High Fashion Average Woman

I don’t know what Matt Whitfield at Yahoo! OMG was thinking when he said this outfit made Sharon Stone look like a “granny”….he apparently doesn’t know a lot about fashion history, for one thing.  For another, he might be one of those guys that, no matter what a mature woman wears, she’s wrong.  It’s a prejudice that’s common among some young fashion commentators, who have little understanding of fashion and very, very little appreciation for mature women.  However, while I’m concerned about the attitude of know-little boobs,  I’m more interested in what makes Stone’s look work for her, and what could make it a disaster……

What works in this look: 

1. This look is straight from the Runways of 1957, when both Balenciaga and Givenchy first experimented with the sack  dress.  They both employed gray in their designs, as well as bucket-shaped hats.  So, Stone’s look is quite 1957, replete with Kelly style bag and gloves, which were a common accessory for ladies in the 50′s.

2. Speaking of accessories, all the accessories, except for the shoes, are in keeping with the 1957 vibe.  Brown is also an excellent color to contrast with neutral gray.

3.  The shoes are modern, but keep the texture theme that we see in the bag, which adds a bit of quiet pop to the look.

4.  We can see blue toenails–modern.  But what nail color.  Red perhaps?  That would make it very 50′s, as does her red lipstick, an appropriate color with gray. There’s no sparkle in the dress to merit a pale lip shade.

5. Gray is a “in” color this Fall fashion season.

Vintage looks are great!  We used to appreciate when someone put together a vintage look right down to the accessories.  Nowadays, not so much.  We’re not into the matchy-matchy thing, which was a custom back–in-the-day,  so matchy-matchy has the potential to make anyone, of any age look oldy-oldy.

What  doesn’t work with this look:

1.  Her tan contrasts a bit too much with the hat, which appears to be a wool felt–very winter-ish.

2.  I have a personal problem with the lack of stockings.  However, I understand that wearing stockings and closed toe pumps would have made the look *too* retro.

3.  The eye makeup.  Not good . It’s a current runway look, but not particularly flattering on Stone.

4.  Would a red patent bag worked better?

5.  Perhaps a modern-retro necklace vs a fur collar?

Overall, the look works for Stone, and she presents as a sophisticated, stylish woman over 40.  It’s definitely retro matchy-match in some respects, but overall far better than some other looks Stone’s tried to pull off over the years:  looks which were far too trendy,  thus ended up trashy.   Critics, though, are never happy with some stars, and I think Stone, who comes with some serious “sexy” baggage, has had a tough time of getting kudos from fascist fashionists.  The look is, though, a fabulous retro/vintage/costume/haute couture look.  As fashion is supposed to be fun and a personal choice, Stone could be expressing her love of vintage looks with this, and maybe saying that vintage dressing is fun and fashionable at any age….

What do you think of Stone’s retro look?

Tags: accessories, Balenciaga, Celebrities, celebs over 40, clothing, controversy, Cosmetics, fashion, Givenchy, personal style, self-esteem, Sharon Stone