Fashion police would have confiscated purple pantsuit
OK, I?ll admit it. I watch the Academy Awards as much for what the stars are wearing as for the awards they?ve earned.
I?m smitten with high fashion ? not wearing it; just looking at it. I do my own critique of dresses flowing along the red carpet and then guiltily watch the ?Fashion Police? shows that follow. Those shows go on and on, with groups of self-described fashion experts verbally ripping apart the designer duds.
This year they were particularly hard on Oscar winner Tilda Swinton for her bizarre-looking one-sleeved Lanvin gown. Moviefone wrote on its Web site that she looked like she was ?channeling David Bowie?s look from ?The Man Who Fell to Earth.? Cameron Diaz?s Dior gown was too complicated and washed out her complexion. Hilary Swank?s Versace dress was chided for being too busy and overshadowing her petite frame.
The guys aren?t immune to the criticism, either. They slammed Viggo Mortensen for too many accessories and a jacket that was too long, and Daniel Day-Lewis, who won Best Actor for ?There Will Be Blood,? left ?blood on the red carpet in the form of a brown-trimmed tux and hoop earrings,? Moviefone criticized.
I never used to think twice about what people wore at the Oscars, but my fashion sense apparently has been heightened by ?Project Runway,? a reality show my daughters got me hooked on a couple of years ago.
Each season the show features a group of 15 aspiring designers who are challenged each week with a different sewing assignment. One week they had to make an outfit out of candy and/or candy wrappers (a red licorice skirt won that challenge). They?ve made prom dresses and skimpy outfits for professional women wrestlers. One time they had to make something wearable out of recycled garbage. Designers are eliminated one by one until it?s down to the final three, who then get to make an entire collection for fashion week in New York City.
Supermodel Heidi Klum hosts ?Project Runway,? and I have to add here that she looked absolutely stunning at the Academy Awards this year with her red shawl-collared John Galliano for Dior couture gown. Her dress is being auctioned off to raise awareness for heart disease in women, but you?ll need to be a size 0 to fit into it.
I DO HAVE some runway experience of my own. I participated in the Clay County 4-H Dress Revue for 10 years running in my youth. But it was in 1971 when I really shined. That was the year I made a purple double-knit pantsuit and made it into the honor court as a runner-up to the Dress Revue queen.
That?s right. Hillary Clinton has nothing on me when it comes to pantsuits. The purple number I strutted down the runway (a concrete sidewalk in front of the grand stand) was accessorized with several gold chains around my neck, as I recall. Egad!
My fashion repertoire was wide-ranging when I was in 4-H. One year I made a white dress and accessorized it with bright yellow patent leather shoes and purse. Another year it was an aqua and lavender plaid double-knit business suit. The more fashion-conscious 4-H mothers put on workshops to teach us how to walk and how to stand with one foot in front of the other to make our outfits look optimally pleasing.
It all seems kind of silly now, but I?m sure we gleaned some measure of poise, confidence and self-esteem from the experience.
My mother saved all of my 4-H sewing projects, of course, and it?s fun to bring them out of their boxes and reminisce. But I?m not sure what I?ll ever do with them, especially the purple pantsuit.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com