Fashionable (and verbose) Friday

Sit down and relax because there’s a lot to cover today. I should’ve posted this earlier in the week because it’s probably old news by now, but it’s taken me a while to get this whole entry written. Anyway, here’s my take on the fashions from the Oscars this year – not that anyone cares about my opinion, but I like to critique fashion anyway.

I was pretty disappointed overall in the clothes. There wasn’t anyone who I thought was absolutely fabulous, stunning, over-the-top fantastic. I didn’t see any major standout pieces of jewelry, either. Sure, there were lots of diamonds, but usually there are a few special, unusual items that are memorable and I didn’t notice any of those.

Having said that, my hands-down favorite dress was Reese Witherspoon’s:

The picture does not do it justice because it looks black, but it's actually a deep violet shading to lavender at the hem. I love it when actresses wear color on the red carpet – black and white are so darn safe and I’m never a fan of the blush or skin-toned dresses (the possible exception being the gold beaded dress that Charlize Theron wore a couple of years ago). Anyway, Reese looks amazing. Divorce agrees with her – a feeling I know a little something about.

I also liked Nicole Kidman’s red dress with the exception of the giant bow in the back.

It reminded me of the kitten from Disney’s “The Aristocats.”

I also wish she’d quit going so pale blonde with her hair. I think it looks better with a little more color in it (especially because she’s so danged pale she practically glows in the dark – would it KILL her to wear a hint of bronzer?) And wow - her feet are HUGE!

Two dresses I really HATED were Gwyneth Paltrow’s:

and Cameron Diaz’s:

In Gwyneth’s case, I don’t think the color is flattering on her. It looks kind of “muddy” to me although I suppose it’s possible it was prettier in person. The top doesn’t seem to fit quite right – it looks like it’s cutting in to her just beneath her shoulders, but heck, at least she wore a bra this time (remember the awful Goth-chick-see-through thing she wore that time? Shudder!).

In Cameron’s case, this dress reminds me of a prom dress I had back in the 80’s that was bright white, stiff taffeta. Yeah, it didn’t look good on me either. I’m also not a big fan of the dark hair on her, but it probably would look better if she’d chosen a different color dress instead of the white. And please, someone, get the spray tan away from her! She looks like an Oompa Loompa.
I’m on the fence about Penelope Cruz’s dress:

It’s another one of those pale, washed-out colors that I despise, but because of her gorgeous skin and hair color, she actually pulls it off pretty well. The bodice fits her to perfection which is always a worry with the strapless gowns. So many actresses seem to not get the fit right and they’re either too loose (resulting in the continual possibility of imminent mammary flashage) or too tight (resulting in the whole “hey, I’m getting a mammogram for free on the red carpet” squashed look). Then there’s the skirt. My first thought was that I hated it. Then, I gave it a second look and thought that it really is pretty amazing as far as construction and she does manage to carry it without being overwhelmed. Overall, I think my initial reaction is perhaps more due to the fact that my own personal style is a little less “over the top” than that dress is so it looks like too much to me. I do have to say, though, that the dress is lucky it’s on Penelope because I think THAT’s what makes it sort of work. Anyone else would just look like they were draped in dead pink swans from the waist down.

Okay, on to more accessible fashion. And my shoe-rating system for guys. Seems like I’m still stuck in the “is this guy even worth wasting my GOOD gym shoes on” phase. I had someone who was initially shaping up to be a “cute pair of flats” guy, but I had to bust him back down to “not worth putting shoes on at all” status. But that may all be behind me as I have come up with the perfect solution. Y’see, I’ve found the ULTIMATE pair of shoes. I am going to marry these shoes, live a long and happy life with them and then be buried in them.

Guys? What guys?

I have my yellow Charles Jordan d'Orsay pumps:

And as soon as I can scrape up enough cash to afford them, I will be a very, very happy woman.

In the meantime, though, I thought I’d feature a couple of really cute pairs of flat shoes like these pink beaded dragonfly thongs:

and these satin flower-print ballet flats

just for those who are worried that I will be permanently crippled from all the high heels or that I will eventually fall and break my neck.

Seriously, though, how CUTE are those pink dragonflies? And they are BEADED, too! You cannot get much better than that.

Lastly, it being Friday and all, it’s time for some book reviews. Since there’s been nothing but crap available lately, I decided to re-read a couple of old favorites by Lois McMaster Bujold.
"Shards of Honor" and "Barrayar" are the two “prequels” to her Miles Vorkosigan saga. And frankly, as much as I love the Miles books, I think I actually prefer these two because of the main character. Cordelia Naismith is absolutely one of the best sci-fi characters ever written. Smart, strong and with incredible emotional depth and personal standards, she makes these books fascinating reads.

Then, I went out and tried a new author/series in the mystery/occult crossover genre. I wish someone would stop me when I get these urges to try new authors – it NEVER works out well. Yasmine Galenorn’s "Ghost of a Chance" is a prime example. This book contained two things guaranteed to make me label a work as crap. 1. A main character who is beyond stupid and 2. A completely obvious villain who appears out of nowhere in the last 1/4th of the book (thereby making it obvious “whodunit”) Hate, hate, hate that. Did I mention hate? Because it’s really not too strong of a word here.

I’ve got two other books that I’m almost at the end of and I promised myself that I am not allowed to write a review until I’ve actually finished a book so, I’ll just have to save those for next Friday.

Have a great weekend, everyone. I’m going to get the hair re-blonded, run some errands and hopefully drop by a bead and gem show on Saturday and then plan to take the kidlet to the beach on Sunday if the weather cooperates and we both manage to stay healthy that long.

Take care!

KJ