BAFTAs Fug Carpet: Vera Farmiga

I’ve got a crisp twenty dollar bill for the first person who can get Vera into color for the Oscars.

Every single major event that’s happened for Up in the Air, she’s worn either black, white, or a very icy gray. She hasn’t looked terrible, but nor has she looked great, hence her general absence from these pages of late. The fact of the matter is that, while a great white dress or a stunning black dress can be incredibly striking, both run the risk of looking BORING or bridal or funereal or awkward combination of the above. Especially when won too often. (There is a reason people think Jennifer Aniston is bland as toast, after all.) And Vera looks fantastic in color. See:

This, too, is obviously super simple. But the color, at least, is a kick — it’s amazing with her coloring. On the other hand, Vera’s BAFTAs dress, while pretty enough, is just TOO SIMILAR to what she’s been wearing for the last three months straight, and I don’t think it’s awesome ENOUGH to overrule that exhausting familiarity. And look, I get sticking with something you like: I own like 30 black shirts and almost always have the same thing for lunch. I feel her. But this is the woman who starred in a movie where SPOILER ALERT FOR ORPHAN WHICH YOU SHOULD RENT the plot turned on a reveal involving a fake orphanage and a sociopathic midget hooker (I’M NOT KIDDING). She’s clearly got some balls. Balls enough for color, anyway.