Connectnigeria Articles

By Stephanie Iwuaba

We had the best, and by far the most interesting, Red Carpet events and awards happen last month. For me, it felt like two weeks of Christmas all over again. The 2013 Oscars and Grammy Awards came with their own peculiar fashion trends and rocked our world, once again proving to us mortal that we still have stars shining among us. And boy! Did the stars dazzle on the red carpet or what? The Awards come once a year to let the stars out, streaking across the sky, giving us a reason to hope that one day our rather normal life could become extraordinary. But most importantly (especially for me), they provide the opportunity to look at a near endless array of flawless gowns and feel like we have a say about who dressed well and who didn’t, LOL… The celebs were unique in their own fashion voices and pushed the word glam to its very limit. We watched and we loved! Interestingly though, the two events had different twists on the Red Carpet! The 2013 Grammys… To make this year’s Grammy red carpet event more interesting was the Grammy Wardrobe Guidelines released by CBS that was supposed to keep stars like Jennifer Lopez’s ‘Vavavoom’ fashion statements in check. Obviously, these belles pushed those guidelines to the very limit! My number one best for the Grammy’s was Miss Kelly of Destiny’s Child. Now, not everyone would agree with me especially the CBS team who came up with the wardrobe rules but does that matter? She brought severe heat on the Red Carpet and for me that was more than enough! Kelly Rowland’s fashion sense is continually blossoming in the same ratio with her confidence and her…. ‘Budonkadonk ’which she hasn’t been shy to show off. Since her performance at the Super Bowl half time last week with the Destiny’s Child trio, Miss Kelly has been showing us the boss chic side of her and we all approve. Her hot gown was by George Chakra.

My all-time all-night favourite girl for the Grammy’s however goes to Miss RiRi. Now it wasn’t just about the dress, but more about the girl wearing it and the story behind the dress that made me love, love, looovvvee this vintage dress by Azzedine Alaia! Rihianna went on to have the most amazing night with her beau by her side. She sang a song that stole our hearts, brought back Marley to our memories and once again enchanted us! Whatever she has with Chris Brown might be very twisted, but obviously very good on her!

We also loved Katy Perry’s Gucci gown. It flowed so perfectly down her entire being without missing a curve. And the icing on the cake was the color; so perfect for a gown so lovely! I loved this even more because it was strictly within the guidelines (CBS doesn’t quite agree!) and looked so effortlessly gorgeous. Love, Love!

There were many others that caught our eyes. Jenny from the block tried to keep it within limits but failed! She looked absolutely stunning in her Anthony Vaccerelo gown.

Adele was the picture of Victorian perfection and I loved her very modest Valentino Haute Couture floral dress (I bet CBS agrees too).

There was Allison Williams in a Kuafman Franco dress,

Kelly Osbourne in a Paule Ka dress,

Taylor Swift in her J. Mendal goddess dress,

Solange Knowles in her beautiful shimmering green Ralph and Russo couture dress

and so many more. As for Beyonce, she looked good but I will say again, not so impressive. Since her performance during the super bowl that I feel was just under exceptional, I was hoping she would redeem herself again with a Wow! dress but she showed up in a crepe black and white Osman jumpsuit and even though she nicely stayed with the Grammy wardrobe guidelines, there wasn’t the wow factor in that jumpsuit, sadly.

She showed up on her first day of her tour in a very dazzling dress The Oscars 2013… Now the Oscars was a classy affair. Needless to say, it didn’t need a wardrobe guideline because Hollywood movie stars know how to dress like monarchs. This was my best Red Carpet event of the year. Gowns that make us wish on a star, belles that make us need a makeover and beaus that were just too fine cut! What’s not to love about the Oscars? Well, except for some very colorful jokes by Seth Farlane of course. The Oscar’s left us madly in love with a new sweetheart, Jennifer Lawrence. Her gown was breathtaking. Reminded us of some whimsical fairy tales of a Princess in some country far, far away! This pale pink Dior gown that tripped this wonderful 23 year old girl on her way to receive her Oscar started her on a journey into our hearts and she has stayed there even after the frenzy of the Oscars has died down. Her easygoing humility and tendency to stay real to who she is made that dress outshine all others.

However elegance dominated the Red carpet. Naomi Watts turned up the watts and dazzled in this grey sequined Giorgio Armani dress.

Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones shone brightly in a Zuhair Murad gown.

Our longest movie sweetheart, Halle Berry in her sequined Versace dress still remained our sweetheart.

Charlize Theron was a picture of white elegance in her Dior Haute Couture dress.

Kerry Washington was the lady in Red and did she glow? In her Miu Miu coral beauty of a dress, we were left speechless!

And almost everyone looked amazingly amazing. Jennifer Hudson in Roberto Cavalli Couture gown.

Zoe Saldana in Alixis Mabille gown.

Adele in black sequined Jenny Packham gown. Jessica Chastain, a vision in Giorgio Armani.

Michelle Obama also, graced the event, not on the Red carpet though, but from a live Telecast and she lit the event up as she presented the Best Picture Award to Argo in her breathtaking Naeem Khan Dress. We love #FLOTUS!

And now, the moment we all live for, the one wardrobe malfunction of the Oscars that no one seems keen on forgetting, Anne Hathaway, a sweetheart still, but her Prada dress which didn’t fit by the way, had its darts darting directly at the cameras and had us all believing it was her ‘Les Nipplebles’ sticking out! A Twitter account was even dedicated to this unforgivable fashion faux pas. That is one fashion malfunction we all love to hate. Tsk, Tsk!

Conclusion! Now even though it was OK to have behinds hanging and dresses gaping at the Grammys (which they needed a guideline to attempt at keeping it PG), a very little wardrobe ‘poker’ can get you the worst dressed spot in the Oscars. The huge difference between the two Red Carpet events would be seen in their fashion trends. The Grammys is all about turning up the heat and being seen while the Oscars stays classy, has a very romantic feel and celebrates humility in stardom. And while we keep hope alive that we might end up on those red carpets ourselves, one day, we can’t wait to see what happens next year! Tooddles!!!