The Hollywood Reporter hosted a “power breakfast” on Tuesday. The morning light gave everyone a glow and made even the most terrible dresses look a little bit angelic. Turns out celebrities dress far more sharply for a power breakfast than they do a power lunch.
Kirsten Dunst is having a moment. People are buzzing and raving about her performance in Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia, and the girl has never looked better. She’s gone full-on morning flasher in a very beautifully tailored, navy blue trench coat and a classic quilted Chanel bag. I’m glad she kept it simple, but added thoughtful touches like the rolled-up sleeves and a swipe of red lipstick. It’s hard to tell from the photos, but her pumps aren’t actually black—they’re more of a dark red rose color. Super smart look for a woman who’s about to eat a POWERFUL breakfast.
Melissa McCarthy, you mischievous beauty, you. Bling is not usually on the dress code for a morning event, but her bling isn’t too overpowering and comes off looking fun and playful instead. Also, she layered, which is a practical skill that all women should possess, especially in the winter months, but looking at red carpet slideshows, you’d think no one in Hollywood has ever heard of layering a cardigan over a dress and/or under a jacket. PS, LOVE that chevron clutch.
Kate Bosworth never has a single hair out of place or wrinkles in her dress, but despite looking “put together,” I find her style to be completely generic and unimaginative. A few commenters have asked why I only praise “bizarre” clothing, and it’s not that I don’t appreciate simple, minimalist dressing, or that I want everyone to wear lampshade skirts and macro-fringe, asymmetrical, cut-out dresses, but it’s more that I want fashion to be judged with the same rigorousness as any other art form. That is to say, if a writer had no point of view, no voice, no vision whatsoever, I would most likely find said writer dull and uninteresting. The same goes for fashion. A good voice might be minimalist or spare, or it might be abrasive and disorderly—and that applies as much to visual art as it does to the belles-lettres as it does to fashion. Case in point: Felicity Jones wore a simple dusty blue dress to breakfast, and I think she was the finest dressed woman at the event. No accessories, no fussiness, just a beautiful crepe-silk dress, charmingly reminiscent of the 40’s, with extremely well-placed darts, and a darling collar. That’s perfection. And so is a well-made lampshade skirt IMHO.
Obviously, a morning event calls for a different dress code than an evening one, and guess what? These three women NAILED IT. Judy Greer wore a polka dot dress with a kicky, old-timey jacket. It’s casual, but still stylish. You can’t go wrong with a well-fitting POWER suit at a POWER lunch. At least, not if if you are Emmy Rossum. The cut of the jacket and the pants are super chic, and I love the seductive peek of lace. In case you’re wondering what other type of shoe could possibly exist in the world as an alternative to peeptoes, look no further. Emmy Rossum has got you covered. Nicole Clemens’ collared grey dress is sharp, tailored, well-fitting and completely appropriate for a breakfast gathering of POWERFUL women. (Sorry had to write power in ALL CAPS one last time.)
Another way to dress for daytime events is to go the loose and flowing route. It’s easy to wear, and as an added bonus, extremely comfortable. Viola Davis looks really chic and pretty in her graphic dress. So does Octavia Spencer in her loosely belted peasant dress. Sharon Lawrence’s dress is a skosh on the sloppy side for me, but the color suits her marvelously and she’s totes glowing and beautiful.
Chelsea Handler’s dress looks like something you can pick up at TJ Maxx. Again, no diss to shopping at TJ Maxx, but it’s always troubling when a dress that costs a pretty penny looks like something you can get for $29.99. Shailene Woodley is very grown-up and proper in her tweedy, mixed prints dress. I do believe Jennifer Love Hewitt’s black dress is more of a POWER DINNER outfit than a POWER BREAKFAST outfit.
Here’s how I feel about Lily Collins’s blue lace skater dress, Kathy Griffin’s secretary-who-tied-her-pussy-bow-at-the-exact-position-of-her-cleavage outfit, and Bethenny Frankel’s Wimbledon outfit: meh.
Kris Jenner suffers from the Kardashian affliction of always wearing their clothes one size too small. Also of not being at all fashionable. Or deserving of being culturally relevant. Bonnie Hammer did better with her leather jacket, but I’m not a fan of the big ol’ zipper running down the front. Jane Fonda looks hot, confident and peerless. The woman can rock out a zebra print jacket like none other.