INDstyle

Red carpet report: Golden Globes

by Amanda Bedgood

Sleek style that kills, frumpy shapes we loathe

It was all about the new girls at the Golden Globes last night. At least when it came to style. The freshest faces on the carpet proved sleek is the way to go. And our top pick - Lupita Nyong - proves that even on a red carpet you can stand out in red.

This IND Styler is a sucker for a cape done right. A few years ago Gwyneth Paltrow wore this amazing Tom Ford white cape creation and I've never quite recovered - until last night when Lupita swept onto the carpet with a Ralph Lauren look that was all things modern and, yet, timeless. She did the beauty and styling perfectly - simple and chic. Margot Robbie was a very close second with her white sleek Gucci dress and simple hair. Kerry Washington was bump perfect in her Balenciaga gown (click here for a rundown and maternity style done right). And then there was Lizzie Caplan (I had to google this one) in a black Emilio Pucci dress with beautiful sleeves and simple hair.

The red carpet was full of ladies that did it right - Reece Witherspoon, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, Olivia Wilde, Julianna Margulies, Laura Dern, Jessica Chastain. And, of course, some that were two thumbs down. I should've learned long ago to never say never. But, on Saturday night I finally saw Catching Fire at the theater and my most recent girl crush was fresh on my mind and I was all afire awaiting her arrival in something flawless and unexpected. Unexpected? Yep. Flawless? Not so much. It's kind of wrong to say Dior did it wrong but in about two sentences we're going to use Oscar de la Renta with "red carpet flop" so let's just do this. Jennifer Lawrence in the white dress with the black bands - disappointing. The hair and makeup as well. The 90s were not a good time for beauty with that awful brownish lip and this girl refuses to accept it's coming back.

Zooey Deschanel's Oscar de la Renta wasn't like crazy Helena Bohnam Carter train wreck and we get that she's so quirky she can barely function. But, style is all about proportions and this beautiful fabric wasn't enough to salvage a look that just looked kind of crooked all the way around to my brain. But, she did the red lip just right.

Zoe Saldana in a tea-length Prabal Gurung was also a bit off. She looked beautiful, but she could rock a crooked garbage bag (apparently one with pink silk and a sheer panel). Sadly enough, at the top of those that didn't nail the red carpet was Drew Barrymore. We hate to kick a girl while she's pregnant and bloated, but there was something a bit too little girl in the vibe and too frumpy in the cut for Drew to pull off her Valentine's Day project dress.

Now that we have that nasty business of slamming beautiful women in designer dresses out of the way, let's check out the dudes. Red carpet reports for men often consist of little more than reporting that, yep, George Clooney still looks great in a tux and Bradley Cooper is literally becoming more attractive by the moment. However, last night, the dudes brought it with color and texture. Velvet was the word in men's jackets. And this IND Styler loves (I mean loves like we all love Bradley Cooper) velvet. Matthew McConaughey did it in green. We loved Kevin Spacey in black velvet. Chris Hemsworth looked so good in blue velvet we were fine that he was wearing a shirt. And the funny man of the year, Seth Meyers, looked seriously great in rich blue. Proof that men can look cutting edge and timeless.