Lord knows I love this actress, and I LOVE that she wore a dress that nips in at the waist. So many people make the mistake of taking curvier ladies and sticking them in tents, as if they’re campers and not celebrated talents.
But the sleeves here are a real problem for me. See how the fabric doesn’t attach to the rest of the dress? Forget Gwyneth — those are capes. And they almost offend me a little, like she was standing in her dressing room and someone was like, “We need fabric. GET ME A PROFESSIONAL,” but they could only find the Dr. Nick Riviera of sleeve doctors, and nobody cared enough to do it right.
The other awkward thing about this gown is that Sherri Shepherd of The View — which is really the daytime TV version of Bridesmaids, obviously — wore one that’s astoundingly the same.
Except hers is in a great color, and the sleeves attach. (I keep wanting to scream, a la Gilderoy Lockhart in one of the Harry Potter books, “I’ve learned joined-up sleeves!”) But of course, Sherri’s do have vertical slits, like she lost a fight with a letter-opener. Both have good parts, both have issues. But for me, the core issue is that if you look at them both, you’d think Sherri was the nominee and Melissa was the one who has to go sit next to Barbara Walters the next day and try not to stare.
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Comments (89):
Oh wow, I so wish that Melissa (who I adore completely) was in Sherri’s dress.
Me too! That would have been fantastic. Though possibly without the sleeve-slits, but still.
Melissa looked awful. She could have worn a much more flattering dress.
She needs to see Gabourey Sidibe’s stylist, stat. If Sidibe is her own stylist, then McCarthy needs to beg her for tips. Everything McCarthy wears is either too big (like this, and the train is horrible, and wtf capes) or too small (like the sparkly cocktail dress she wore for some event from which photos were in EW about four weeks ago). Sidibe, who is probably similarly hard to fit, almost always shows up in something tailored just right.
Also Dawn French. Dawn French needs to send over some of her old lookbooks to help a sister out.
I pick Melissa simply because I appreciate the fact that she did not serve us up a heaping helping of boob. I hope all the celebs put their lady parts away for a good long time now that awards season is over. Also, thank you for the Dr. Nick reference.
NOOOOOO, both are bad and is that Sherri’s bra?
I agree! Why does her bra show?!?
Yup, the bra should disqualify Sherri immediately.
I’d love Sherri’s dress if it didn’t look like her navy blue bra was exposed. Am I the only one who sees that?
No, you are definitely not the only one who sees it and I’m pretty sure we’re not imagining it. I’m on the record as wanting women to wear bras, but not like that. Bras are supposed to be like the wind—you see what it does, not the thing itself.
Glad someone else noticed it! I definitely agree that women — especially bustier ones — should wear bras, but the designer/ tailor could’ve done a better bra-concealer job than a sheer and gauzy inset. So lazy and ineffective.
Kinda like the lazy designer who responded to Melissa’s “I’d rather cover my arms…” with “Certainly, let’s give them capes.”
Gorgeous color on Sheri! So hard for us big girls to find pretty clothes.
I’m usually a Size 2, but for a period of time in my life I went up to a Size 12 and I swear I had such a hard time finding formal dresses that would fit me and support my DDs! I feel you, girl!
Does it bother anyone else that Sherri looks like she’s just wearing a normal black bra under her dress and it’s showing in the front? I feel like that’s super awkward looking.
Love Melissa in that color!
I was Very Concerned when I saw both of these, and it reminded me (alas) of shopping in the Plus Size Gown area of any store — because in the Regular Sizes, there are a zillion style choices, and then over in the Plus sizes (always put next to Petites, in a Cruel World Irony kind of way) — there are only ever 2 styles, and like these dresses, usually featuring Way More Sparkle than most people want to wear at their waistlines.
Sigh. So close (Octavia! How to dress a body!) and yet, so far. I do think Melissa’s face looks great, but I had higher hopes for her.
exactly. plus sized dresses always with an empire waist sparkly early 2000s attachment. bleck.
And there’s no reason for it! There are a lot of “regular” dresses that would look FABOO on the bigger girls….. why in the world make them dress like they’re 60?
That train is WAY too long for a person of any size
Melissa’s dress color is not working for me. I don’t even know what that color is. Add in the bedazzled waist and neck and it’s just not a good combination. At least her bodice was handy for holding a tiny bottle of vodka.
Sherri’s dress….great color. That’s it.
I call Melissa’s dress color “Champagne” and Sherri’s is “Royal Blue”!
I thought Melissa’s was actually great on TV. She looked awesome on the red carpet. Her hair and make up were great too. I think it’s just the photos that make it look bad. On camera the color was awesome and it was pretty and flowy! And I love her and her (DENIM) husband – they’re so freaking cute!
