Color You’ll Be Seeing At Proms Everywhere

The award goes to… the color red! Continuing the trend from the Golden Globes, if there’s one definitive awards season color trend it’s playing match the carpet. We’re not won over by Anne Hathaway’s red Valentino, but Sandra Bullock was beautiful in Vera Wang, Rhea Durham (Mark Wahlberg’s wife) in Naeem Khan was one of our favorite uses of red, and Jennifer Lawrence’s Calvin Klein dress isn’t the most memorable, but is a choice that would be almost universally flattering. Penelope Cruz is beautiful, but we’re not crazy about her L’Wren Scott dress.

Best Dressed Minimalist

How do we decide this one? Gwyneth Paltrow was a bit flashier in Calvin Klein with Louis Vuitton accessories, but we loved Reese Witherspoon’s white-trimmed Armani Prive black dress as well. There will probably be a bit of disagreement over Witherspoon’s Barbarella-worthy hair, but with an understated shape and colors, we think it’s the perfect pick for a bit of experimentation as far as hair and accessories go.

Best Dressed In a Real Life Transformative Role

Jennifer Hudson’s had a number of transformative life experiences, and they seem to have all given her a level of fashion confidence that she didn’t have when she first walked away with Oscar gold (also made, by the way, in Hudson’s hometown of Chicago). We only have one descriptor for Hudson’s tangerine Versace dress and overall look – wow!

Best Style Newcomer

We’re still not totally sold on her Prada stripes for the red carpet, but overall Hailee Steinfeld has been killing it this awards season. She didn’t disappoint in embellished Marchesa last night, and we sincerely hope Steinfeld continues to get great roles because we’ve become quite attached to seeing (and loving) her style picks.

Best Demonstration of Ageless Style

Helen Mirren in Vivienne Westwood. That is all.

Best Representation of Classic Hollywood Glamour

Hilary Swank’s sequined and feathered Gucci dress and upswept hair were nothing but glamor. The “inspired by” dresses are going to look like a disaster, but the original is pitch perfect.

Best Negative Publicity Deflection

Remember that nasty potential custody battle Halle Berry was gearing up for with model ex Gabriel Aubry? No? Thank that lovely Marchesa dress.

Best Use of Accessories

Amy Adams’ shimmering, dark blue L’Wren Scott dress was a favorite that continued the all over sequin trend, but we couldn’t stop looking at the huge, vibrant green emeralds on her neck and wrist. The Cartier jewels were worth a reported $1.35 million and looked every bit of it.

Best Fashion Risk

Cate Blanchett is sure to end up on the worst dressed list for those who like their red carpet fashion safe, and this is definitely one that takes a strong dose of personal style to pull off. Blanchett has plenty of that though and the circular bodice, beaded accents and architectural sleeves on her Givenchy dress work for her.

Best Dressed, Quaker Edition

Florence Welch in Valentino is a lot more buttoned up than the red carpet looks we’re used to seeing, but in a very (very) classic Little House on the Prairie way it’s a unique look that stands out without the normal glitter and jewels that are the standby way to stand out, and Welch pulls it off.

Best Oscar Impersonator

Valentino Garavani. The only man with a patina that Oscar would be jealous of.

Best Dressed In a Supporting Role

You know who doesn’t always get credit for fashion choices? Oscar dates. Camila Alves (Matthew McConaughey’s wife), Sunrise Coigney (Mark Ruffalo’s wife) and Rhea Durham (see: top of the page) may not have been up for any awards themselves, but Alves and Coigney were every bit the leading style ladies in grand black dresses that deserve an award of their own. Alves wore Kaufman Franco.

It could be because designers (read: their publicists) are too pre-occupied with the Fall 2011 show season at this point to bother dressing anyone, but we have a different hypothesis: Hollywood stars dressed horribly for this yearâ€s SAG Awards because thatâ€s the only way they could get any press for their look. A simple, elegant gown that would garner much praise and a spot on all of the best dressed lists after the Oscars or Golden Globes would go largely unnoticed at the SAGs. Proof positive: Kyra Sedgwick wore a gorgeously understated black gown by Thierry Mugler last night, and hardly anyoneâ€s talking about it as far as we can tell.

Plus, if our theory does not hold true, how else would one explain Jennifer Lawrenceâ€s Pepto Bismol-colored Oscar de la Renta dress paired with stripper heels and a bow no one over the age of 10 should wear? Or Hailee Steinfeldâ€s orange Prada stripes? Andre Leon Talley praised Steinfeldâ€s look, saying her lack of jewelry and relaxed hair style were the perfect touch to ensure she wasnâ€t trying too hard. We have a question for ALT: if one should try not to look like one tried hard to impress on a red carpet, then where else should one wear one’s best jewels and finest hair style? We’d be tempted to give Steinfeld a pass because, at 14, at least she was dressed for her age, but she did the not-too-adult, but still subtly glamorous thing so well at the Golden Globes that we just have to say no to her latest look.

