I thought about putting this up for a vote, but then I decided no, I must be firm: I don’t care for this.
I know it’s the Princess Grace awards, and Anne was in The Princess Diaries, but someone should tell her that those two things combined do not mean she really is the ruler of a small principality. Besides which, shouldn’t her imaginary principality be more fun than this? I feel like there would be great snacks and a lot of drinking games based on the complete works of Matthew Lillard, whereas this dress is what her disapproving grandmother (incidentally, her movie granny Julie Andrews was ALSO at this event) would wear when she shuffled down the stairs at 3 a.m. and had to break up the game of strip croquet happening on the East Lawn. So yes, this dress is the metaphorical bucket of cold water being tossed on the party that is Anne’s youth. I wish it were an actual bucket of water being thrown on her face, so she could scrub off the doll paint and start over, but we can’t have everything.
[Photo: Getty]
Comments (80):
Well, if you HAD put it up to a vote, it would have got a double-FUG from me. It fits her so poorly. It might just be how oddly she’s standing, of course. But it just looks like it’s tighter than a sausage casing and as if she’s a little on the plump side. Which is manifestly untrue.
The dress has potential, but I HATE the hair/make-up/shoes.
I want to see Kate Middleton in this! Hate to say it, but Anne’s curvier figure is ruining this look. There is a reason models look anorexic – no curves to kill the lines.
Would be amazing on Kate and more appropriate. Plus she does less make up so it would look so elegant.
I vehemently disagree — the dress is so fragile and delicate on its own it would just make Kate look more breakable. I think Anne’s curves actually make this dress look youthful. It’s not a great look, but I don’t think it would look better on someone thinner, just someone older.
Man, I like this pretty okay from the waist up and I think her face looks quite pretty. The skirt is all wrong and the shoes are weeeiiiird.
I think it’s actually nice! I would’ve given it a fab.
I agreed! Glad someone else thinks it’s pretty.
Me three! She looks very cute in it. I can see a regular person wearing this.
Whoops! I think it’s kind of adorable.
Me four. I really like it. I even like the shoes, and I am normally anti-satin when it comes to shoes.
I see myself wearing this… I’m so covetous!
Me four! I don’t like her hair with this, but othewise – a fab!
I. Just. Don’t. Get. Her. I don’t. Everything about her sticks in my craw.
I might have liked it floor length.
I think it is a beautiful dress, just not suited to her figure. Which is not to be a dig at her figure because that is gorgeous.
I, an asexual, unabashedly lust for those shoes. J’adore foot jewelry! That bodice is so many many many kinds of wretched wrong.
Hair = meh. She has a LOVELY head of hair- for jeebus’ sake DO something with it.
This dress would have worked better (all together now) IN A COLOR. It’s been so long since we’ve seen AH in color (I’m not including black here) that I’m beginning to wonder if her entire life is devoid of hue and tone. I’m thinking maybe an emerald green here.
I like the skirt, maybe with a strapless corset-y top, maybe with the beaded top-thingy over it, but with no illusion netting. I don’t know. But I do like the skirt.
it’s simply not flattering… at all
She looks cute. I don’t really see how you can think it’s too old for her when the entirety of her legs are showing.
Are you kidding me, GFY Heather? I ♥ you, girl, but this outfit is PERFECTION! I love, adore & covet it! The dress is GORGEOUS, the shoes are TO DIE FOR, the jewelry is PRECIOUS, and her hair & makeup are pretty! I give this a Well Played & a FAB!!! The only thing that bothers me is that I’m not the one wearing it!
If someone knows who made this dress, can you please share it with the rest of the class? Thank you…
According to justjared, the dress is Valentino:
http://justjared.buzznet.com/2011/11/02/anne-hathaway-princess-grace-awards-gala/
Also, while I think this dress is pretty, I don’t think it is suited to her figure (as said elsewhere, not a knock to her figure, which is enviable). I think the lines of the dress would be more elegant, and look wonderful on someone like Keira Knightly, with a more boyish shape.
Caity – I’m with you. The bejewelled fishing net top can only be worn by those unencumbered with a big bust. Knightley could make it look interesting, and not entrapping. She’s also more flapper-shaped, which this dress is referencing.
