Twist and Sigh

So now we've seen Olivier Theyskens' first full collection for Nina Ricci. To be perfectly honest, it didn't blow me out of the water in the way that some of his best work at Rochas did, but since this is his first outing here I'm perfectly happy to sit back and watch it unfold. Cathy Horyn at the New York Times, a fashion journalist I highly recommend reading and not just because I usually agree with her, found an emotional connection to the presentation based on environment and I understood what she meant. I've been to Paris in February, and the cloudy, gray, smudgy softness of the sky and the river seem perfectly echoed in these clothes.

(The Pont de la Tournelle and Notre Dame, taken from the Pont de Sully)

While I'm a little disappointed in the color palette (I almost never wear gray -- it makes me look as though I've been dead for about three days), it was certainly right for the shapes. (And let's face it, it's unlikely I'll be running out to snap up a bunch of these clothes anyway, Economic Reality being what it is.) There's a softness, almost a schlumpiness about these things that I found really appealing, even though I usually go for pretty tightly tailored shapes. But Theyskens being who he is, he manages to make softness without sloppiness.


I'm a little mesmerized by the fabulous twisty seaming that's running through this whole show (although the less said about the feather tarantula on her head, the better, non?). It gives the clothes movement and keeps them from looking too bulky.


As someone who sews, I'd really like to get my hands on a few of these pieces and see just how they did that. (I'd also like to get my hands on a few of these models and force-feed them croissants and macarons, but that's neither here nor there.) Is it bias-cut? I can't tell. It sure is pretty, though. It extends even down to some of the accessories:

Those are some good-looking boots.

A lot of looseness


and ease



and somehow even the most tailored of the clothes still manage to look like you could wear them comfortably all day long


I also find it all very "French" in a way that's hard for me to articulate except to say that I can easily imagine seeing these clothes on women in Paris, and also that if I put them on myself I would instantly feel trés parisienne. It's something about that slouchiness, the lack of focus on the waist, the way the folds of fabric echo the ubiquitous scarves of Parisian women. (That isn't just a myth, you know. They ALL wear scarves. Marvelously.)

The wonderful little details:


Also some gorgeous accessories:


Look at that! A lucite heel that in no way conjures up g-strings and lap dances! A hearty round of applause is called for just for creating that shoe!

This was another thing I just adored about the show:


Tiny feathers worked through all the models' hair. It gave such a soft, floating, ethereal look. I usually don't give a flip about the hair & makeup at the shows, but I found this completely beguiling and won't be happy until I, too, have tiny feathers floating through my hair! (Although with my dopey hair the feathers would just be swallowed up, not to be seen again until I began moulting.)

So I liked this show a lot. I didn't looooooove this show, but as I said, it's Theyskens' first time out for Nina Ricci and we have a lot to look forward to from him. He's not a shouter, Olivier Theyskens, he's not one for grand theatrical gestures or great walloping statements. He gently eases you into his world, and before you know it you're completely in love. Ricci as a house doesn't have a very strongly defined aesthetic in the way that Dior or YSL or Chanel does, so it will be Theyskens' job to create one. Lars Nilsson's work was usually beautiful, but not what I'd call defining, so Theyskens has a fairly blank slate on which to draw. I'm very, very hopeful.

Photos: Style Spy, Style.com

He's Baaaaaack!!

The Want Monster has me again. Here's what I'm obsessing over:



The last couple of years have seen a major trend toward giant, statement-y rings, which I love. My taste in jewelery in general runs toward large pieces. I'm not a fan of itsy jewelry, and I really dislike it when women load up, wearing six or eight rings at a time. It's cluttered and sloppy-looking, the bijoux equivalent of teenaged girls who carry keychains that have exactly one key (to Mom & Dad's house) and about 16 different key fobs, at least one of which will be something bearing a Sanrio character. Like anything you put on your body, jewelry requires editing. So this trend of one big honkin' cocktail ring is right up my alley. I have a couple of wonderful ones that I've scored in Paris (they do costume jewelry so much better than we do), but I am really in love with this baby. My friend Ronny (ever-practical) points out that it looks as though it would snag on everything, and she makes an excellent point. My Want Monster, however, seems not to have a practical bone in his body, and I can't get this thing out of my mind.

The compromise I've come up with is to wait until my trip to New York (Oh -- did I tell you I was going to New York? I am.) in late April. If the Want Monster is still chewing on me, I'm going to give myself the divine pleasure of purchasing the ring in an Yves Saint Laurent boutique there. Redhead needs a YSL shopping bag, even if it's a tiny one.

