Red Carpet Moment- The Grammys

Wait The Grammys are in February? I could have sworn they were on Halloween?

The red carpet pre-show for the Grammys was the most ridiculous and outrageous red carpet I have seen yet.  From angel wings, to plastic eggs, to feathers, to see-through dresses; there were some serious fashion risks being taken by characters I saw many people actually dress up as last Halloween. 

High leg revealing slits here, dresses that were short in the front and long in the back there, and all over glitter, sparkle, wow factor accessories. If the recession hit people hard in the flash department last year, this year is making up for it. As for the men, there were a lot of grey suits, and mixing formal pieces with casual pieces, and while a few fellows missed (Bieber, I'm talking to you) the gents were overall, rather debonair. Nary a gold chain overdose was to be had, and for that, I am grateful. 


It's to be expected that the bigger personalities often found in the music industry tend to bring out the wilder fashion at these ego-pumped events, but bless my young fashion loving heart, it inspires me to see celebrities taking risks and not just playing it safe to make the best dressed list. there were a ton of amazing dresses and overall (for once!) I was impressed; I wish I could be snarkier about who wore what this year (everyone's favourite part, no?) but I this year I've got to hand it to the academy of music members by giving out more "way to goes" than WTFs.

A full leg revealing slit is the perfect way for a diva to wear a long formal gown and still show off- a cue taken by all three of these drama queens. What is red carpet fashion about but getting people's attention? Plus, a well-placed slit gives you an excuse to showcase- my weakness- a killer pair of shoes (Louboutin, on all these ladies!). True, slits have backfired in the past, but all three here look super hot, which is an effective ploy to distract us from their superfluous appearance at the music awards (Emilio Pucci-clad Lea Michele is excluded, who as part of Glee apparently now holds more number one hits than Elvis). 

It pains me to admit this, but... Kim  K.'s combination of a Kaufman Franco dress with Louboutin shoes and Lorraine Schwartz jewellery is one of my favourite looks of the night. And Heidi Klum in Julian McDonald- way to be Seal's real life embodiment of trophy wife, because I don't think he's been a contender since he was getting kisses from a rose and I was in kindergarten.

I don't really know who the first two of these people are (okay, I'm pretending), but I like their dresses! (L-R: Roberto Cavalli, J. Mendel and Edition by George Chakra on five-time nominated Miranda Lambert) Here is proof that it doesn't always matter who deserves to be on that red carpet: all you have to do is look like you belong. Also, it doesn't hurt if you try as hard as you can to resemble the colour of the award- wishful thinking, right? 

And, well, personally at the end of the day, I'm like a bird- I'm drawn to anything shiny. Throwing some eye-catching sparkle on top of the neutral colours of these dresses makes me want to pluck these ladies up and put them in my fashion nest, whoever they are (did I just go there? Sure.)

(more  stars in all their glory + commentary after the jump)

Now, speaking of birds, here we have three looks that I'm very undecided on.  Maybe it's the expressions on their faces, maybe it's because we have three people who took the "Black Swan" craze literally and has Bjork's stylist do the rest. Don't get me wrong- I think that theres something interesting in each of these looks, and it's nice to see that these music button pushers are birds of a feather, but theres something about each of them that seems a little, dare I say, bird brained?  

Katy Perry is a gorgeous girl and as per usual is trying to take off with a campy-glam look, but the wings and strange pearlescent material make this Armani Prive dress less Swan Lake and more cheap halloween costume that I saw once on a pub crawl.  

In contrast, Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine's swan printed Givenchy gown is a stunning work of fabric art, but the color blends with her fair skin tone, washing her out. And the not pictured back view of the dress also looks (SPOILER ALERT) like the last scene of Black Swan if the White Swan bled orange.

And Rihanna, I'll tell you: you are one of my fashion icons. I like the risks you take and I always look to see what you are wearing.  But, alas, it makes me sad to look this time, because what I see is a Jean Paul Gaultier dress that looks like a bird mated with the dish scrubber I use to clean my pots and pans. Why, Ri? Even so, there you are, smiling with no thought to what might be covered or not, and so, in the end, you sell it for me. Putting yourself out there has always been the reason I give you mad kudos in the fashion department.

Hmm... I sense another tussle has occurred out in nature when I look at Nicole Kidman's Jean Paul Gaultier dress.  She looks striking as usual and the strapless style is very her, but the misguided ombre colouring looks like she tumbled down an embankment before she got in the limo. Keith, were you playing tag? (His face says yes.)  

The other two dresses pictured here on Julianne Hough (center, Malandrino) and Natasha Beddingfield (right, Abed Mahfouz)  are very pretty and safe prints. That's pretty much all I can say, except that also they are making me mad that I, too cannot wear flowy, floral, summer dresses in February and instead must freeze in my bed in this Calgary weather.

Boom, boom, boom- short and sweet. I think that all three of these ladies nailed it with their one-shoulder mini dresses.  Kelly Osbourne: purple and flirty in Tadashi Soji, Keri Hilson: sexy, edgy butterfly a blue Basil Soda, and Giuliana Rancic: stealing the red carpet spotlight  from the musicians she interviewed for E! television, in a nude-toned Randi Rahm.

Showing of their killer legs obviously just wasn't enough for these ladies because they all went for intricite, detailed mini dresses, showing off that less and more is more. There's a lot going on here, but Jada Pinkett Smith looks naturally gorgeous in her fringed Amanda Wakeley mini. Eva Longoria's tiny Ashi dress has a whole bunch of ruffle going on, but comes off elegant with the basic colours and exaggereated collar.  And, doing her thing as she knows best, is Jennifer Lopez in a short and shiny Emilio Pucci, just being the JLo that we all know and love. 

And then there were the fire starters. Up and coming Janelle Monae is new to the Grammys but she made a super statement by wearing a fitted feminine Dolce & Gabbana suit.  

Nicki Minaj, in Givenchy, brought her truly out there style to the red carpet so fiercely I thought I might turn pink. As much as I'm not "wild" for this look, I love the risk taken. She's still unexpected enough and fun that she hasn't run into being a caricature of herself a la Lady Gaga of late.

And Jennifer Hudson, I barely even recognized her (even from those Weight Watcher's TV commercials that seem to play every two minutes). She looks amazing.  Her Versace dress is easily another one of my favourites from the night- I love the detail on the fitted top and the asymmetrical hem of the skirt is the perfect peekaboo for her stellar stems. 

As for the men... Grey suits, grey suits all over the Grammy red carpet. I'm loving it!  Bringing a sort of day into night, 60's sharpness, the grey suit is one of my favourite things to appear in men's fashion thanks to Mad Men. Pairing your suits with the perfect width black ties, and just enough black in the details: you're doing it right, Mario Lopez, Matthew Morrison and Darren Criss.

Bruno Mars aims for classy but casual in his unbuttoned shirt, black suit and pompadour- throwing back to 50s Paris, Bruno?  Almost not hitting it, but okay.

An then there's Justin Bieber, stepping out in a white VELVET suit, reminding me of that one random guy at my graduation that thought he was so cool and wore a white suit but just ended up looking like the valet guy. What are you trying to prove in your pimp suit, Justin Bieber?  This is too easy to pick apart, but wear something that fits, at least (and maybe that is pressed properly- just saying).  

And I'll wrap up this exhaustive break down with the man who has my heart: Drake, looking handsome in his black on black on black tux. I'm definitely going to make him wear this one again at our wedding. 

  **Photos from wonderwall.msn.com & billboard.com

- Maeghan