Why is it so heavy looking when it’s pale oyster-coloured and sparkly? Somehow it’s making me think Queen Mum of the Flappers. The shoes just make me think “ow”.
@Caity: Thank you so much!!!
I love the skirt, but she looks like she’s leaning away from her neckline because it’s trying to strangle her. It needs to be open-necked, and maybe sleeveless, or strapless entirely.
The color, on the other hand, I adore! I’m a sucker for nude tones.
I agree this needs to be more open at the neck. To quote the woman who owns the lingerie shop I go to, “Honey, that makes you look… booby” (which is, incidentally, one of my favorite sentences ever).
FO REAL. This bodice looks like something Christina Hendricks would wear and just as ill-wrangled.
I was going to love the shoes, then I looked more closely at them and realized that they are barely staying on her toes. They look like they are very painful, in a never-ending stubbing your toes type of way. I love the skirt. Why does her hair look so fly-away? I have fly away hair, she does not. Nor does she need to look like she does. And I also think that the orange make-up has to go.
Funny the things that I notice when I actually enlarge the picture that I’d never notice otherwise. I was all set to give this a “meh”, and now it’s a total fug.
I love it, just not with the shoes. I would totally wear it– and look awful in it. But I can dream.
NOOOO! I love this! And her!
http://www.autumnvanweir.com
sorry, but I can’t give this a fug. Yeah, we would all like to imagine that we would wear something fun and sassy when hanging out with the royals, but when it comes down to reality I would go for ladylike too. Miss Anne was actually presenting at this event, which was honoring Julie Andrews.
I can’t give this a full fab. I think the fit is fine and I love the skirt, but I am not sure I like the neckline (I wish I could see it head on) and I am not sure what is going on at the waistband. But the overall look is lovely and appropriately dressy, I adore the shoes, and her posture is
truly superb.
maybe if it were in a colour but I LOVE THE SHOES!
+1
I totally agree!! *LOVE*LOVE*LOVE the shoes!
“doll paint”
Are the red cheek-circles coming back? My dead grandmother would be so pleased; she wore them everyday.
I like the dress, but would have enjoyed the look better if she had let her hair down or styled it differently.
Love the shoes. love. love love. the dress is ok, i think it should be full length too. but the shoes. love the shoes.
I am generally pro-Anne but don’t love this. Her face looks great, and so do the shoes. I hate the dress and the hair. I am not at all a fan of neutral and maybe a diamond for fun – I like colour not sparkle.
I love, love, LOVE! the shoes!!!!!!
I think she looks lovely and entirely appropriate for the event.
The shoes really bug! Cause they don’t fit. It’s just one of those things with me, but if you’re showing that much toe cleavage, that’s just not a style for you.
I actually really like it–almost. I think a lower neckline (not too low, but enough to show some clavicle at least), would have ungrannnied it up.
Huh. I really, really like this, and the shoes are gorgeous too.
I agree with you, Sajorina – georgeous all the way!!
Thank you, Kim H! I just LOVE this outfit with a passion!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who loves the dress! I do think it could be fitted a bit better on her (especially near the bust), but I find it so refreshing to see a star in a pretty, demure, ladylike dress that only exposes one body part (in this case, her legs, and not too much of them). I’d wear something like this myself, if I could find one long enough to reach the knees. Plus, it’s very appropriate for the occasion, which I appreciate.
Oh, she looks awful. This dress could work on a woman with some color in her complexion, but Snow White here needs fabric with a positive hue value. Scarlet lips and Raggedy Ann circles of blush on her cheeks won’t do it.
the shoes ruin it – love the dress!
I actually really like the dress, despite the princessy Ice Skater Barbie feel of it. But like the other commenters have said, the neckline of it just doesnt work on anyone with a bust of her size. So, pretty much anyone.
I agree, she is completely gorgeous, I envy her hair, her figure, her paleness. She can do so much better than this.
I agree with whoever said Keira Knightley could pull this off. Not Anne Hathaway.
Total fug. Messy ‘do and doll paint face, sausage casing top, matronly cut skirt. And I love her, too! It gives me the sad. However, I’ll, yes, punch a nun for those shoes.
And- did Julie Andrew’s beads hang straight?
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I like the dress itself, but I think it seriously washes her out. I’d like to see it on a woman with a darker skin tone. Also, her makeup isn’t really doing her any favors.
