Allen B. Schwartz of A.B.S shares his Emmy Red Carpet Favorites

Allen B. Schwartz is famous for re-interpreting red carpet looks for his A.B.S line.  I got the scoop on the looks he loved from Sunday night’s Emmy awards and what key trends we can expect to see rolling into department stores everywhere.

What were your favorite looks?
No one really made a strong fashion statement, but at the same time, there were no fashion disasters. Blake Lively’s [Versace] dress stole the show. It was edgy but in good taste. And surprisingly, I thought Kim Kardashian made a strong style statement in that white asymmetrical dress. White is coming on very strong--we’re adding a lot of white to the line right now, including one in the same silhouette Debra Messing wore, but in white.

What are the big trends we can expect to see in evening dresses?
Red will be a very important color. It’s very American and I think we are in very patriotic times. One-shoulder necklines will continue to be popular. Women love them because it highlights the décolleté. Also, the one-shoulder flatters any size and shape-it’s not about weight. It makes the woman feel special as if it’s a piece of jewelry.  You don’t need to add much to it, some nice earrings would do it.

So, no major misses?

Leighton Meester’s look was almost too much.  She is a beautiful girl, but those shoulder knots on her dress were so big, her head kind of looked like it could have been the third knot.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

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Photo: Leighton Meester and Blake Lively at the 61st annual Emmy Awards. Photo credit: Kevin Winter-Getty

Affordable Aldo makes it onto the Emmys red carpet

Amid a sea of diamonds, designer dresses and crystal-encrusted minaudieres, a lone clutch from Aldo floated down the red carpet in the hands of actress Kate Walsh.

The "Private Practice" star wore pricey pieces from J. Mendel and Christian Louboutin, yet chose to accessorize it all with a $30 snakeskin-printed faux leather bag from the mall store Aldo. It was both confusing and refreshing to hear Walsh rattle off who she was wearing, then see her lift the clutch and say, “Aldo, $30”.

Though her bag is thousands of dollars less than the Judith Leiber pieces that many actresses carry during Hollywood events, Walsh still managed to shine as one of the best dressed stars at the Emmys in her soft-gray strapless gown and no-fuss hairstyle.

Not since Sharon Stone wore a Gap T-shirt to the Oscars has a mass-market (and affordable) brand made its way onto the red carpet at a major awards show.

Should more celebs start mixing affordable pieces into their awards-night ensembles or should they stick to the fantasy and keep it strictly high-end?

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Photo, top: Kate Walsh attends the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards/Associated Press

Photo, right: Aldo "Kantah" clutch / Aldo

Taylor Swift shines at the MTV Video Music Awards, despite Kanye West

It may have been a controversial moment during last night’s MTV Video Music Awards, but despite being upstaged by Kanye West’s antics while accepting her “Best Female Video” award, it was impossible to ignore how radiant Taylor Swift looked in her glittering, one-shoulder Kaufman Franco gown.

At first I thought she looked too glam and sophisticated for an awards show that usually has pop stars donning pasties, lace veils and anything that screams “look at me!”, but it was nice to see Swift’s chic and understated style shine through a sea of hot messes and over-styled musicians.

What do you think?  Should Taylor Swift start wearing more in-your-face pop star duds or is she better off sticking to her subtle style?

— Melissa Magsaysay

Photo: Taylor swift wear a Kaufman Franco gown to MTV’s 2009 Video Music Awards. Credit: Getty Images.

Fashion Diary: Cashing in on the red carpet

 

Gossip, first impressions, trends in the making, celebrities and style setters. A regular feature by fashion critic Booth Moore.

When it comes right down to it, designers are hard-pressed to quantify how much red carpet dressing is really worth. "It's brand exposure," they say. "It's advertising money can't buy" (though it is often paid for) ... yada, yada, yada. But with so many red carpets, so many designers playing the game and so many stars demanding one-of-a-kind styles, is it really? 