Speaking of YSL, check out Stefano Pilati's Fall 2007 RTW collection, featuring this gorgeous thing:



It's fantastic. I am hereby making a Formal Declaration of Love for Mr. Pilati. I love you, Stefano. I await the time when I take my rightful place at your side as your muse and confidante.


Photos: Harper's Bazaar, Style.com

The Master

Honestly, John Galliano makes me want to just lie down on the floor and cry. He's a genius.

All of these are from his Fall 2007 Collection, the brilliant ready-to-wear interpretation of the Couture collection I went all bonkers for a while back.







There are also some very drool-worthy shoes:







And a some handbags that have me surfing the net trying to find out how much I could get for one of my kidneys:






Go look at all of it. It's amazing.

Photos: Style.com

Celebrity Dish!

So, here's the inside scoop on what went down with Jennifer Hudson and her dresses.

Not that I feel too terribly bad for her -- she did win a dingdong Oscar Sunday night -- but it is a shame she had to have her big moment in a dress she didn't like. I know that if I'm not comfortable in what I'm wearing, it ruins everything else.

Thanks to k3 for the heads up on this story!

Nothing New Under the Sun

Take a look at these:






And now this:

(Gwyneth Paltrow in Zac Posen at the 2007 Academy Awards)

Am I the only one who noticed this? Not that I have a problem with it -- hey, if you're gonna steal, steal from the classics. I just thought it was interesting.

Wherein Style Spy Discovers the Magic of High-Definition Television

I'm a bit of a reverse techno-snob. I just can't care all that much about audio-visual equipment. I recently had to buy a new television and I got the cheapest one of the proper size I could find, and I was still resentful because that was money I now wouldn't be able to spend on shoes. But last night I went to my buddy Steve's house to watch the Oscars. Steve, being a boy, has a great big ol' fancy tv. As much as I don't like to encourage size-ism, I couldn't help but be impressed. But the magic really happened when he switched it to a high definition channel.

Holy cow.

The colors were brighter, the detail was amazing... I can't really see the point of watching football on one of these things, but for fashion it was incredible!!!! So I'm re-thinking my whole electronics ethos now.

But enough of that. On with the show.

As usual, I was disappointed that more people didn't take more fashion chances on the red carpet. I know, I know, the stakes are too high, the world is watching and all that, but there is plenty of interesting design out there that isn't so damn boring. So while there were several dresses that made me say, "Oh, that's pretty!" there wasn't really one that made me want to high-five the stylist who talked her witless but willing client into putting it on and rocking Fashion Fearless into the Kodak Theater.

Here are some I found worthy of comment.




Jessica Biel in Oscar de la Renta. Great dress. As we know, I have a thing for hot pink. This girl is lovely, although I really have almost no idea of who she is, and I was grateful to her for not feeling the need to reprise her Golden Globes sequined scuba suit look. This had a long slash opening down the back of the bodice -- it was sexy but not over the top.


Cameron Diaz in Valentino Couture. Nifty dress, like the origami effect of the collar, although I frown in general on asymmetric hems. I was also frowning at the wrinkled state it was already in as she was coming into the event. And I hate that hair. I hate this messy-on-purpose thing. There's a difference between messy and not-overdone.


Here's that same hair, and I still hate it. Rachel Weisz in Vera Wang. This is a little sad because it's so close. Gorgeous girl, gorgeous dress, but that necklace is an amateur mistake and her stylist should be smacked. Why on earth would you feel compelled to put that much bling (an enormous diamond pendant suspended on what looked like piano wire) on a woman wearing a dress that was pre-blinged (pre-blung?)? Earrings at most with that dress, although they'd be hard to find under her I-was-just-running-the-vacuum-and-popped-out-to-pick-up-an-Oscar hairdo.


Cate Blanchett in Armani Privé. So, yeah, this is stunning -- she's flawless, the jewelry is just right, the beadwork is breathtaking and great googly-moogly, it was even better in high-def, but... I'd just hoped for something a little more exciting from Ms. Blanchett, a woman who obviously loves fashion and is not afraid of it.


Here's another woman who loves fashion. I almost always like the way Kirsten Dunst looks, and I did love this. This dress really suits her and it's lovely, from the deconstructed Peter Pan collar that just screams "Chanel!" right down to the feathery bottom that everyone's bitching about. It's youthful yet sophisticated, and Dunst pulls that off extremely well.

