Award Show Season (ASS) brings two things:
- A need to see at least 74.5% of Oscar nominated films, 63.2% of which will ruin you and your eye makeup (see Moonlight for reference).
- Red Carpet fashun
At this weekend’s BAFTA (Brits Are Fucking Terrific Actors) Awards, Caitriona Balfe wore a dress from Valentino’s Spring 2017 Ready-to-wear collection.
Unpopular opinion alert! I LOVED IT.
This dress is fantastic, a pop of hot pink metallic miked with softer pastels and romantic collar. It is giving me a 1970s vibe, and I am into it.
Cait’s hair/make-up is delicate and simple, not competing with the crepe ruffles and detailing. This dress is boho ease, with luxe details. Not every fashion house can pull it off, but Pierpaolo Piccoli of Valentino certainly did.
In my town (Newport, RI), we have these old Gilded Age mansions that line Bellevue Avenue and the Atlantic Ocean. My favorite is Rough Point, former home to heiress Doris Duke and her camels (yes, I said camels). My favorite spot in the house is her bedroom, the contents of which she acquired from Helena Rubenstein’s Paris apartment. The room shiny and frilly with the right amounts of gaudy. That perfectly describes Cait’s dress.
Cait’s dress is a fashion risk but not in a thirsty way. This is a fashion risk taken by a woman who knows what she likes and is fashion forward. She is not just pushing the envelope; she is stuffing the envelop, licking the envelop, and sending that envelop to the people who question this look. What does the letter say?
In fact, this entire spring Valentino Spring collection has been killing it for me. It’s a mix of “Yes, please,” “I need that,” “I want that,” and “I want to be buried in that along the coast of Mallorca.”
So from reading Twitter and the fashion blogs, I get that most of you don’t like the dress. Fine. I can accept that, as long as you can accept that you are wrong.
