This coming Sunday, The Oscars, the biggest award show of them all is coming to Hollywood. America once again will be turning their eyes to the stars to see what they will walk down the red carpet wearing. Will your favorite stars win any fashion awards? Here’s a look at some of the red carpet diva’s and disasters from years past.
Recently I tuned in to watch the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. The live musical performances are obviously very fun to experience but the truth is much of my primary interest in the show was not necessarily to see who would walk away with the coveted awards. The intent of this awards show is to honor achievement in music production. The reality is, however, that this award show as well as many others have become elaborate Hollywood-style fashion shows. Many of us tune in just to see who’s wearing what. Knock-off designers are ready and waiting with sketchpads in hand creating copies of the best designs faster than you can say “wardrobe malfunction.” I guess we all want to live a little piece of the dream and based on the sales of “look-alike” Hollywood fashion, this is no accident.
The world has it’s eye on Hollywood and one only has to take a look at the tabloid rack in the supermarket to know that we have an insatiable fascination with celebrities and their lives. We love knowing that much of what the famous do is akin to ordinary people but mostly we are curious about what they do that falls way outside what most of us know as reality. We are fascinated, enchanted and sometimes appalled and disgusted with their stardom. Award shows are the perfect forum to watch gathered stars of every genre as they are put together en masse for one night of media and public scrutiny. Hollywood idols are at our mercy and no one is shy about rendering an opinion. On this night in particular we all want to know just one thing–what are the stars going to wear?
The Oscars, the biggest award show of them all is coming to Hollywood this Sunday February 27th. America once again is going to turn their eye to the stars to see what they will walk down that proverbial red carpet wearing. The Academy Awards is the biggest showcase of Hollywood fashion ever but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be good fashion. In fact, quite often it literally means the opposite.
There are several distinct (not necessarily intentional) categories that Hollywood fashion seems to fall into during these award shows. Obviously where you place your vote is entirely subjective but these are the categories I am going to have in the back of my mind this year as I watch with interest the Academy Awards.
1. The “What the Hell were You Thinking?” category. This category also encompasses those that might be just called “a train wreck” or “a hot mess”. Most of the time I believe the star involved just got hoodwinked into wearing something crazy by an overzealous dresser or design house—but you never know, it’s possible that some of these Hollywood types just have really bad taste.
2. The next type of dress is often seen and I do wonder why. It’s what I call the “Plain Jane off-the-rack” or “prom dress” category. These are the dresses that look like they came straight from a department store clearance rack. If the celebrity involved is going for a “less is more” look—perhaps this isn’t the time or the place to do it. The public wants to see glamour on Oscar night! Sometimes less is just less.
3. The third category is “You apparently must need lots of attention.” The look is not necessarily going to be flattering, either. I often marvel at the stars who have worn giant headdresses, animal outfits, strange and unflattering shapes—and yes, they are eye catching and memorable but is this really what you want everyone talking about at the water cooler the morning after the awards show? I guess there are those who believe that any publicity is good publicity.
4. The next category is a shocking category of a different nature. These dresses are electrifying– not necessarily in an unattractive way. They are super-sexy in a flagrantly daring sort of way. No one will ever forget J-Lo’s Versace dress from the 2000 Grammy Awards show that was unforgettably sexy and quite stunning. The big question on everyone’s mind was—how did she keep that dress on? (There was chatter for weeks about her admitted use of double stick tape to keep everything in its proper place.) At this year’s Grammy’s Rihanna wore a semi-sheer dress that clearly must have required very careful lingerie choices or more likely than not she was just going completely “commando” underneath that scandalous gown. Wearing racy apparel like that is a very gutsy move but it’s seen at awards show every year. Somebody always shows up half naked–who will be the daring ones this year?
5. Last but not least is the best and my favorite category of all is the “simply stunning” look. These celebs seem to get it just right. They look glamorous, elegant and classy—everything a Hollywood superstar (in my humble opinion) should be. It doesn’t seem like it should be that difficult and yet every year only a handful seem to grab onto the Hollywood Glamour gauntlet and run with it. Thankfully there are always those that do.
The movies have all been nominated and the votes have been cast. Whether or not your favorite movie walks away with any honors remains to be seen. You can count on one thing for sure, however–the red carpet fashion parade is bound to be dramatic and full of surprises. We might not remember all the movies that win but some of the fashions seen at the Oscars (both good and bad) will live on in our minds forever.
