocktail (!)  and Robin
Wright’s pasty made its debut as she turned hastily in her sparkly gold Reem
Acra halter neck.

Lupita Nyong’ o

B:  Best would have to be Lupita Nyong ‘O’s orangey- red Ralph Lauren cape
silhouette which we’ve seen a bit of lately as a version of it was featured for
fall 2013 in black as well as being seen in white on Gwyneth Paltrow at last
year’s Oscars.  Also, I was a huge fan of Kate Beckinsale’s
anthracite beaded Zuhair Murhad, Margot Robbie’s elegant white Gucci grecian
inspired dress and Laura Dern’s Roberto Cavalli slinky number.  I need to mention the stunning Camila Alves (Matthew McConaghey’s
wife) in a long sleeved black sequin gown chosen, so she said, after her husband
chose his tux in order to coordinate.

Elizabeth Moss

E:  Edgy would go to Emma Watson’s hybrid Dior
gown/pants combo also displaying the covered up in the front and completely open
in the back silhouette.  Elizabeth Moss in an art deco inspired J.
Mendel beaded and sequined creation looked the part but gave the pre-show “E”
mani cam the finger (how did Giuliana Rancic not see that one coming when she
advised Moss she could go wild and do anything?).  Moss also
audibly cursed on stage when she won for “Top of the Lake.”

Sofia Vergara

Jennifer Lawrence

D: Disappointments (the letter “D” can be found in Golden
and also on report cards!)  I didn’t love Jennifer Lawrence’s white
tiered Dior (too wedding cake), Jessica Chastain’s Givenchy black strapless gown
which looked very heavy and gapped a bit at the bustline or Sandra Bullock’s
color blocked Prabal Gurung which was shown with a belt on the runway.
I also wasn’t a fan of Amy Adams’ choice as it appeared to be an extra
dress that was perhaps left unused and discarded after “American Hustle”
wrapped.  As she won for best actress for the movie, the least they
could do was to lend her a costume from the props closet.  Maybe
she wanted to display her upright posture which she stated kept her from having
a “wardrobe malfunction” in real life, not just in the movies.

Laurel Marcus

OG journo major who thought Strunk & White's "The Elements of Style" was a fashion guide. Desktop comedienne -- the world of fashion gives me no shortage of material.