Sigh. Make up your mind. Either you DO want her as part of the prude party or you don’t. A girl can show both sides. Maybe she was feeling a wee bit bad about her triceps that night. Who knows…all I know is that there are a myriad of looks out there that need fugging (why does auto-correct want to replace it with ‘hugging’???). It’s not her best, but it’s not awful. Matronly, yes, but not awful. I love this website, and I often recommend it to my friends, but when you fug based on the lack of ‘fuggery’ out there that day or week, it bugs me. I’m sure Bai Ling is out in Los Feliz with message band-aids…or something.
Consumptive.
You were right to be firm, Heather. This dress is doing weird things to 1) Her diaphragm (bulging); 2) her waist (broadening); 3) her boobs (smashing) and 4) her neck (elongating).
On first glance I think this looks like one of those beaded thingies you put on a cheap bottle of wine to make it look like an expensive gift. Which isn’t to say I don’t like the dress, really – I like it in theory – I just think it would look better on a bottle shape than an hourglass shape. And perhaps one shouldn’t wear anything that makes one look like a housewarming present.
Do I spy a reference to the movie Heathers, in which strip croquet is played? Fug to the outfit, but well played to you. I love that movie. It’s so very.
It’s not often I look at an outfit and think “I. Don’t. Understand.”
Anyone remember Excalibur? Well, this dress looks like the thing Guinevere wore on her head. Not really a “fashion forward” look. And I agree with the sausage casing comment, especially in regards to her feet (feet stuffed into pointy-toe shoes just scream water retention).
I’m with the “it’s pretty but doesn’t fit well” group.
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I like the shoes.
like the shoes though
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the shoes!
I don’t even get “ice-dancerish horrible” vibes from this. More like “elephant-trainer formalwear”. Note that I am not commenting on Anne’s size–I think she is drop-dead gorgeous. The dress, however, already has dropped dead and then forgot to lie down.
Put the dress on Helen Mirren, add some cleavage, then I love it. But it, along with the shoes, looks so matronly on AH. She literally does look like her own grandmother (or grandmotherly sovereign). As for the hair – now that’s just tragic.
The dress has potential – I like the idea of it. But it needs better fit (maybe on a different shaped bod?), and should be a ballz-ier color. Like a fun burnt orange or something. Blah taupe/gold is blah. Also, a neckline that high should have a hot open back or something. Balance, please?
I think it’s her ode to Nancy Kerrigan’s Vera Wang figure skating outfit. And I think it’s an unflattering photo angle.
This is gorgeous! My only complaints are with her head and feet. Make the blush a hair more subtle and send the hair more completely in either direction–either more brushed and polished or more decidedly down. I like the loose hair with this very crystal-y dress, but this just looks like she’s been running around with her hair in that bun all day. And give the lady some more comfortable shoes! I like the champagne-cream satin heels, but nix the toe cleavage and maybe make the heels a teeny-tiny bit lower.
Scrolling back up to look again… okay, the neckline could be slightly lower without ruining the dress. Someone up there said show some clavicle? Maybe I just have a thing for clavicles, but if this dress had one of those wide, shallow, clavicle-skimming necklines I’d be totally in love with it. (“Clavicle” doesn’t look like a word anymore.)
But why can’t we see Julie Andrews? I ADORE her!!!
That said, the top half is awful, the bottom half is pretty, the whole thing needs to be a different color – and I WANT THOSE SHOES!!!!
Yupp, best lines I’ve read in a blog in a long time. Made my evening
“So yes, this dress is the metaphorical bucket of cold water being tossed on the party that is Anne’s youth. I wish it were an actual bucket of water being thrown on her face, so she could scrub off the doll paint and start over, but we can’t have everything.”
Hell, I think she looks fantastic! Good show!
Very, very bland. I can’t love the dress. Its like a bunch of separate elements I want to love but can’t all together. I keep getting a home dec, window treatment vibe.
I do love those shoes, however. But Helen Mirren or someone like that could pull them off a lot better.
How can I put this nicely…this dress was not made for anyone with breasts. Or pale skin. Ms. Hathaway has both.
And…Hathaway’s transformation into Liza Minnelli is nearly complete.
In every shot I’ve seen of her in this dress, it makes her look 40 pounds heavier than she really is.