I agree. I thought the color looked way better on tv (like a sparkly pink champagne). The only thing that really bothers me about her dress are the cape sleeves.
Me, too! I liked this on television and just wanted to cut off the sleeves. The color seemed to really flatter Melissa’s pretty complexion. She looked pretty swell.
Sherri’s dress does nothing for me at all, and I don’t actually think tehy look very much alike.
I would have liked Melissa’s dress if a) it had been in a better color, like a dark green or cranberry red, and b) if the sleeves didn’t just hang like fabric was stapled to her shoulders. If there were some way to give the sleeves better shape, it would improve the dress. But I don’t like Sherri’s sleeves, either, so who knows what would help.
That said, Melissa herself looked very pretty. Beautiful hair, good makeup. I’m sorry to see she whiffed on the dress, even if it was designed by her best friend or something like that.
I think her friend designed the shoes (didn’t ever get to see) and purse, not the dress.
No friend would design that dress.
Brian Atwood is one of her best friends, he did the shoes. (Why am I not besties with Brian Atwood?)
I actually really like Mellisa’s dress. Very elegant, no gratuitous boob, and the color is great on her. She looks like the nominee – no contest. Sherri, on the other hand, looks like she got her dress at a discount Mother-of-the Bride shop. Sherri, you could do much better! Not cute. And hate that color. Way too 1992. Esp. with the matching toenail polish.
Melissa needs to talk to whoever is dressing Octavia Spencer and get some tips on how to dress her curves without drowning in fabric.
I wish the person that dresses octavia spencer would dress melissa mccarthy
The waist detail on Sherri’s dress is cheap looking – looks like a prom dress. And I could REALLY have done without seeing that much cleavage from her.
NEITHER! Sorry, I love me some Sookie St. James, but the dress would’ve been more flattering without the unattached sleeves & in a different color (a deep jewel tone, for example)! One thing in her favor is that her hair, makeup and accessories are great! And, I think Sherri just looks ridiculous… Her BRA is showing, her nailpolish matches the color of her dress and her sleeves are replicas of the “I Dream Of Jennie” costume! FUG!!!
Why didn’t Melissa wear her SAGs dress to the Oscars in another color? It would’ve been perfect & I wouldn’t have cared that it looked the same because that’s the best she’s ever looked!
I actually think the color is the saving grace of Melissa’s dress. Apparently I am one of the few who think so, though.
the color is beautiful with her complexion
Im not a fan of either. Melissa’s sleeves look like a complete after thought – reminds me of how on Project Runway the designer puts the dress on the model and it turns out it is WAY too short so they just slap on a panel of fabric and call it good. This time it was sleeves.
And Sherri’s, yeah Im not feeling any of it. Im not even sold on the color and I love a cobalt blue.
Wow, seeing Melissa’s dress on TV I was a little “meh, it could be better”.
But seeing a full-on frontal view? Oh, Melissa…no! And I say that loving her and SWHAD so very very much.
But more to the point: Who is that other lady behind Sherri in the same color dress and is that a bald spot on her head??
I had the same thought. Poor dear.
I believe it’s Madonna.
Ha! That is totally what Madonna looks like in the back. 2-D like a paper doll. All dolled up in front, flip side is a mess.
OH SNAP
that made me fall off my chair
you rock
I just spat coke at my screen! And really honey, put on a sweater cause we don’t want to see that, boney, saggy, yeach. And brush your hair!
I just LOVED how the E! crew was bashing the look one moment, and then in the next segment Melissa’s stylist was the special guest and they were all full of awkward compliments
I noticed that as well. I was cracking up at the fakeness of it all.
I am a huge fan of Melissa’s look. I can’t logically explain why, but I feel like she totally rocked it.
Me too! I was so suprised to see that no one noticed it. I find her really sexy in this.
WHAT is going on with Sherri’s bra situation? SERIOUSLY?
Sherri’s is hands down the better dress, but I’m totally distracted by how she wore it with what appears to be a visible bra underneath. That’s simply inexcusable at any event where one might wear that dress. I think McCarthy’s dress has a pretty neckline, but it was a little too flowy in the sleeve and skirt.
I love the colour of Melissa’s dress, and love love love the sparkle at the waist and neckline. It should have been sleeveless and shouldn’t have had a seam running down the front of the bottom half. Sherri’s is also a great colour and fits her bottom half perfectly. I hate sleeve slits and visible bras though, so I voted for Melissa. I don’t really see how these dresses are all THAT similar. Not to the degree that it’s awkward anyway.
