Kate: Update: I have still not seen anything nominated this year. Except Black Panther.
Erica: I have yet to see movies from last year’s awards season. And the year before that…
Kate: Oh, same. I even *almost* didn’t want to watch this. Almost.
Erica: I almost didn’t. We got a puppy Saturday. She’s currently attired in a Grandma Lisa-purchased bandana which very attractively sets off her beautiful red-gold fur. If you’re curious.
Alison Brie
Kate: Do I even need to comment? I mean, seriously.
Erica: Okay, hear me out. She is an extremely pretty girl. And she’s pretty in a way that could be very bland. So she’s choosing very fashion-forward looks and I actually think they’re executed really well. Sure, a giant black bow studded in rhinestones that’s big enough that she could probably get some height with a good breeze doesn’t sound like a great idea, but I think it works here. I think the overall look works here.
Kate: I wholeheartedly disagree and think it doesn’t do her justice at all.
Amy Adams
Kate: Oh! Interesting.
Erica: I’m not a fan.
Kate: I’ve never really loved a peplum, as you know, but this is more daring than her usual so I like it. It might be even more interesting in a different color, though.
Erica: I feel like you are maybe succumbing to the general aura of loveliness that surrounds Amy Adams. This is not a good dress.
Kate: Oh. Great hair, makeup and jewelry.
Angela Bassett
Kate: Ok this 1000% looks like one of those tiny shirts that expand to regular size shirts out of that weird material that we always see at arts and crafts shows/festivals!
Erica: YES! It does. Oh my god so weird.
Kate: It’s really awful.
Erica: I like the very ‘70s hair and the fabulous makeup and she’s, like, ageless, but the dress. The dress. What even happened there?
Kate: Maybe Mom styled her?
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Kate: Oh, her face has gotten scarier since the Globes. Oh dear. The dress is very middle-aged beauty pageant, not in the best way, and the hair is too severe for the dress. And the face. Yikes!
Erica: I like the color? But, yeah, this is not great.
Constance Wu
Kate: Absolutely adorable and perfect. Love it.
Erica: She could not look better. I love the thing on her hip and the armband. But I wish…Sigh…I do wish it were, like, three inches longer.
Kate: Eh, yeah, the length/cut of the skirt may be a little off, but I don’t know, I really like it!
Elisabeth Moss
Kate: Elisabeth Moss clearly reads our posts and realized the error of her ways in dress length at award shows.
Erica: This is so much better than she usually does so I’m sorry to criticize. To start, this is the first time I thought her blonde hair looked good, and I think the makeup is nice, and I like the color.
Kate: But just because it’s the appropriate length doesn’t mean I love it. It is very bridal and I don’t love the black belt in the middle of an ivory gown, but the silhouette is very flattering for her.
Erica: Oh, the color is reading more buttery-yellow to me. I think the black belt is sitting in the wrong spot, or the end of the bodice is. And the fabric is a little cheap-looking.
Kate: Maybe off-white, then? Is that not the same thing as ivory? And agree x2.
Emily Blunt
Kate: Ok so it’s very Judy Jetson and maybe even a little Rihanna (don’t ask me why, that’s just the vibe I get), and also Futuristic Barbie, all of which should mean I don’t like it, but I really do. She pulls off that color perfectly, and I love everything about the hair, makeup and jewelry with it. (Note: The color looked a lot brighter/nicer on the telecast; in this photo it is a little muted.)
Erica: I felt that the hair needed to be something else with those shoulders but I am willing to be talked out of this feeling.
Kate: Ok yes don’t think that. The dress is Couture and High Fashion and Interesting in all the right ways. Best Dressed nominee!
Erica: I feel like she is very Couture. Increasingly so. I don’t know if she’s got a new stylist, or just a new attitude as she becomes A-list, but it’s working for her.
Emma Stone
Kate: This is way too business-meeting-into-client-dinner for me.
Erica: I don’t like it. I don’t like anything about it.
Kate: The pants should be tailored to show the shoes! I bet they’re fab!
Erica: I guess that would be one, very small, step in the right direction.
Kate: LOL, step! Punny!
Keri Russell
Kate: Oh, she has redeemed herself from the Globes in terms of hair. And dress. I kind of love this.
Erica: The hair is gorgeous. The dress, I didn’t think was all that special, but up closer, I quite like the bodice.
Lady Gaga
Kate: It’s very Madonna “Like A Virgin” (which I’m sure she loves/was kind of going for) but not very well-executed. And I HATE that dark lip, especially with that bright white.
Erica: I actually like the makeup, for her. If you’re not Lady Gaga, and you’re not dedicated to the art of the Costume, it would look stupid, but I feel it works for her.
Kate: If the gown and lip were both in another color and I think I’d like it pretty much a lot.
Erica: I quite like the gown. I think it’s dreamy.
Laverne Cox
Kate: Ooh, very Greek goddess. Love.
Erica: 100% perfection in all ways. I particularly love the hair and the gold thing going across the chest.
Kate: I would like to borrow it, please, Laverne!
Erica: For real. It’s so good.
Lupita Nyong’O
Kate: This is the first time I haven’t really liked something from her on the red carpet. She looks…Drab? And also upset and tired?
Erica: I don’t like the hair. I’m sorry if that means I’m racist.
Kate: I really don’t get the whole look.
