The Woman In Red

What is it about the colour red?

Does it evoke emotions because it's the colour of Love?  Or is it just so appealing to the eye, one can't look away?  Both are probably true.

All women know, if you want to attract attention, show up to that party in a red dress.  Why?  Because the colour red is also frequently used as a symbol of guilt, sin, anger...and sex.

Be careful with the red dress though because with the wrong cut and the wrong accessories, you can look like a tart.

Here are some Red Dress Do's:

Katie got everything right here. She picked a dess with coverage in all the right areas.  Plus, she threw in some unexpected accessories for contrast.

Love her shoe choice.

Wonder Woman in red.  Can it get any better than this?  She's 58!  And fabulous.  A good trick at pulling off the red dress?  Simplicity.

If you're afraid of Fire Engine Red, go with a darker red--almost a black cherry colour like the one Patricia Clarkson is wearing.  Also, the red, strappless dress is perfect for just about every size and age.  It's the perfect cut for the colour red.

The Don'ts:

Wanna look like a slut?  Wear a red dress showing lot's of skin.

Blake Lively almost got it right.  The fabric is flowing and gorgeous.  The colour is the perfect red.  Her accessories choice is simple and lovely. The problem?  Too much cleavage.  It's over-kill. It's like she's trying to sell us the red dress.  You don't need to sell this colour; it sells itself.

Remove the belt, lower the hemline to just below the knee, turn those clunky pumps into peep-toe pumps and she would be a Fashion Do. Instead, she looks like a hooker. 

Young Hollywood: what do they know?

Be careful when mixing other colours with red. The black print is much too heavy for this dress.  Perhaps without that long sleeve, it would appear lighter and less severe.  Her accessories are boring and predictable.

And speaking of accsessories........

I think one of the biggest questions about the red dress is 'what colour shoes do I wear with it'?

It used to be that wearing red shoes with a red dress was kind of 'Prom' but that's not the case anymore.  The trick is, wear a red, strappy shoe.  This allows more skin to show on the foot so it breaks up all that colour:

Donna Karan = A+

If you're more of a pump girl, go with a d'Orsay shoe.  Gives you the best of both worlds: shows a lot of skin but has more support where it counts on the foot.

Oprah and her d'Orsays.

Other great colours with red:
Black (of course!)  But again, don't pick a pair that are too closed up or clunky--show more skin on the foot.

The First Lady got it right: a simple, black kitten heel with great toe cleavage.

Perfection.

Gold or silver are other fantastic (and chic!) options for a red dress:

Drew Barrymore with her gold footwear and accessories choice are perfect for the softness of the dress.

Personally, I love a neutral shoe with a red dress:

Long live the Queen.

Nia Long: gorgeous and talented.  I wish Hollywood would give her a decent role.  But that's another story.

I can't stand this bitch but she is wearing my favourite Louboutins. The clutch is a stupid decision, though.

Kristen Davis: Red simplicity at it's best.

Red dresses should come with a warning labels.

I Miss My Queen

Where is my Madge?  I'm sure she's busy with her new album but I wish she would come out and play sometimes. 
Here are some of the best Madonna images over her 25-year career--and I have been there for every second of it!
I'm tearing up!!!

1983
See those black, rubber bracelets?  She started a fashion-craze in the mid-eighties.  Young girls everywhere were wearing rubber bracelets in all different colours. I remember trading all my coloured bracelets for black ones--because Madge wouldn't be caught dead in a coloured-rubber bracelet.

1985

I tied that bloody black bow in my hair everyday for an entire year!  I didn't have the cool blazer she wore in Desperately Seeking Susan but I did have those Ray Bans.

1986/87

The True Blue days.  She was anything but blue.  This is when she started shaping up-big time.  What a bod.  This is also the year that my favourite Madonna song of all-time was released: Open Your Heart.

1990
Blonde Ambition.  An incredibly exciting time.  She was at the top of her game here...she still is but there will only be one Blonde Ambition. 

1996

Hollywood was calling her again.  She looks absolutely gorgeous in this photo of her, channeling Eva Peron.

1997

Ray of Light.  Her rebirth.  Motherhood may have softened her a bit but she still had her edge.  Ray of Light will always be her most critically acclaimed album.

Her daughter is her twin in this photo, non?

2001

Music!  And she was pretty wrapped up with some cute British guy.  I loved her hair in that little Bob.  She looked so chic.

2006

Confessions On A Dancefloor.  She just about blew my mind.  Didn't think it was possible to top that Blonde Ambition tour but Confessions came VERY close.  It was a very magical album and tour.  AND she was 48-years old!!!  She can't be human.

Her style?  Cool, 70's disco. 

Now

Chewing on 'Hard Candy', Louis Vuitton ads, adopting kids, divorcing husbands, dating men half her age and getting a little 'Nip&Tuck' here and there??? These are just some of the things she's been up to over the last couple of years.

I love this outfit. Very Dr. Zhivago--with a Madonna twist, of course.

This is her new acquisition; Jesus

She looked a little 'pulled' at the VMA's this year.  Hmmm.....

Please hurry back, Madge!  I miss you, Pop Culture misses you & fashion certainly misses you most.

1976: Three Lovely Ladies Become Angels

I never really appreciated seventies fashion until my late twenties while studing fashion design in college. I was born in the seventies so I didn't know much about it.  However, I vividly remember watching my Mother get ready to go out: hair in big, feathered waves, maroon lipstick, tight, wool bell-bottoms with a puffy satin blouse.  That was the quintessential seventies outfit.

In 1976, a TV show called Charlie's Angel's premiered and launched the careers of three rather unknown actresses; Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett & Jaclyn Smith.

Watch the pilot intro HERE

What this show also did was brilliantly display the fashion of the mid to late seventies.

The return of the three-piece suit was a hot trend--and not just for men:

Although, John Travolta did a great job at creating a huge fashion craze when he sported his tight 3-piece suit in 1977 in a movie called Saturday Night Fever:

Another big trend in the seventies was the peasant style, brought to life by Yves Saint Laurent.
Floral-patterned prints, more unstructured styles and soft ruffles.

And those tan, t-strap shoes! The ones on the left that Kate Jackson is wearing in the 1st photo. I LOVE those shoes--I always have.  My Mother had a pair just like them but they were gold lame.  I used to call them her Disco shoes.  Honestly, the t-strap shoe will always be classic.
Just ask Christian Louboutin--he makes at least two designs every season.

But, I digress. That's the power of footwear.


Then, there were the bell-bottoms.  A trend that immediately comes to mind when someone mentions fashion of the 1970's:

Farrah's look in this image is an instant classic.  Even though the jeans are high-waisted, it works with her shape and the gold lame belt adds drama to the basic white shirt.  So all-American gorgeousness.

Someone in the mid-seventies was quite the Poster Child for cool, luxurious elegance: Roy Halston Frowick.
If you were a rich socialite or a famous movie star and had an event to go to in 1976,  Halston would be your designer of choice.

I'm not sure what the girls are wearing in this photograph but the dresses remind me of something Halston would design.  He loved white and wore it himself, often. 
How great is this photo?

The Halston Muse: Bianca Jagger

Elizabeth Taylor in Halston, circa 1976:

He was so cool.