17 July 2007

Utterly underwhelmed


For those of you who read my musings on a regular basis, you know good and well my devotion to Ms. Holmes goes well beyond the purely physical appreciation I have for, say, Eva Mendes, ScarJo, and even Monica Bellucci.

There's something very rare and very old-school about Katie's calmness, her elegance and her understated neutral-hued style to which I am always attracted and by which I am thoroughly enamored.

But just because the girl carries herself with the kind of grace Hollywood never breeds and doesn't often reward and just because she inspired my can't-live-without-it haircut does not mean she can get away wearing to last night's New York City premiere of Hairspray what I'm pretty sure is the same wide-strapped shirred-bodice black sheath I wore to my 8th grade formal. Granted, the fit is spot-on, the noticeably shortened hem adds a bit of a contemporary, age-appropriate flair (remember, she's only 28) and the round-toed 5-inch Roger Vivier pumps are nothing short of fabulous, but even with all that good working in her favor, taken together, this ensemble, I'm sorry to say it, is just utterly, utterly underwhelming.

If anyone could prepare a comprehensive, persuasive defense of the all-black look, believe me, I'd be on the shortlist. That being said, we need to keep in mind that all-black is not infallible -- a point driven home each time I look at (yawn) ensembles like this one. Not only is this dress devoid of any of-interest features (do shirring and a high-hemline really count?), it also fails to offer up any insight into the personal style of the woman wearing it.

Even with her signature flawless makeup-spare face and tousled-just-right bob, this overall look is at best a boring misstep; at worst, especially for a burgeoning fashionista like Katie, this is an introduction to a pedestrian side of her I had no idea existed and I have no interest in seeing again.

With how great her legs are looking lately and the residual benefit she's probably still enjoying from an amped-up post-pregnancy chest, I would have much preferred to see her choose something with a silhouette like this gold Miu Miu dress, this Milly mini or perhaps even this more daring one-shouldered Michael Kors number.

I'd make an encouraging quip about how I still managed to get my grope full-on in the aforementioned Ann-Taylor-purchased black dress despite its not being the flashiest frock in the Kinawa Middle School cafeteria, but rumor has it Katie went Tom-free to Manhattan, and I certainly wouldn't want to give the impression I was promoting unladylike behavior.

For more of Katie looking 1/3-lovely, 2/3-Caché, see below:

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

God, this dress is awfully plain. Something you might see in (gasp) DC!

Her face/hair/accessories are great, though. This is the first time in years she's resembled the Katie Holmes of olden pre-Tom days...

Anonymous said...

her face and hair look great. and that picture of her in the car is so classic. I never liked her until I read your blog (and all your posts about her!), but now I'm getting around to see what you mean. She def stands out in that Hollywood crowd!

Anonymous said...

You make good, valid points, but I still think she looks better here than half the Lindsays and Jessicas out there.

Anonymous said...

I see Spanx in that last picture! Woot woot!!

sarahsouth said...

spanx... wow, good eye!
i have to say that while she's not overwhelming, i think she looks great. which is fine: i think it's nice to see celebrities not trying so hard all the time, and revealing spanx as they get out of the car. they're all human too, even if they follow scientology.

Anonymous said...

she's a pair of fake tits, a bad case of tanorexia, a set of french-manicured acrylic nails, and a blond foil job away from being posh. you know it's true. posh tends to favor those simple, geometric, mostly black little cocktail dresses. i don't think katie holmes has a mind of her own. she's following in posh's fashion footsteps.