Both are HIDEOUS. Who decided that putting more fabric over one’s more ample areas was a good idea? NO NO NO NO. Sherri has a large chest, and while the bottom of her dress is tailored beautifully, the extra material on her bosom just draws attention to it (I refuse to even comment on the utilitarian bra hanging out). Melissa always picks dresses with so much fabric that the end result is just not flattering, and end up distracting from her other features. Too much draping, pleating, satin, yeach, you just see MATERIAL!!! She is so lovely, has so much star quality, she deserves to look like a movie star, not a plus-size-formal-department afterthought. Not saying that everyone’s goal should be to look small, but highlight you got (see Spencer, Octavia).
I do not like either of these, although I agree that Melissa would have probably looked better in Sherri’s dress; Sherri is apple-shaped and large-busted, so a dress with heavy upper-body detailing AND a close-fitted bottom is not a great choice. She looks like a fruit on a stick. Melissa’s more hour-glassy, she could probably pull that off.
Melissa’s dress — bleah. Too much cheap chiffon, too much gathering (Paper Bag With A String Around It is NOT “shape”, I’m afraid), and a colour that almost no one can pull off without looking recently revived from the grave. And the ghastly trim at neck and waist looks like tawdry crap slathered onto a stage “princess” costume by an inept designer.
I picked Melissa simply because I love her. It was good enough reason for me!
I hate Sherri’s with a passion – mostly because of the WAY TO OBVIOUS BRA.
Can we just talk about how Sherri’s bra is totally hanging out? I mean, if it was meant to be some kind of “cami” then she totally failed at that. Why wear such an amazing, beautiful dress and then let your bra show thru? Hello! You’re not Carrie Bradshaw! I LOVE Melissa and love that dress, it’s much better than the green tent she wore to the last two award shows but she has come out and said, she does not like to show her arms – unfortuantely, the “floating” sleeves took away from the rest of her beauty last night.
I voted for the bright blue!!! Lovely.
Melissa was such a disappointment for me. I was rooting for her to knock it out of the park. Can someone text her Octavia’s stylist’s number?
I have to give it to Sherri, even with the painfully obvious bra, she still has the dazzling blue color. Melissa’s dress is too bland and shapeless.
While I don’t really love the color of Melissa’s dress, I was happy to see her in something light – she’s worn a lot of dark colors during awards season so that was a nice change.
But the sleeves! Oh, the sleeves. She is very obviously not a fan of showing off her arms, as evidenced by her wearing long sleeves a lot. But the sleeves here are such an afterthought on the dress, I kind of can’t deal with it. She would look so much prettier with just the jeweled halter-type neckline and no sleeves, but it seems to me she wears them almost as a security blanket. .I’m probably about the same size as her, and my feeling on going sleeveless is basically this – why not? No one is going to be surprised to see my chunky arms. I have chunky everything else, so why try to hide the arms? (I know I’m projecting here, but I realized last night that I have pretty strong feelings re: Melissa and her sleeves so I had to get that out)
Gabourey Sidibe shows her arms all the time and she is as cute as Melissa, so why not?
At least Sherry’s dress had a ‘fitted’ bottom … look at Ms Spencer, she is about the same size and shape of both Sherry and Melissa but her dress rocked … the other two .. unflattering
Women with big balconies (like Melissa, and me) should NEVER wear a neckline that gathers so much fabric like that – it makes you look like you’re wearing a double boob-hammock. Sherri’s dress accentuates her shoulders and cleavage, and looks so much better. Melissa’s skirt looks like living room drapes – Sherri’s slim skirt with the flirty train is, again, much prettier and more graceful. HATE to say this, but Sherri wins.
Psh, Melissa looks awesome. She’s flowy and romantic and SPARKLY. If I were going to the Oscars, I’d cover myself head to toe in as much diamond-encrusted whatever as I could get my hands on. And I love that color. Very peaches-and-cream with her complexion. It also makes her boobs look great, and what girl doesn’t love that. Having said that, I want to fix her hair.
Sherri kind of looks matronly.
The rouching/gathering on Melissa’s dress makes her look like she is ALL BOOB. If it was gathered outward like Sherri’s is rather than inward, I would have given Melissa the win. Well, as long as they hacked off that mile long train. Oscars =/= Wedding.
I did not like Melissa’s dress. The entire get-up looks like a hot air balloon (no, I’m not ripping on her figure. I’m talking about the dress and not the glowing person who is in it.).
