The Golden Globes kicks off awards season, and the fashion that is worn on the red carpet sets a precedent for the year. Who hit it out of the park and who needs a do-over?
The best thing about these types of events is that they always give the stars a chance to try it again. If someone was a miss last year, they might have ended up as a hit this year. But that means someone could just as easily flip from a hit to a sad miss.
We can only include so many actors and actresses – otherwise this post would be ten pages long! – but let us know your thoughts about those below, and others not mentioned, in the comments!
Christine Branski in Zac Posen
Kristina: Hit. This woman proves that you can age with grace (she’s 62). The epitome of elegance, I absolutely love it.
Marama: Hit. The silhouette is sleek and sharp, the colour is glorious on her, and I love the metallic accessories she has paired with it.
Andrew Rannells in Ralph Lauren and Lena Dunham in Zac Posen
K: Hit and Hit. This is a ‘hit’ with a caveat: it’s one of my favorite looks Lena’s worn, but it’s not exactly a ‘great’ look. Much better than the crazy pink thing she wore Emmy’s 2014. 2015 will be about progress, people!
M: Hit and Miss. Attention all men: please dress like this forever. I would not change a thing. As for Dunham, I really love the idea of this dress and the colour is perfect on her – but the fit is not quite right. That lifted hem is fantastic though.
Lorde in Narciso Rodriguez
K: Hit. I would have liked to see what this looked like without the blazer, but everything from the hair, to elegant necklace, tasteful crop and high-wasted pants, is a hit for me.
M: Hit. I like that Lorde has gone outside of her Morticia Addams gowns for a night. This is still very much her style, but it’s a little fresher. And that necklace – wow.
Katie Cassidy
K: Hit. So many people don’t like this dress but I absolutely adore it. And while, like Marama, I don’t like Laurel, I love Katie Cassidy and think she is a gorgeous with this bold lip and otherwise simple outfit.
M: Miss. Disclaimer: This could very much be coloured by my deep anti-Laurel Arrow feelings. But objectively considering the dress alone: I still don’t like it.
Amy Adams in Versace
K: Hit. This will be at the top of every Best Dressed list this week. My favorite part, which I only caught glimpses of, was on her back right hip, there was a little beading that cinched the fabric together.
M: Hit. It isn’t the most interesting dress, but she makes up for that with the beautiful drape and the unusual colour choice.
Allison Williams in Armani Privé
K: Hit. She said this dress was heavy, which I guess I can see with all the beading? Her hair is nice, makeup might be a little heavy, but I do like this.
M: Hit. Great, but boring. It isn’t a real red carpet until someone shows up in a variety of this dress. She looks stunning, but we have seen it a million times.
Matt Bomer in Ralph Lauren
K: Hit. Daymn. Are we sure he isn’t secretly Superman or something?
M: Hit. You can’t improve on perfection (see: Andrew Rannells).
Emma Stone in Lanvin
K: Miss. I actually really love this but there’s something about the gigantic bow that kept pissing me off every time I saw it. Sorry Emma, don’t hate me.
M: Hit. It’s always fun to see someone try something different. This works because it is perfectly tailored for Stone, and the long belt/sash adds the right touch of glam for the Globes.
George in Armani and Amal Clooney in Dior
K: Hit and Hit. This was Amal’s awards red carpet debut and of course she shows up in gloves looks demure as anything. I tweeted this and I’ll say it here: her eyebrows could cut glass, they are magnificent.
M: Hit and Hit. They do look rather like they are on their way to a very posh prom, but it’s very nice all the same.
Viola Davis in Donna Karan Atelier
K: Hit. This dress is so appropriate for her, it’s insane. It is the right amount of something-something, not too much fabric, and Viola has that look that says “yes, I know I look incredible. Thank you.”
M: Hit. I hated this when I first looked at it because I hate bedazzling. But now that I have pulled my eyes away from that and my million questions (Are they sequins? Are they gems? Is it supposed to be symmetrical?), I find that everything about this is perfect, even if it does make me think that she was attacked on her way there by an Etsy crafter and their glue gun.