Erica: I don’t love seeing her in black, because she wears color so well and I love color, but I do kind of like the top of the dress. I just don’t understand the bottom or the why of any of it.
Kate: No, the top looks like an unfinished tuxedo jacket; the bottom could be interesting with a different top/bodice.
Mandy Moore
Kate: I feel like she’s better than this. The structure reminds me A LOT of Jessica McClintock prom dresses.
Erica: Maybe from your prom years. But also I do not like it because it’s kind of boring. I don’t like the hair, either. Makeup is good.
Kate: Yeah, she’s one of those people who should wear their hair down as much as possible because she has (seemingly) naturally pretty soft waves, like Connie Britton.
Margot Robbie
Kate: Wow.
Erica: She is a stunning woman.
Kate: How is she so hot? Just…How?
Erica: It’s just her DNA. She’s an actual flame in human form.
Kate: Hair, makeup, dress, everything perfection. Best Dressed nominee!
Erica: I don’t know, man. I feel like God made her the hottie she is and the dress she’s wearing is, like, fine, but not really special.
Kate: Oh I like it a lot, but it’s very Kate.
Megan Mullally
Kate: I don’t mind this red carpet dress but I like her first hosting dress a whole lot better. (I also had no idea she was hosting, or that the SAGs even had a host?)
Erica: I do not like either dress, although I like the hosting one better. But she’s fairly fabulous and I’m happy to see her hosting. I like her hair and makeup.
Kate: Agree.
Erica: Oh, and then there’s a third dress. Eh, I think the first hosting dress is better.
Melissa McCarthy
Kate: Ok, so I love this. It’s finally the right departure from what she usually wears!
Erica: Yeah? I like it but I don’t love it. I think I want the sleeves to be pulled in a little bit.
Kate: It’s just so much better than the usual black or dark purple/blue drapey thing.
Erica: I do love the makeup and hair.
Patricia Clarkson
Kate: I feel like this is the perfect combination of a Greek goddess costume and a mother-of-the-bride wedding dress. I love it, for some reason.
Erica: I am more in mind of a figure skater’s costume that one made over to be an awards show dress. Which I do not necessarily mean as a bad thing.
Rachel Brosnahan
Kate: I loved her Globes look so much, and I want to love this too, but I can’t get into the color of the dress or the weird bodice with all the seams — they all just hit her torso in weird places
Erica: I think it’s very close to being a good dress. I think the color would be good if it had a bit more sheen and the banding would be better if it were more subtle and didn’t have bows. And the length is too short. But it’s almost there and she’s so lovely.
Kate: I do like the hair, makeup and earrings, though.
Erica: Yes on the first two, not thrilled with the earrings.
Rachel Weisz
Kate: Absolutely hate it. It’s two or three dresses in one and I don’t like either/any of them.
Erica: Whereas for me, this is a concept I wouldn’t mind if it weren’t executed so dreadfully. I could see really loving the drawing of this dress, with the heavier, more structured dress opening to reveal a flowing skirt. And a belt for structure would be fine in this context. But the heavy velvet, the strange metal belt, and the uninspiring color of the underskirt do not combine into an inspiring dress.
Robin Wright
Kate: Wow. Her body is insane. (Her hair and face are kind of scary, though.)
Erica: Yeah. She’s definitely keeping up with her kickboxing or whatever the hell keeps her looking like that.
Kate: And the dress is just OK but definitely enhanced by her insane body.
Erica: I think the dress is a little…meant to show off that body without much sophistication? I don’t mean to pull a “you’re too old for that” but I feel like she’s too good for that? Like, she’s not some twenty-two-year old cocktail waitress hanging off the arm of her her way older, thrice-divorced, coked-up producer boyfriend. She’s a great actress who’s been in critically acclaimed and beloved movies. She could do better.
Samira Wiley
Kate: I’m not totally sure why she’s here this year but I very much enjoy this dress.
Erica: She’s in The Handmaid’s Tale. And yes, this is fabulous and delightful.
Sandra Oh
Kate: Ok I’m trying really hard to see and understand and critique the dress, but I’m too distracted by those bangs. The dress looks like it might be kind of lovely, especially the color, but the bangs are taking up all my attention.
Erica: The bangs are very terrible.
Kate: Short, curly, bangs. I can’t.
Erica: The dress is stunning, IMHO, which is why those bangs — which I definitely rocked in 1995 when I could not get the hang of a hair dryer and a round brush, and then decided to grow out my bangs because they were so terrible — are such a shame.
Sophia Bush
Kate: I used to think she was one of the most beautiful people. Why is everyone dressed up like Gothic Fairy Barbie tonight!?
Erica: She’s still very lovely but that dress is not as fabulous as she deserves.
Kate: Hate it. Worst Dressed nominee, along with Alison Brie.
Erica: My nominee for best dressed is Laverne Cox. Thoughts?
Kate: Oh I could go for that.
Erica: I feel like there are a lot of contenders for worst. Emma Stone? Angela Bassett? Rachel Weisz?
Kate: Alison Brie!
Erica: No! I will defend Alison Brie! I am picking Rachel Weisz, because in addition to the bad dress, her hair and makeup were a little sloppy.
Kate: Fine fine fine. See you after the Grammys, folks!
Raspberry Lime Ricki 