Well now Giorgio Armani, who has been at the game longer than almost any designer, is turning the red carpet into gold.  After he designed a one-of-a-kind pink beaded dress for Victoria Beckham to wear to his New York store opening in February, the store received so many inquiries that Armani put the style into production for the Emporio Armani line.  The one-shoulder dress is $1,695 and available now at Armani/5th Avenue in New York, (212) 339-5950, and at Emporio Armani in Beverly Hills, (310) 271-7790.

Call it fashion on demand.

Photo: Victoria Beckham and Giorgio Armani at the designer's store opening in New York. Credit: David McKnight. 

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New celebrity fashion statement: Bald is beautiful

Everyone’s lived through at least one bad haircut — a lopsided bob or too-severe shag that made you think, “I’d look better if I shaved my head.” But horrific haircuts don’t seem to be what’s behind one of the edgiest tress trends in ages: the shaved skull.

A handful of fashion-forward female celebs — even Beyoncé's sister Solange isn't immune — have recently popped up on red carpets with freshly shorn noggins. A few are mowing it all off, while others are shaving the sides or doing a sides-and-back combo, leaving some length on top.

It all started with Alice Dellal, the British socialite, model and “it” girl who buzzed the left side of her long, cascading coif down to the skin. Then Amber Rose, Kanye’s West’s girlfriend (another model), started making the scene with her bleached-out buzz cut.

But you knew the trend was really taking shape a couple of weeks ago when Rihanna transitioned her sleek, boyish crop into a punk-rock masterpiece by shaving the back and sides of her delicate cranium.

Elie Saab Fall/Winter 2009-2010 Couture Collection

Elie Saab gowns are a red carpet staple here in L.A. Marion Cotillard recently wore a purple and blue mosaic print dress by the designer to the L.A. Film Festival premiere of “Public Enemies,” and Beyoncé and Evan Rachel Wood both wore Elie Saab Couture during the last Oscar ceremony and were two of the best dressed stars at the event.

Saab just showed his Fall/Winter 2009-2010 Couture collection today in Paris and it’s hard to tell whether any of the 46 all-white looks that floated down the runway will translate on to the red carpet. 

Every look the designer created was done in an ethereal white, with gathering and appliqués that made models look as if they were floating in a cumulus cloud.  It’s a far cry from the gold bedazzled dress Beyoncé wore or the elegant black column Evan Rachel Wood vamped it up in.  When awards season rolls back around-will Elie’s loyal celebrity fans being seeing all white?

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Pictures: Fall-Winter 2009/2010 Paris couture shows.

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Photos: Looks from the Elie Saab Fall/Winter 2009/2010 Couture Collection. Credits: Left, Maya Vidon/ EPA; top right, Remy de la Mauviniere/Associated Press; bottom right, Remy de la Mauviniere/Associated Press.

Red Carpet Detective: celebrities' new jewels

I saw actress Lynn Collins at a dinner a few weeks ago and was awe struck by her silver statement earrings that were so enormous and eye-catching, I could have sworn they were ultra high-end and cost thousands of dollars at least. When she told me they were costume jewelry and by an L.A. designer named Melinda Maria, I did a little investigating and came to find that celebs have been wearing these affordable pieces in their downtime and on the red carpet.

The Pod ring that Vanessa Hudgens wears religiously and the Jane earrings that Isla Fisher just wore to a premier of "Bruno" (the same style Collins was wearing) are a few of the pieces that celebs can’t seem to get enough of, and lucky for us mortals, we might actually be able to afford something our favorite stars are wearing.  

The Pod ring is $98 and the Mini Pod bangles that Lucy Liu just wore to Cameron Diaz’s Walk of Fame ceremony are $150.     

