Honorary Fashion Police

Last night I had the best time ever watching the SAG Award’s Red Carpet special with my dear friend and former E! Entertainment Fashion Police, Jay Alexander.

Unfortunately for E!, Jay is extremely busy with a million different projects and found himself unable to attend the SAG Awards. As most of you may know, Jay has been spending quite a bit of his time here in New York City working with both Tyra Banks on America’s Next Top Model and Kimora Lee Simmons on Life in the Fab Lane. What many of you might not know is that Jay actually lives in Paris but for the past few years has lived between hotels, airplanes and production sets.

Fortunately for me, however, I get to spend a great deal of time hanging out and catching up with my oldest and dearest friend. Jay and I spend hours walking, talking and laughing. We literally walk perhaps 40 to 45 New York City blocks every single time we get together. For a while after his initial ANTM fame it was a bit distracting with random people screaming, “Hey Miss Jay!” or “Isn’t that Miss Jay?” But at this point it has actually become the soundtrack and/or backdrop for our long walks and chats. For the most part, Jay is always very gracious and never turns down a photo with an enthusiastic fan… Unless said fan has a camera-phone…

A few years ago I gave Jay a bit of advice that was shared with me during a similar walk and chat fest with friend and client, Reese Witherspoon. Reese and I were exiting her hotel after having a quiet lunch and this middle-aged woman came running up to her waving a camera phone and pleading with Reese for a photo. Reese turned and said, in the most elegant Southern voice that I have ever heard, “Ma’am, I would love to take a photo with you but I don’t take photos with camera phones. Those things simply don’t do anyone justice.” Luckily the woman’s poor daughter that had obviously been chasing her slightly out of control mother was equipped with a proper camera. I therefore obliged the woman’s request by taking a pseudo family portrait of the women with Reese buried firmly in the middle of this love fest. As Reese and I walked calmly away from her doting fans, Reese said to me, “Those camera phones always make me look like a lollipop head and eventually end up all over the internet.” (side bar: I have actually known Reese for many years – pre super fame. I was an assistant in the wardrobe department on the movie “Freeway” and we simply stayed in touch over the years. We share a certain “southern sensibility”. If you have never seen the movie Freeway, I would suggest you rent it and treat yourself. A young Reese Witherspoon is absolutely hysterical and amazing in this film…)

Now, at this point you might be asking yourself what this has to do with watching the SAG Award’s Red Carpet. That’s just it – the SAG Awards Red Carpet was simply a big rambling of nothingness. There were no real hits or any major misses. The red carpet was simply the same old boring parade of predictable evening frocks and boring cocktail dresses. Where are those memorable moments of yesteryear when messes like Darryl Hannah, Bjork and Laura Flynn Boyle lit up the red carpet with their overzealous fashion attempts. But if I had to take a stab at it my "Honorary Fashion Police" moment would go a bit like this:

Best Dressed Woman - Marion Cotillard - Marion wearing Nina Ricci was absolutely heavenly. Just knowing first hand all of the painstaking details and craftsmanship that it took Mr. Theyskens to design and perfect this dress gives me the chills. My hat truly goes off to him.

Best Dressed Man – Brad Pitt – It’s Brad Pitt - isn't that enough!!! I just love the fact that he simply shows up 100% himself.

Worst Dressed Woman – Angelina Jolie – I love Angelina, I really do… But what the hell was that frumpy Hermes tent dress about. She was dressed like she was eight or nine months pregnant - not the rumored two or three months.

Worst Dressed Man – Viggo Mortensen – What an amazing actor but I absolutely hate his fashion sense. I am almost positive that he and Johnny Depp have the same stylist and/or wardrobe rental service.

Honorable Mention Woman - Ellen Page - Elln in simply thought looked young and fresh. She dressed in a designer that matched both her personality and her generation.

Honorable Mention Couple - Forest and Keisha Whitaker – I loved the fact that Forest wore a tuxedo by young designer Nana Boateng (young cousin of Oswald Boateng) and that it wasn’t just the same old boring tuxedo.

Jay Alexander’s Picks

Best Dressed Woman and Man – Julie Chrystie – Ms. proved that a woman of certain age can still show the young girls how to dress to accept an award.

Worst dressed Woman - Chandra Wilson – stripes made her look like a lost Christmas present. Chandra was simply wrong, wrong, wrong!

Worst Dressed Man – Viggo Mortensen – The combination was just not right . Oh no Viggo.

Now it's your turn to share your best and worst dressed with us...