On Page 2: Anna Kendrick, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and more
Jennifer Aniston in Saint Laurent
K: Hit. Marama is absolutely right about everything (duh), but I really like the simplicity of this. She’ll come out swinging for the Oscars (if she’s nominated for Cake, like she’s expected to.)
M: Miss. I can’t shake the feeling that someone has worn this exact outfit to a fancy high-school reunion. She looks fine (she always does), but this is nothing special.
Anna Kendrick in Monique Lhuillier
K: Hit. It is so simple it’s almost boring, but the sequins add enough to keep it interesting. I’m not crazy about the center hair part, but she’s just so poised – in this picture.
M: Hit. I love this. A colour so similar to her skin tone could be tricky, but the silhouette and the minimal accessories make this work.
Kerry Washington in Mary Katrantzou
K: Miss. The cut is fantastic, but it looks like some weird denim or seatbelt fabric. Not my favorite.
M: Hit. It’s weird, but I like it. Washington could pull off anything, but it’s always nice to see her out of her Scandal-style formal white outfits. This is balanced and wonderful – one of my favourites of the night.
Keira Knightley in Chanel
K: Miss. Why butterflies? Why such a babydoll dress? She’s recently announced she’s pregnant, but I don’t think she needs to dress like she’s getting ready for bed already.
M: Miss. I don’t know where to start with this; it’s like two terrible old nightgowns sewn together, and the butterfly corsage is not helping matters at all.
Julianne Moore in Givenchy Couture
K: Miss. It is so reflective! Julianne looks so happy and amazing but the dress is just a no-go for me.
M: Hit. Another favourite of the night. She is a beautiful, statuesque, ombre goddess. This could have verged on too much, but she has kept it all nicely balanced, and she looks stunning.
Alan Cumming
K: Miss. Marama and I discussed my reasons for not liking this. I love Alan Cumming, I don’t love the nude-colored suit.
M: Hit. Okay, this is truly my favourite. I recently saw Cumming in Cabaret on Broadway and he can now do no wrong in my eyes. It’s very easy for men to look good (but bland) on a red carpet, so I love when they try something different. This is joyous, fun, and so perfectly tailored that it works.
Tina Fey in Antonio Berardi
Amy Poehler in Stella McCartney
Amy Poehler in Stella McCartney
K: Hit and Hit. Midi dresses are in, but I’m not sure if the cut is the most flattering on the red carpet. That being said, I loved the top half of Tina’s dress, and all of Amy’s.
M: Hit and Hit. It honestly wouldn’t matter what they are wearing; my love is eternal. Both looks are nice but not perfect. But they look like they both have pockets, so A+ for that.
Lupita Nyong’o in Giambattista Valli
K: Hit. I like it. It’s not gaudy, it’s not predictable, it’s so gloriously her.
M: Hit. Oh Lupita, I’ve missed you on the red carpet. This is interesting, gorgeous, and most importantly (for my own sanity), different. She looks like a work of art, in the best possible sense.
Felicity Jones in Christian Dior
K: Miss. My biggest problem with this dress – and if you go through all these posts we do, it’s usually my most common issue – is the amount of fabric on this dress. At least it didn’t have sleeves.
M: Miss. Disclaimer: I had to look at this photo three times before I could remember what she was wearing for long enough to type this sentence. Needless to say, she didn’t make an impression. It’s not wonderful or terrible; it’s just pleasant, which I think might be worse.
Melissa McCarthy in her own design
K: Miss. Maybe if she lost the bow it’d be a little better. And relieved her arms of those insane cuffs? I don’t know. But Melissa looks fantastic.
M: Miss. Oh, where to start. One of the reasons I love the Globes is for the inevitable red carpet moment when someone has very clearly found their outfit in a box of dress-ups. This is that moment. At least she seems happy with it.