Color blocking works great with casual outfits, and even on bags when done right, like this top handle Tod’s bag from FW2013.
But color blocking on a gown for a major awards night? Fat chance of fashion fail happening. Almost rare is it that color blocking is executed perfectly on a gown. Most times, the gown will end up looking cheap, or worse, will have that freshman-going-to-a-senior-prom effect. There are of course exceptions too, and the when color blocking is done right, it could end up looking quite classy 🙂
Let’s take a look at all the color blocking happening on the red carpet:
Victim #1: Sandra Bullock in Prabal Gurung.
The runway look of this dress was not too bad– it had a skinny white belt to cinch the waist. But on Sandra, white belt was missing, and the aqua part of the skirt was quite… crumpled. Oh and the hair? Dry! Ok, I can relate to her hair because before I chopped my locks off, the ends on my hair looked exactly like that haha. But I’d probably have the ends treated before I go to the Golden Globes– to prevent hair nazis (like myself– haha suddenly I am one??) from pointing out those dry ends hahaa. So Sandra, why?!
Victim #2: Aubrey Plaza in Oscar de la Renta.
Beautiful actress, bad choice of dress with shoes and bag. I can’t even write more about this. I love the colors. Just separately. Not put together this way. Please, no. Sack the stylist!
Victim #3: Amy Adams in Valentino.
She was sooo stunning last 2013. And then this happened. Amy has a beautiful body but it seemed like she got swathed in very heavy fabric. The Valentino gown is just not flattering on her at all 🙁
Victim #4: Monica Potter in Romona Keveza.
I can’t really say the gown is ugly, but it’s just not too flattering on Monica who is so beautiful. It looked pretty… boring (sorrryyy). And yes, a little prom-y too.
Tricky #1: Hayden Panettiere in Tom Ford.
I had to move her from victim to tricky 😉 On certain angles, the dress was just not working for me, but on this particular photo, it actually looked alright on Hayden. Bottom line, color blocking like this is still tricky!
Tricky # 2: Taylor Swift in Carolina Herrera.
It is very prom-y but she looked very feminine– even if at first glance it looked as though she was wearing a strapless black bra over a pink dress. The overall look was not bad at all though there is a fat chance that this could “drown” the wearer. I don’t know if anyone else would be able to carry this gown this well like Taylor did. She pulled it off.
Tricky # 3: Julia Roberts in Dolce & Gabbana.
Black and white blocking seem to work well on some dresses, I admit. This one works somehow because the white adds width to the shoulders while the black works to taper off the body. The thin white band around the waist serves to “break” the all black monotony. The dress is not bad, but somehow it aged Julia– maybe also because of her hair style. Again, this is a pretty tricky one.
Tricky #4: Emma Watson in Christian Dior.
Watson really took a chance on this pairing of pants with a top-as-dress. She was able to work the whole outfit and showed off her back to reveal her total look. Oh yes, the back was definitely crucial. A rather unconventional, tricky choice but I quite liked it! I think the look turned out well also because of the color blocking. If the pants/ dress pairing were done in the same color, it would’ve been a fail.
And now, for my choice in sleek:
Sleek #1: Julie Bowen in Carolina Herrera.
These colors are not really for everyone, but I quite liked this look on Julie, actually. You don’t see velvet on the red carpet often anymore (perhaps because it seems like a very dated choice of material for a gown), but Carolina Herrera made it look modern. It’s a rich choice of colors for color blocking too. The dress had a good cut and overall silhouette, and made Julie look great. But again, this look won’t work with everyone– but Julie nailed it.
Sleek #2: Laura Carmichael in Viktor and Rolf.
The Downton Abbey star stood tall in her Viktor and Rolf column dress. This gown worked well on Laura, and made her look real sleek and classy. This is color blocking done right.
How about you peeps, which color blocked gowns on celebrities did you think were the best/ worst?
x
TheBagHag