Fishtails and Hems Spill Forth on the Carpet

Frieda Pinto wearing Prada

But from the heavy dresses on display you would think that Blake and Krystle Carrington had returned for another episode of “Dynasty.” More than merely stiff, with armor-plated bodices, icy satins and pedestal-like hems of ruffles, there was something predatory about many of these dresses, a kind of vulture couture.

No, definitely not a scream.

It’s amazing that young, pretty actresses end up in frocky old things instead of clothes that are sexy and even a bit daring. Freida Pinto’s teal-blue Prada dress seemed to wear her, with too much skirt and too small of a bodice, so that her waistline left its natural place. Piper Perabo looked as if she had surrendered movement to her bouncy, ultrawide skirt, like a Victorian figure. That’s got to be a tiny drag.

And though Rooney Mara was probably the most fashionable young woman on the carpet, with a black cut-out Nina Ricci dress and her sleek ponytail and minimal makeup, the dress also didn’t fit her as well as it should have. What was that puddle at her feet?

Quite a few actresses had hems spilling wildly behind them — Charlize Theron in a creamy Dior, Kate Beckinsale in a beaded Cavalli number. Fishtail dresses were definitely a trend on the Globes red carpet, but each time the camera panned down to them, the viewer seemed to end in the same old puddle.

There were some great-looking dresses — the black-and-white Gilles Mendel column on Claire Danes, Zooey Deschanel’s black Prada dress with a beaded green bodice. Yet, as with so many actresses, there was something disjointed about Ms. Deschanel’s rather cool dress and her N.F.L. cheerleader hairdo (complete with little spit curls).

For years the Globes was the show where the nominees went and didn’t need to make a big effort. Or it didn’t show. The evening was a party, at least that’s how it looked on the broadcast. Let everyone kill themselves for the Oscars or the Cannes Film Festival. At the Globes in 2004, Jennifer Aniston wore a smashingly plain black Valentino dress, a tiny strap anchoring panels over her breasts, and she left her hair alone. What she showed off that night, aside from her body, was a lack of self-consciousness.

But you can’t imagine an actress showing up at the Globes now and being herself, except maybe of course Meryl Streep or Tina Fey.

I’m almost glad that “Mad Men” has been away for a while, so that I don’t have to wonder why a beautiful woman like January Jones would go out wearing a child’s headband, as she did in 2010.

Ah, but headbands and ponytails appeared this year, too, on Ms. Theron and Michelle Williams, who wore a navy Jason Wu dress.

Even though I understand that red-carpet dressing is essentially a transaction between stars and fashion houses, and has been for some time, it still surprises me that the actresses are such good little saleswomen. There’s nary a rebel among them. They see a television camera and with the toothy sparkle of a game-show hostess begin reeling off the credits — dress, shoes, bags, jewels. Next!

“Just a little Givenchy and Harry Winston,” said Jessica Chastain, cocking a pose.

Source:http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/fashion/golden-globe-awards-and-red-carpet-fashion.html