This next is all the more upsetting because Djimon Hounsou is such a deliciously handsome man:


NO!!! NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!! Gentlemen! How hard is this? You put on a black tux, a white shirt, and a black tie (preferably bow, although I'll allow a long one if you're respectful otherwise) and you're done! You do not express your "individuality" with chocolate brown tuxedos, or brocade jackets, or jeweled brooches, or culturally inappropriate costuming (that means you, Quincy Jones!) or filmy silk scarves. You just wear a damn tuxedo and thank your lucky stars that it's so easy!

Look:


Peter Sarsgaard getting it entirely right. Black tux, peaked lapels (my personal favorite), neat, non-statement-making bow tie, black studs. The jacket also fits him really well, although I would hem up the pants a bit. Your pants should only break once at your shoes, not puddle around them. Maggie Gyllenhaal is also looking great in Proenza Schouler, although I've just never really been able to love navy and black together. (Can I also just say, unrelatedly, that it's kind of cute that two people with a couple of the hardest-to-spell names in Hollywood wound up together. Pity their daughter, though -- she's going to have to spell her name six times a day for the rest of her life.)



Eva Green, doing a Morticia Addams thing in Givenchy. I was actually really intrigued by this dress, although I don't like that dust non-color. But there were interesting details going on at the shoulders and sleeves. There's something about the way it moved around the knees that really bothered me, though, like the corsetry of the dress stopped there and the fabric of the skirt got caught on it and bunched up as she walked.



Faye Dunaway in J. Mendel, doing an homage to Barbra Streisand when she won her Oscar for "Funny Girl" in 1969.


Sometimes it's so bad it's good:



When you are Patricia Field, you can wear your own design and Payless shoes, and you can match your dress to your hair. Because you're Pat Field. And we love you.



Even my girl Rinko Kikuchi, in Chanel as usual, let me down a little. Yeah, it's gorgeous, but she usually likes to take bigger risks than this, for which I admire her intensely. Not so risky, this.

Here's another heartbreaker:


NO!!! NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!! Put on a damn tie, buddy! I don't care if you're the hottest thing to come out of England since those crossed buns, PUT! ON! A! TIE! It's the rassum-frassum Oscars! For goodness sake, you're English, man! I shouldn't have to tell you how to be properly dressed!

Like this:


Leonardo DiCaprio has grown up into a man who knows how to wear a suit. Armani, no less, because then you absolutely can't go wrong. Bravo, Leo.



Oh, bless her heart, she just. Doesn't. Get it. How anyone this beautiful can take a gown custom-made for her by Giorgio Armani and manage to make it look like she got it at David's Bridal, I'll never know. Also, I am tired of the weave. Also of the showgirl postures. Okay, you're bootilicious, we get it. Surprise me, Beyoncé, and just once wear something that doesn't make you look like one of those mirrored female silhouettes we see on tractor-trailer mudflaps.


The Storm of Controversy:



Jennifer Hudson in Oscar de la Renta. I love this girl, I think she's gorgeous and yay for her for winning. There was part of me that really loved this and part of me that went, "Huh?" Then I figured it out -- the jacket's just too short. If it had been about four inches longer, so that the bottom of the jacket had cleared the bottom of her bust and the sleeves, it would have worked. Then it would have been a sassy little jacket with a fun portrait collar. As it stood, it was just a weird neckpiece, basically. I'm also not in love with the Valley Girl hairdo, but let's not quibble.

I did notice that Ms. Hudson changed her dress, not only to sing during the broadcast, but then again to greet the press with her award in hand:


I'm consumed with curiosity about this. Were all these changes planned? I'm not surprised she wore a different dress to sing in (there seemed to be a color-coordinating thing going on for the three women in that number), but what's up with Dress #3 here? Did she change to Dress #3 because it just wouldn't do to go from Dress #2 back into Dress #1 once we'd already seen it? Was Dress #1 kinda sweaty & gross, so she didn't want to get back into it? Or had the scuttlebutt about all the jacket-haters already reached the Hudson Entourage and her merit-badge-worthy stylist busted out that extra gown she had up her sleeve? Inquiring minds want to know.


I just love Kelly Preston for wearing a leopard-print gown to the Oscars. (It's Dolce & Gabbana.) You go, girl! I also love that the jewelry is likely hers -- when you're married to a guy who buys airplanes like some men buy watches, I'm guessing you get the occasional trip to Cartier to pick out a toy or two of your own.