The main difference I noticed when seeing the jewelry in person is that for costume jewelry, it actually mimics the real thing quite well.  Melinda’s pieces are made in India by craftspeople who primarily make and set fine jewelry, so the outcome is more dainty and shimmery than most of the chunky enamel costume baubles out there, making them more versatile for layering and giving you a little more bang for your buck.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

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Top photo: Lynn Collins in Jane earrings. Credit: Melinda Maria

Bottom left: Pod ring. Credit: Melinda Maria

Bottom middle: Lucy Liu in Pod bangles and earrings. Credit: Melinda Maria

Bottom right: Goddess hoop earrings. Credit: Melinda Maria

Style Cannes do: Brad Pitt cuts a dashing figure in Tom Ford

When we saw Brad Pitt on "The Today Show" this morning chatting with a fawning Ann Curry (did she really have to slap/cup his cheek like that in the middle of the interview?), we couldn't tell if he was trying to be ironic or if he just happened to be Benjamin un-Buttoning through time and took a shine to Errol Flynn's threads. He was kitted out in a pale pink, two-piece suit, white shirt, gray cashmere scarf. A jaunty mouthbeard (see "moutee") and pair of sunglasses completed the look.

(For the record, Mrs. Rage thought the boy in the Brabble looked "stiff and uncomfortable." So noted.)

What we could tell -- instantaneously -- was that it was Tom Ford Menswear (the shirts always seem to lead with the collar). And sure enough, when Curry finished with Pitt -- there to promote his new Quentin Tarantino movie "Inglourious Basterds," she asked him who he was wearing.

"Mr. Ford dressed me," he told Curry -- as if such things happen every day (which they probably do in the Brad Pitt bubble, a.k.a. "the Brabble"). "He showed up this morning and personally dressed me."

Given how much Curry seemed to be salivating over her subject, we hope TF threw in a can of Scotchgard.

-- Adam Tschorn

Photo: Brad Pitt in Tom Ford at the 62 Cannes Film Festival. Credit: Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images.

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Lapel watch: White ribbon for equality? Knot, really

Eagle-eyed viewers of Sunday's Academy Awards telecast might have noticed a small white ribbon pinned to jacket lapels of several attendees, including Oscar nominees Richard Jenkins and Josh Brolin and original screenplay winner Dustin Lance Black. This was not, however, a show of support for the Woman's Christian Temperance Union or the Quebecois peace movement (both if which have used the white ribbon as their symbol), nor did it signify that either fellow had won third prize at a county fair.

At several recent high-profile events, including the Grammy, Academy and Spirit awards in Los Angeles and a Broadway concert Tuesday night, the strip of white fabric, with a knot tied in the middle, has been worn as a symbol of marriage equality, and it was created by Angeleno Frank Voci.

Oscar facial fashion: goatee, Van Dyke or door-knocker?

One of the more interesting trends among the men on the red carpet at tonight's 81st Academy Awards was the mix of upper lip/chin hair commonly described -- often incorrectly -- as a "goatee." Nominees Mickey Rourke, Josh Brolin, Brad Pitt and Peter Gabriel were all showcasing variations of facial hair that fell short of a full beard but were more than a simple mustache. And, just now, Will Smith took to the stage as a presenter sporting similar whiskers.

Rourke's style -- a mustache paired with a separate chin beard (think Col. Sanders) -- is known generally as a "Van Dyck" (or "Van Dyke"), after 17th-century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck, though some might argue that the thin, narrow nature of Rourke's mustache and diamond-shape beard actually qualifies it as a sub-style of the Van Dyke called a "musketeer."

Such a chin beard -- sans 'stache -- would be a goatee, said to be named for its resemblance to the tuft of hair on a goat's chin.

The style worn by Brolin, Pitt, Gabriel (as well as presenter Will Smith and Sir Ben Kingsley) -- where the mustache frames the mouth and connects to the beard in a rough approximation of a circle -- is more accurately known as a "circle beard," and referred to in various corners of the beard-growing universe as a "door-knocker," "moutee," and, in Spanish, the "barba candado" (padlock beard).

And, just for the record, we have no idea what to call the two-tone, faux-Phoenix face wig that Ben Stiller was sporting (maybe the "Unabomber") but Adrien Brody's clearly been working his way to a full-on Rasputin beard in the works.

-- Adam Tschorn

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Red carpet glamour rules the night

Photos from top: Mickey Rourke by Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images, Josh Brolin by Chris Pizzello/Associated Press, Brad Pitt by Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images, all at the 81st Academy Awards on February 22, 2009.