There was a great article in the New York Times that came out just after the Golden Globes:
What Happened to Risk on the Red Carpet?
With few exceptions – thank you Emma Stone, again, and again, and again – everything, everyone is boring. They’re dressing for the MiniVan Majority. No one wants to play anymore. As one fashion historian explained:
“Awards shows aren’t really about fashion. They’re about an actress maintaining her identity.” Which on the red carpet, she said, would simply translate to “a glossier version of our idea of her.”
And that brings us to Reese Witherspoon who, as we saw at the Globes and again last night at the SAGs, is most definitely just “maintaining her identity”. And that’s what, exactly?
To me, she’s looking more and more like a Hollywood Wife. It’s tight. It’s white. It has no imagination. But it’s definitely safe. No one with a nanny and a French manicure driving an SUV is going to disapprove. Reese will likely stick with this right through to the Oscars, despite the attempts from her stylist to move in another direction with positive results. Because Reese has her own “fashion rules”, explained this way in the aforementioned article:
Ms. Witherspoon’s stylist, Leslie Fremar, (suggested) that the actress cast aside her customary jewel-tone A-line frocks in favor of the seductive black Saint Laurent gown she wore in September at the premiere of “Wild” at the Toronto International Film Festival. In Ms. Fremar’s recollection in Women’s Wear Daily, Ms. Witherspoon balked at first, insisting: “I’m Southern. I don’t wear all black,” but the stylist held her ground. “Wear it just this once,” she remembered pleading. “It will make an impact.”
It did.
Click here to revisit the dress they’re referring to. See? It’s a lot better than what she’s been showing us during award season, non?
