In a recent interview with Blender Magazine, Mandy Moore proclaimed she'd felt her sexiest at 15, back when her lyrical lexicon included mature gems like, "missin' you like candy" and "oooh, I've got a crush on you."
I have no problem in admitting Mandy's music, like that of Kelly Clarkson, Journey and Genesis, is some of the easiest to like (I could listen to "Have a Little Faith in me," "Cry" and "Crush" on repeat for forever and a day) but the most difficult to justify to your more discerning 9:30-Club-frequenting friends. Her songs are unapologetically lightweight, saccharin sweet, innuendo-free and always comes to mind whenever I'm bopping along to my Time/Life Maltshop Memories compilation CDs and sulking over the fact no contemporary artists record songs like those that made the Everly Brothers, Lesley Gore and the Roy Orbison pop sensations a half-century ago.
Because frankly, Mandy Moore does.
But enough about her music, let's look at this tweed Dolce & Gabbana bustier sheath with satin bodice detailing Ms. Moore wore last night to the New York City premiere of her new indie film, "The Dedication."
In four words, so close to perfection. The fit and silhouette of this dress are sublimely flattering to Mandy's shapelier frame, and considering this was how she looked just a few weeks ago (simmer down, I'm not judging, only making a point), incredibly effective at hiding a multitude of mid-section sins.
Where this look loses me a little, however, is in the contrasting, cape-shaped satin bodice. Why satin? Why that shape? It's unnecessary and to be honest, comes off as a bit silly, as if Stefano turned to Domenico and said, "Let's throw them off, yes?" and instructed the seamstress to take a perfectly stylish design in a perfectly rich on-its-own fabric and muck it up with the kind of "high fashion" hallmark that has always kept me from really embracing Italian designers like D&G.
Now if the entire bodice had been satin and the base fabric had been a pattern-free grey heather or black wool, rest assured I'd be first in line to max out my credit card in the name of wardrobe-must-have-edness at Net-a-Porter.
To end on a positive note, let's take a moment to sigh over Mandy's beautiful burgundy accents: those faded-in lips, those Louboutin round-toed pumps, that Leiber clutch (not shown here) -- girl, you make me want Fall like a fat kid wants Peanut Butter M&Ms.
More of Mandy's red-carpet gorgeousness:
18 comments:
Great post! What size is Mandy anyway? A 6, maybe 8? I have no idea, but regardless it's sad that our perception of famous women being size 0-2 makes Mandy's perfectly healthy frame look more robust in comparison. And it also doesn't help that when she started out at 15 she was in her stick thin, no shape, pre-development stage. How she felt most sexy then, I will never know - she LOOKS much sexier now!! go Mandy
Psst -- do you mean "half-century" instead of "half-decade?"
Mandy looks hott.
capitulatenow-
thank you for the correction :-)
Those shoes are INSANE and by that I mean insanely HOT. What are they, 5 inches? Gimme gimme.
I don't think a bustier style dress in general looks good in tweed. Had they gone all satin, I'd be a much bigger fan. But everyone here is right about Mandy - she is smokin'!!
Are you serious? You think she looks good here? Yikes. I think she looks a right chubby mess, not to mention her painted lady face. No thank you.
haha, last anonymous, please tell me where you find the chub?
I don't love the makeup, but I can't for the life of me figure out how anyone could perceive this woman as chubby. I'm 5'4", 120 pounds, size 4 - so I'm not making this judgment from a skewed perspective. She looks healthy and sexy.
I think she looks pretty great in the swimsuit picture, too. Feminine, not stick-thin or overly muscular or possessing bolted-on grapefruit breasts or photoshopped beyond recognition. I figure she's maybe a mall six, designer 8?
Oooooh... Mandy got fugged on this one. I like it, though!
The GFY gals weren't big on this at all... I think she can pull it off, but the makeup looks a little too little-girl-caught-playing-on-Mommy's-vanity for me...
sorry kiki-- I didn't notice you already mentioned the fugging before I made my comment!
Really? Y'all don't like her makeup? I love the messily stained lip and simple but severe eyeliner. I think she looks all sorts of hot, not mess.
And while I usually agree with the GFY girls, after I saw them give a "well done" to Kirsten Bell for her purple ruffle-front mini...well, I've come to think maybe our tastes aren't as aligned as I initially thought. Their writing style, however, is awe-inspiring.
I like her lips as well. They look very "runway."
She is the hotness. Love her.
I agree with both manhattan_darling and the rest of the crowd -- her lips do look very "runway" and to me, that's not very attractive.
And I'm a guilty party when it comes to Mandy's works as well. She had me at "Saved."
Her makeup is nice, but Mandy Moore to me always looks better with that understated natural amount of makeup. She has a "fresh face". This is a good look too, and it goes perfectly with her outfit of course. I just prefer less on her. Maybe it's that I remember her at 15.
I'm with you on the satin part of the dress.
And I'm usually extremely judgmental of people who expose their stomachs when they aren't flat and toned. But I think that slight pudge is not too big a deal. It's almost cute. And probably not too noticeable when she stood up.
And you mentioned Kristen Bell. I think she is so adorable, but almost everytime I see her she's wearing something hideous. It's such a waste!
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