Golden Girls

It's late and I'm sorry but HAPPY NEW YEAR WORLD! I'm back and this year it is with a new vengeance. 2011 has this crystalline ring to it, it's new, bright, icy and ready to play... and so am I. 

Finally back in Canada after three wonderful weeks at home in England with my family, a week in the Bahamas for a training camp and several days getting beat up by my brothers; I'm well rested/ ready for the new semester, the final month of the swim season and more shenanigans with my housemates. 

So, on our agenda today... awards season! Tonight is the first awards show of the season, the Golden Globes, which culminates with the Academy Awards on February 27th.

As I write all the biggest TV and film names are gliding down the red carpet in an array of different glorious designer gowns and tuxes and I thought it would be fun to compile a bunch of potential awards season dresses... I need to hurry!!!!

So, to begin with, I took a gander at some of last year's Golden Globes dresses to see what styles are favored and what the trends were:

Rightfully red

We often see stunning red dresses on the red carpet as seen here on Cameron Diaz in an Alexander McQueen gown. The trick is not clashing, the red needs to be the right shade or else you end up looking tacky.

Form fitting

 We know Christina Aguilera has a hot body because she knows when to flaunt it in form fitting divalicious gowns like this Versace creation. Donatella usually ends up with several celebrities wearing her designs and it's pretty obvious why

Fashion forward 

 Another Atelier Versace dress here on Drew Barrymore. This dress is everything a red carpet outfit should be: it's loud without being obnoxious, it is beautifully tailored to show off her curves, it is designer and it has that extra edge without making the wearer look like a fashion whore. The awards shows are in the neutral fashion zone... go too casual and you look like a bum or too avant garde and you're trying too hard to have style.

Sleek and black

 While I love seeing bright adventurous colors on the red carpet, black is the universal go-to for evening looks. Here January Jones plays it safe in black, but at the same time she is one of fashion's cool kids as she's wearing the hottest label of the past year: Lanvin. Alber Ebaz thinks that 'Lanvin is not a cool brand', but I'm sorry to say, it totally is.

Sparkly 

Glitter and sequins are a given at awards shows, and Jennifer Garner shows us this in another Versace gown. The stripes of sequins create a very sleek silhouette and make her look even taller and thinner if even possible.

White is right

 Another color favorite is white, which can often be a disaster but Kate Hudson and her Marchesa, one of the biggest awards show dressers, show us that white is sexy and not at all safe. There is so much I about this dress that I could blather on about but more and more people are storming the 2011 Golden Globes and I need to get a move on!

Now on to the dresses I would love to see in the next month and a half. I divided them into two categories: the I dare you and the expected. So, here goes:


I Dare You - designs I would love to see because what fun are conventional dresses right?

 From left to right: a Marchesa confection that would be immensely difficult to sit down it, but if you're a winner you wont be sitting down very much. An Alexander McQueen earth queen dress that has a very unconventional shape for red carpet and a Chanel feathery explosion that would blow the roof off of the joint.

 I want to see Natalie Portman, my pick for Best Actress in a Drama, to wear the Rodarte    because she trends to favor the brand for red carpet although it is a very loud choice and she probably wants something to cover her baby bump. The Jason Wu is a stunning choice there just needs to be something to cover the torso... and I would love to see someone, most probably Marion Cottiard in the Dior Couture creation as she is the current face of the brand.

 Another less conventional but very sunny Dior, a tribal meets flapper Gucci and a Baroque Givenchy by some of the fashion heavy hitters.

 And the last of my 'I dare you' dresses are not as 'outrageous, they're just alittle too 'different'... you know what I mean? The Dolce and Gabbana white shift would look so lovely on someone like Carey Mulligan or her waifish compatriot Emma Watson. Oscar De La Renta is a very good red carpet dresser and I think the Dr. Seuss styled foliage is awesome, but probably too clashy. And finally, red carpet genius Reem Acra is a sure pick but this mini is probably not dressy enough, although I think Ginnifer Goodwin could pull it off like last year.

The Expected, here goes! I probably wont get many right but I count color, if it is from the same collection and designer as a victory.

 Donna Karan had a beautiful 25th season collection for Spring and this dress would look amazing out there. Giorgi Armani is probably the biggest red carpet dresser for awards and I wouldn't be surprised to see someone wear one of his creations. And Atelier Versace made it very difficult to choose one dress but I loved this Grecian fringed creation.

 

Two Oscar De La Renta dresses, to the left a shimmery shift and the middle is so well suited for Mila Kunis, it just pops. Another sparkly dress by Jenny Packham rounds out my picks for glittery gowns. Taylor Swift (I know she's not an actress but she likes glitter) take your pick.

* I just stopped over to check out the Yahoo! Golden Globes arrivals pictures and I'm getting them all terribly wrong but I have actually seen alot of those gowns and ruled them out. However, I'm getting designers and collections right!

 Neutrals are always a good pick. A Valentino dress for someone like Chloe Sevigny, the middle and right are both by red carpet bigwig Elie Saab. You can't go wrong with a thing high slit like Angelina Jolie or a full gown like Lea Michele favors.

White white white! J Mendel, Marchesa and Versace all have convincing and completely different styles and cuts, but they're all super elegant.

 I'd love to see some sunny colors flood the awards circuit. I love the sunny orange  a la J Mendel, Naeem Khan makes this yellow (the most difficult color to wear) dress hard to resist and Marc Jacobs makes zebra print shimmer.

 I want to see Lanvin being paraded around. I hope Julianne Moore wears it although I wonder if she'll be wearing Tom Ford. Rachel McAdams just wore this Michael Kors dress so I probably shouldn't include it, but it's very elegant and casual. This Giambattista Valli dress is probably the best choice and is very reminiscent of a red dress Heidi Klum wore to an awards show years ago.

 Some more red dresses although alittle more daring and different: PLEASE SOMEONE WEAR ALEXANDER MCQUEEN. Elie Tahari pleads his case in a burgundy one shoulder goddess dress and Elie Saab gives us this masterpiece that I would love to see Portman in.

 Blue is probably one of my favorite colors and I haven't seen any on the red carpet as of yet... so I'm freaking out. The two Monique Lhuillier dresses are so different you could be forgiven for thinking they were by two different designers. Again I would love to see Portman in the one on the left and maybe Rachel McAdams in the middle on. And on the right we have a cerulean masterpiece with gorgeous beading by Reem Acra.

 More bluey hued gowns: Ports 1961, Dior and Reem Acra deal strong hands. I would love to see Maggie Gyllenhaal wearing the dress on the right.

Purple is a gamble but hey what the hell: Vera Wang, Chanel and Caroline Herrera are all heavy hitters.

And finally the blacks: I would love to see a Gucci creation on the red carpet. I kinda have a crush on Frida Gianini. Next is a Nina Ricci Pre Fall creation that is vampish, yet elegant and on the right is another Jason Wu number, with alittle more cover, but just as stunning.

So, the Golden Globes are happening as I type away, 4 hours after I began this post (I went out for poutine in the middle.) Can't wait for them to set the tone for the rest of awards season. And that my friends, is a wrap. Have a good night.

- Life is good

Listening to: 'No Such Thing' - John Mayer

Observations: Who what where is such a fun board game

Craving: New week, new outlook