("Look, I have a friend! That means I'm a real human!")

Nicole Kidman in Balenciaga and Naomi Watts in Escada. I discussed Ms. Kidman in my previous post, so we'll let that go except to say I like that dress a bunch, even with the controversial bow, and I love the metallic red accents at the neck. I loved Naomi Watts' dress, it's really beautiful and soft and lovely, which is such a relief after the dozens of vacuum-sealed garments you see at these events. She's evidently pregnant, but this dress would be great on a non-pregnant woman as well. My only quibble is that sash -- it's such a dark blue that it read black to me (even on the high-def!) and it was too harsh. I would love to have seen that in a softer Wedgewood blue. Necklace is glorious, hair is beautiful -- she looks fantastic.


The family Smith -- Will, Jada Pinkett in Vera Wang, and Jaden. First of all, this little boy is so cute I could eat him. Secondly, Will looks great in his tux, perfect down to his white pocket square. No dandyish tendencies here, his Fresh Prince days are well behind him. Thirdly, Jada... I shouldn't really complain, and yet -- I'm going to. She's a very striking woman, but she always looks so hard. She always wears things that are skin-tight, and while if I had a body that fierce I'd probably lean toward that, too, I sure would love to see her loosen up a little. Her hair is always either pin-straight and hanging or slicked back so tight she'll never need an eye lift. With her strong, angular features, I'd really love to see her hair softer & more feminine. She has gorgeous skin and perfect posture, wouldn't she be lovely in something like this:


Jennifer Lopez in Marchesa. This was so pretty. Pale, pale pink with a spectacular jeweled neckline that still manages not to be over the top -- precisely because the rest of the dress is so soft and cloudlike that it nearly melts away. I could even have lived without the earrings, but we all know Jenny from the block likes her bling. I really like this flowing, gentle look. It's utterly feminine and womanly without having to be so body-conscious or overtly sexy. The simple truth is that there's a lot to be said for just being supremely, perfectly pretty.

Oh, there were lots of other nice dresses. Gwyneth's dress was nice and Reese's dress was nice and Emily's dress was nice and Penelope's dress was nice... nice nice nice. Some of them were downright beautiful but I gotta tell ya -- not a single one of them got me excited. This dress is exciting:

(Christian Dior Couture, Spring 2007. Long live Maestro Galliano!)

But no one is ever going to wear it on the red carpet. They'll all be risk-free and tasteful and more than a little dull. More's the pity, if you ask me.


Photos: Style.com

The Needle and the Damage Done

Run, little one, run!! Before she sucks the youthful essence out of you!!!! She is eyeing your jugular hungrily!! RUUUUUUUUN!!!!

Run, Great One, run!! Before she sucks the youthful essence out of you!!!!! She is plotting how to dispose of your lifeless body even now!!! RUUUUUUUN!!!!!

Seriously -- Nicole Kidman now looks more like her own wax mannequin than herself.



Now that her husband has successfully completed rehab, perhaps she should also think about quitting the Botox cold turkey. There is no life left in this woman's face. She's a terrific actor whose work I've admired for years, but what is she doing to herself? Also -- whose eyebrows did she steal? Her brows shouldn't be that hard to do -- it's not like they're going to move while they're being worked on.

I did like this red Balenciaga dress, despite everyone's complaining about the bow at the neck, which I thought was lovely. But I hate that long, stick-straight hair arranged ever-so-carefully over one shoulder -- it's so mannered and artificial-looking. Kidman is a naturally curly redhead:

(Look! Look how pretty!)

and I don't understand this torturing curly hair into that flat lifeless sheet. (In the interest of full disclosure, I must iterate that I, too, am a Naturally Curly Girl, and it pains me to see my curly sisters deny their identities.) Nor do I understand why someone with her porcelain complexion would rather be a blonde than a redhead. But that's just me. (Who is, yes, a redhead.)

The hair thing, though, is really neither here nor there. What troubles me is this Michael Jackson-like progression toward a mask instead of a face. Last night, Kidman was surrounded by fantastic examples of what it means to grow older realistically yet beautifully (Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton -- all of whom looked like a million bucks, any of whom I'd like to look as good as right now) and I hope she took note of them. A gal could do a lot worse than this:


at any point in her life, famous or no. I totally want to be Helen Mirren when I grow up.


More about the (mostly yawny) fashion at the Oscars tomorrow. Stay tuned -- mud will be flung!


Photos: style.com, inetours.com, hissandpop.com, mirror.co.uk