We loved Claire Danes’ bright pink lipstick, which would have looked decent in contrast to a printed Louis Vuitton number, but an awkwardly placed belt made her overall style a bit too casual for our taste as well. And speaking of ill-placed belts: Lea Michele. Her Oscar de la Renta gown was gorgeous, but the extra accessory seemed unnecessary. January Jones†Carolina Herrera embroidered gown was lovely, but overshadowed by an unflattering hairstyle, and, finally, Christina Hendricks, who normally takes a well-deserved place on every best dressed list, looked like she was wearing a bathrobe in her L’Wren Scott dress.

The one standout of the night was Mila Kunis in an Alexander McQueen dress designed by Sarah Burton that continued the red trend of the Golden Globes. The dress was the perfect color for her, and she looked stunning. Enough so that we’ll let the belt on this one off with a warning. Hillary Swankâ€s one-shouldered Versace dress was also quite beautiful but has been generating less press than Kunis†gown. For almost everyone else, better luck next year – or in the next few weeks when we hope everyone will lose the belts and go back to unhindered glamour.

We haven’t found a measurable way to tally best and worst dressed just yet, so we’ll just just round up the larger trends and add our favorites to the mix. Click on images to view at a larger size.

Golden Globes 2011 Fashion Trends

Pretty in Pink and Red or Dead

Save: Julianne Moore in Lanvin, Julianna Margulies in vintage Yves Saint Laurent

Skip: January Jones in Versace

Don’t get us wrong, January Jones looks great and men probably got a lot more interested in the red carpet after seeing that dress; but the line between vamp and tramp is thin and we’re not sure how many women would be able to toe the line in this dress or any “inspired by” designs.

What They All Wore

1st row L to R: Julianne Moore (large image) in Lanvin, Claire Danes in Calvin Klein, Megan Fox in Armani Prive, Lea Michele in Oscar de la Renta, Heidi Klum in Marc Jacobs

2nd row L to R: Naya Rivera, Natalie Portman in Viktor & Rolf, Emma Stone in Calvin Klein, January Jones (large image) in Versace

3rd row L to R:  Julianna Margulies in vintage Yves Saint Laurent, Christina Hendricks, Edie Falco in Valentino, Sofia Vergara in Vera Wang

The prospect of continuing a label after a visionary founder unexpectedly leaves the company however, is not unprecedented. Consider parallels to the cases of Christian Dior and more recently Gianni Versace.

Christian Dior, 10 years into his career as head designer for his label, suffered a fatal heart attack at 52. Yves Saint-Laurent, then only 21-years-old, presented his first collection for the house a year later in 1958. At that time, Dior’s label was such a significant part of the French fashion industry that shuttering it wasn’t seen as an option.

In recent days when comparisons between Dior and McQueen have been drawn, many are quick to point out that while McQueen is celebrated for his artistic vision and immense creativity, the line is only recently profitable. And not even profitable enough to split sales figures out from other labels in the Gucci Group portfolio at that. While McQueen may be suitably positioned to claim the “genius” term often ascribed to him and Dior, McQueen’s label at this point is not a financially crucial part of parent company PPR.

But a more recent case offers more hope. When Gianni Versace was murdered in Miami in 1997, he was 19 years into his namesake label, but had seen a large part of his success with celebrities and significant media attention in the 10 years before his death.

The company’s recent history hasn’t been entirely smooth: job cuts and a lower priced line have been announced {Bloomberg} as the company struggles to return to profitability among economic conditions that have seen labels like Escada pushed to the brink of collapse. While the next few years will require smart business decisions, Versace as a label has managed to thrive for more than a decade after the unexpected death of Gianni. Reviews of Donatella Versace’s first collections were mixed, but she has grown into a respected creative force, and helped to maintain hundreds of millions of dollars of sales annually.

While the news may seem sudden for some, considering how recent McQueen’s death is, the question now is who will be McQueen’s Saint-Laurent.

Hotel Missoni in Edinburgh, Scotland

With many fashion designers getting in on the hotel craze, ShermansTravel decided to rank the best of the best - the 10 most fashionable and fabulous designer hotels.

Lagerfeld, Lacroix, Missoni, Lauren, Bulgari and Versace are just some of the big names who made the list by bringing their signature styles to hotels in Berlin, Paris, Edinburgh, Jamaica, Bali, and Australia. No matter the location, however, these are all hotels that are sure to create a truly one of a kind experience – where the hotel itself is just as much a draw as the destination.

Check out who made the list or view the photo gallery to drool over these glamorous vacation spots.

Read the Full Story {ShermansTravel}

Continuing in the same vein of the past seasons’ aggressive heavy-metal/warrior trends, designers like Vena Cava and style-savvy people like blogger Pelayo Diaz, shown left, have turned to the humble safety pin for more than pure utilitarianism.

Designer versions of safety-pin-studded duds are of course costly, but the beauty of this trend is that pretty much anyone can have fun and DIY — with the cost being merely a missed latte plus a few hours of labor.

Read the full story {Refinery 29}

Although companies backed by luxury mega-giant LVMH are doing relatively well thanks to the conglomerate’s deep pockets, Versace — though a luxury brand — is still struggling because it is privately-owned and thus can not depend on the stabilizing stock market to stay out of the red.

If all goes as planned, the Versace brand should be out of deep water and generating revenue by 2011.

Read the full story {NY Times}