I think it’s hard to say that Melissa would have looked great in Sherri’s or Octavia’s dress. Sherri is big on top but tiny on the bottom and apparently very bump free (or really working the Spanx.) Melissa is big all over- bust, waist, hips, and booty. A dress that looks great on Octavia or Sherri, one that hugs the curves, may not work on someone who has a large tummy bulge or big thighs. This is why I think Melissa generally goes for the dresses that flow rather than hug.
I love Melissa and wanted to love her dress but my first reaction was there’s just too much going on…the “sleeves”, the boob ruching, the waist sparkles and neck sparkles. Her face and hair looked great, the color was good for her but the dress was a mess!! Too bad she didn’t consult Octavia for the name of her dress maker!
I loved them both, although just one tack on the outside would help the second set of Melissa’s sleeves. I like Sherri’s sleeves, and could imagine that style on Melissa. I’m entirely grateful Sherri WAS wearing a bra at all, but maybe just sew up most of the silly decollete’ instead. Unfortunately, the fish tail train of the blue number ruined it for me.
I’d have preferred Melissa’s dress with no sleeves (& maybe even a halter?) but HOW are we okay with the last-minute modesty panel over Sherri’s boobs?
You can’t really compare the two — although they are both larger than average (on the red carpet, if not in America), they have very different bodies. Sherri has the ginormous boobs, whereas Melissa is also dealing with a large stomach. From what I’ve seen in the last few years, that’s what no one can figure out how to dress. Why they think big women need BIG JEWELED THINGS is beyond me.
How many Spanx is Sherri wearing? AND THE BRA!–Come on…
They both need to get themselves over to Tadashi Shoji. There’s no excuse for this.
Melissa’s dress is doing her no favors at all. This looks like a very fancy gift-bag for a bottle of wine. The non-color is blech, the thing is much too long, and the folds/draping make her look larger than she is.
Both Sherri’s and Melissa’s dresses strike me as “big woman dresses.” Octavia is also a large woman, but she looked awesome last night, and I think it is because her dress could/would be worn by women of any size. These two dresses, however, look like they were specifically made for large women, but not in a good way. I cannot imagine any smaller woman choosing either of these dresses. Kind of like the old maternity wear that made all pregnant women look like little girls (what was that about, anyway?).
Why are these over weight gals accentuating their breasts? The bigger the breasts the heavier you will look… Melissa should have worn a black, one shouldered, slightly cinched at the waist gown . Sherri was able to carry off that color however the breasts were way too big… something in creme or champagne and more subtle, would have worked for her. Who dressed these gals anyway? Time for new stylists!
I’m not sure that looking “less heavy” is desirable for most fat women. Looking less cluttered, for sure.
Obviously these two ladies have wuite different shapes, but Sherri wins for the fantastic colour.
hmph. *quite.
I’m sorry, Sherri. In an anything-off with Melissa McCarthy, Melissa always wins, IMO.
I have her in the lead in this dress-off, not by a country mile … but by at least three bridal-shower puppies.
Melissa needs a better bra, less gathered fabric at the boobs, an actual COLOR… I said it for the last awards show (the Globes?) when she wore a similar style dress, she needs someone to work with her from foundation garments on up. For the record, I’m an H cup with a short torso and I do have a tummy — it’s so painfully hard to find clothes — but hoisting the ladybits in place with a good bra works WONDERS. She’s a beautiful lady, I simply do not understand why stylists can’t take the more curvy girls in hand (Christina Hendricks, looking at you) and ENHANCE what they got! It’s like if you’re not an A cup folks just don’t know what to do.
AMen…. a good bra can make such a difference ( I’m ‘only’ a DD…but a bad bra makes me at least 10 pounds heavier looking)….And don’t even get me started on Spanx…am I the only person over a size 8 who thinks they make me look weirder than not wearing them?
It’s those ruffled things covering her breasts. Surely the designer of this gown could have come up with something better.
I just want to add that Melissa’s gown (with the train) is wearing her; she’s not wearing it.
I think these are both awful. The sparkly yokes and matching Elvis-inspired waist details just remind me of everything available at mall-based chiffon and bead emporiums all across America. I just can’t.
Sherri’s color is nice and her makeup is gorgeous, but poor Melissa is wearing the very color of nausea. This plus the total lack of style of the dress is so unfortunate and worse; it’s unnecessary. I agree with many who think she’d have rocked a dress like Octavia Spencer’s. I can think of so many different ways, she could have looked vibrant and stylish. Next time, she should call Octavia’s stylist or get Tom Ford involved. He might be a lot of things, but he knows how to make a woman look modern and elegant.
I wish Gabourey Sidibe would reach out to Melissa McCarthy and hook her up with her designers.
Maybe without the sleeves and in a different color. But as is, possibly the worst look of the night.
(Melissa’s dress, that is.)