Red Carpet Rundown: 2012 SAG Awards

The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards was another impressive Red Carpet this season, with a very high level of looks that brought out the beauty of each celebrity.  We saw trends of black, lace, and form-fitting dresses, with a tasteful focus on jewelry to accessorize the looks.  Marchesa had the majority of the looks, and Lorraine Schwartz brought the necessary bling for the starlets' sparkle.  Here is a recap of the Best looks from the 2012 SAG Awards Red Carpet:

Best Fashion Moments - Tilda Swinton and Zoe Saldana

Tilda Swinton -Tilda Swinton will always bring a fashion moment to the Red Carpet.  This time, she wears a very ethereal custom piece from Lanvin.

Zoe Saldana -  Zoe took a big risk wearing this high structured gown on the red carpet, but thank goodness someone took a risk!  Zoe Saldana wears a piece from the Givenchy Spring 2012 Couture Collection; a collection of pieces we just saw in Paris last week - the only thing missing is the basketball and nose ring. 

Best Dressed Ensemble - The Help
Its only a coincidence that the best Red Carpet moments were from the cast of The Help.  Not only did the Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Emma Stone win this category, the cast won Best Emsemble Cast in tonight's Awards ceremony.  Congrats!

 Viola Davis - Marchesa

Emma Stone - Alexander McQueen

Octavia Spencer - Tadashi Shoji

Best Dressed Couple - Emily Blunt and John Krasinski
Emily Blunt and John Krasinski added color to the Red Carpet; Emily in a green Oscar de la Renta gown, and John in a midnight blue Prada tuxedo. 

Designer of the Night - Jenny Packham
Jenny Packham designed looks for the most surprising and the most anticipated women in show business tonight.  Both in black, Angelina Jolie and Ashlee Simpson wowed spectators as they arrives to the SAG Awards Red Carpet. 

Sexiest Looks - Curves, skin, and natural sex appeal graces the Red Carpet tonight, with body-fitting looks donning the sexy silhouettes of these Hollywood Hotties:

Kyra Sedgewick - Emilio Pucci

Sofia Vergara - Marchesa

Naya Rivera - Naeem Khan

Amber Heard - Zac Posen

photos: Getty Images

Red Carpet Review: 2012 Golden Globes

The 69th annual Golden Globe Awards aired tonight, and it poses as the first true evidence of the glamorous Red Carpet season!  Before the sadly anti-climactic hosting performance of Ricky Gervais, and the surprising win for Octavia Spencer ( in Tadashi Shoji) and Idris Alba ( in Ozwald Boateng), we saw Hollywood's finest strut the Red Carpet in a variety of designers, many of whom the celebs couldn't pronounce.  Overall, it wasn't an exciting moment for Red Carpet, as everyone went safe with fitting gowns and over 80% of the looks were nude in color. There were some key looks that created their own moments tonight, as you will see below:

 The Best Fashion Moments of the Night:

Tilda Swinton - No surprise here.  Tilda will forever bring the art of fashion to the Red Carpet, and did not disappoint us with this look from Haider Ackermann.

Andrea Riseborough - Though she was joined at the hip with Madonna (wearing a Reem Acra gown) all night, the leading lady of W.E. made a statement in Vivienne Westwood; a designer whom we don't see enough of on the Red Carpet.

Now, for the Overall Looks on the Red Carpet

Best Dressed:

Charlize Theron - Wearing Dior Couture, Cartier jewelry, and those legs, she was worth the anticipation of gracing the Red Carpet.  

Claire Danes - For an actress who has won every Golden Globe she's been nominated for, she wins in the best dressed category for this black and white gown by J Mendel.


Worst Dressed:

Sarah Michelle Gellar - This dress looks well on a hanger, but it did not work in any regard on Buffy tonight. The volume swallowed Sarah up and she didn't have any form of appeal to draw us past the fact that the print was too bold for a Red Carpet. 

Jesse Tyler Ferguson - It is very difficult for men to be unique on the Red Carpet; the smallest choice can go so far, since there isn't much creative direction for men's formalwear.  His attempt to do velvet and two tone the look made the Modern Family Star look more like a groom than a Golden Globe assemble winner.



Close, but no Cigar:

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
Together; they look stunning.  Angelina's gown is immaculate.  Brad's execution of the three-piece formal look was spot on.  So why aren't they on the Best Dressed list?  First, the red purse is way too matchy with Jolie's lips and collar detail.  Brad Pitt from waist up is sharply fitted, as you look at the pants, you see they are too long at the bottom. His biggest mistake,however, were his shoes.  Nothing beats a broken-in pair of shoes, but not on the Red Carpet.  

Honorable Mention

Nicole Kidman - Its been a long time coming, but a change has come! Nicole used to be a no-brainer when it came to being best-dressed on Red Carpets, but she has fallen from grace over the last couple seasons.  Wearing a Versace beaded gown, she shows us that she can still wow us in a positive light.

Best of The Ave - 2011

Another year has passed us, and 2011 ended as an amazing year, full of comedy, tragedy, and random confusion. Here are a few of my favorite 2011 moments; many that were featured on Avenue Swank at one point through 2011.

Best Magazine Cover - Tilda Swinton for W Magazine
Androgyny at its finest, Tilda Swinton proves that she is in fact one of the premier fashion muses of 2011, and will surely continue in 2012.  Tilda would be an amazing choice for a Tom Ford ad.

Best GOP Political Candidate - Herman Cain
Despite his seemingly temporary disdain for Black people,  Herman Cain brought energy, comedy, and color (pun semi-intended) to the GOP.  Without him, the race is boring, and we're essentially waiting for the next Obama Inaugural ball to see if Beyonce's baby will perform the children's rendition of "At Last."

Best Concert - Sade
Beyonce at Roseland was great.  Watch the Throne Was Amazing. But its the excitement of seeing a musical icon perform, after years of wishing to see her sing live, that makes for a mind-blowing concert.  Sade's voice is so pure and powerful that you had no choice but to stare in awe that after so many years of performing, and a total of 10 years without a live concert, she still captured the hearts of everyone there. 

Best Fashion Trend - Color Blocking
Color blocking is so easy and fun (if you follow my rules) and has clearly hit the trend boards for 2011, and will definitely be seen at least throughout Fall 2012.  

Best Fashion Collaboration - Amy Winehouse for Fred Perry
This collaboration may not have been hyped up like the Versace or Target collaborations, but since this was the last collection of Amy Winehouse, and proceeds went towards her foundation, the collection was meaningful, and full of black and white houndstooth which was major for Fall 2011. 

Best "Wait-in-Line" for Release - Jordan Air Concords
People camped out for Versace for H&M, but were there any deaths? Arrests? Broken windows? Nope.  And for this, the Jordan release will forever be the realest, most dangerous release to wait for.

Best Mix Tape Breakthrough - Frank Ocean
Who would have thought that launching the single "Novacane" would result in sold out concerts.  The singer/songwriter has been behind the scenes writing for Beyonce and singing "sweet baby Jesus" on Watch the Throne tracks, but Nostalgia is an amazing project that is worth the listen if you haven't already done so.