My favorite looks were from Marchesa, Vera Wang, and Vivienne Westwood.
I'll start with sweet Hailee Steinfeld. While not a fan of her performance in True Grit, the little girl in me loved her dress (not so much the shoes, though. A fourteen-year-old in five-inch spikes? YIKES! It is a bit like Princess meets Hooker).
I haven't been able to get this dress out of my mind for the last few days, and as I pondered why, I concluded that it was because this dress took me back to one of my earliest fashion memories -- Vera-Ellen in the film White Christmas. I always wanted a dress like the ones she wore in her first dance scene with Danny Kaye. Sigh . . .
Hailee somehow got the dress I always wanted as a little girl.
The other gown by Marchesa that I liked was worn by Halle Berry. What I liked about this gown on her was 
how the color of it highlighted her mocha skin tone. Oh, it makes my heart sing to see how the colors play off each other, the undertone of the dress picking up the tone of her skin. The tulle around the bust adds visual interest without making too much fuss, while the lower layers of tulle hearken back to Old Hollywood style -- but are saved from the unfortunate Marisa Tomei "archival" incident this year by their asymmetrical styling and lack of uniform layering. And, truly, I give a hearty thanks to Halle for dressing her beautiful body with grace and style (as women with far less this year smashed, squeezed and tortured their bodies into dresses that should not have been options. 'nuff said.)
how the color of it highlighted her mocha skin tone. Oh, it makes my heart sing to see how the colors play off each other, the undertone of the dress picking up the tone of her skin. The tulle around the bust adds visual interest without making too much fuss, while the lower layers of tulle hearken back to Old Hollywood style -- but are saved from the unfortunate Marisa Tomei "archival" incident this year by their asymmetrical styling and lack of uniform layering. And, truly, I give a hearty thanks to Halle for dressing her beautiful body with grace and style (as women with far less this year smashed, squeezed and tortured their bodies into dresses that should not have been options. 'nuff said.)
The next dress is not one of my favorite looks, but rather an example of an amazing dress wearing the woman. Sandra Bullock is beautiful, absolutely beautiful, but this Vera Wang wore her this year. Instead of looking like glorious Sandra, she looks like Sandra playing the role of Hollywood Royalty. The shade of red -- instead of complimenting her skin tone -- made it appear pale and ghostly, highlighting her lips in a non-flattering way. She wears the difficulty of her past year with a regal grace and grounded savvy evident in her poise and face. I wish she had found a dress that allowed her to stand regally, instead of her dress.
My last noteworthy selection is from Vivienne Westwood, worn by Helen Mirren. Ms. Mirren makes my heart glow. As so many others in Hollywood botox, sculpt, cream and surgery to delay their inevitable fall, Ms. Mirren has shown that the greatest beauty comes from a life lived in each moment, from acceptance of who you are, from delight in beauty at any age. Every year I look forward to seeing what she selects because she is a woman of class and dignity who dresses her body in a way that expresses her high-view of her own personal worth.
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