Tuesday 26 February 2008

Frocks & Shocks

If there's one thing I don't like about the Academy Awards, it's the Red Carpet. I don't like Red Carpets at all, and if I ever have a house of my own, there'll be no red carpets. No sirree.

It's not that I don't like a good nice frock. I like browsing in stores and walking through the expensive clothes department and deluding myself that I could actually afford to buy any of that stuff. I like wasting salesgirls' time by trying on a whole lot of highly priced items, only to say later "Sorry ... not right," when really I mean, "If you'd cut the price to bargain bin Target pricing, I could cut you a deal!"

That's why I have the site Gone With The Wind Forever linked to this one, because the idea of flouncing around in one of Scarlett O'Hara's faves is actually quite fun.

However, what I hate is the sniping and bitching that comes after the Red Carpet by some columnists who really probably are no oil paintings or fashion artistes themselves and probably write these articles in daggy trackpants and novelty slippers.

I open the paper and see a lovely picture of Amy Adams, blown up to almost full page, and rated as only 1/10. I can't see why, she looks gorgeous to me.




Her crime? She wore a dress that was almost identical to what Isla Fisher's was last year. Big deal, does that make the actual dress look really awful? (She also has the same colour hair, but what's wrong with that?)

I'd hate to be a celebrity if it meant you couldn't go out without someone thinking you might have the same clothes as someone else someday; you couldn't shop retail anywhere, you'd have to make all your own clothes. What a bore.

And then the other crunch comes - when someone ralises you wore the same clothes that you wore to another function - the other big faux pas. Which means every time you wear some clothes, you have to throw them in the bin. Then we complain about celebrities who live this high spend big life and only worry about clothes and crap while ordinary citizens are struggling. maybe it's because we crap all over them every time they do something like wear the same shirt or dress as someone else did some other time, or they did some other time, so they spend all the time with it on their mind. With bad dreams of Oscar gowns haunting them.

I think we ought to be proud of celebrities who wear their clothes several times over; at least they're not being wasteful bastards.

Then the next picture I looked at was a picture of Renee Zellwegger, who got a low grade of 4/10.



I couldn't see why, her sequined gown looked very pretty.

The comment was "Stunning sequinned ... dress. but someone give this woman a sandwich."

So basically a bitch about how Renee was on the thin side.
Cate Blanchett was there, and she was on the big side - that is, she was pregnant - and she got appladed by the critics for how nicely and glowingly she showed off her baby bump. It seems it's not ok to lampoon someone for having a natural biggishness, such as pregnancy, even though most mums I've talked to agree that this is a time of your life when you don't look your best. however if you're going through a thin stage, and as far as I know there isn't anything objectively wrong about being thin, except that some people mightn't really think it's to their taste, it's ok to snipe about it - and insinuate eating disorders.

When the chat turns to meanness and personal comments rather than personal preferences about fashion and a general appreciation about the creativeness of designers, I find it really off-putting.
I tossed away the paper in disgust.

4 comments:

JahTeh said...

I liked Amy Adams' dress but I would have had a little glitter on the belt or a coloured jewell around the neck only because she doesn't seem to have gone the spray on tan. The main criticism with Renee was the coathanger knobbly shoulders but I loved the frock. Everyone raved over Heidi Klum but it didn't do much for me because her hair was too severe. I know, picky picky and I would hate to have to walk that carpet. I do make my own clothes though.

TimT said...

Amy Adams is officially cool in my book (please note: I am a very uncool person) since I saw her in that cute little Disney film 'Enchanted'. Obviously Hollywood likes her as well, as she performed a couple of songs at the Oscar ceremony - without special effects, too. (Probably a good idea, since the animation in 'Enchanted' involved hordes of rats and cockroaches.) OMG, I thought. She can actually *sing*! And without any evident special effects or sound dubbing!

I remember once when I saw two news presenters on two different channels wear (essentially) the same dress on the same night. I was so surprised at this - and so surprised that I'd *noticed* it - that I immediately called up Mum and informed her. To her evident unamusement.

Maria said...

I tend to only notice if people are wearing the same things if they are in School Uniform.

I woulod be a terrible Red Carpet Gossip Columnist, but that's one of my few accomlishments in life.

TimT, officially uncool people are totally cool in my uncool book!

Maria said...

Jahteh, all power to you. I can't even take up a hem without making a total disaster of it.

I have knitted a scarf though. I have given personally handknitted scarves away to friends and I don't ever see them wearing them afterwards. They are friends with greater taste and better skill than I have.