There’s the old Sally Field chestnut “You like me! You really like me!”, and then there’s the version I think is going through Christina Hendricks’ head: “You… like me? You really LIKE me?”
But seriously, the lady won an Elle fashion award — an actual thing with words on it that she can keep in her powder room — for being the most stylish TV star, and having just snapped like a cheap swizzle stick at her BAFTAs disaster, it’s safe to say I think her résumé in this regard is underwhelming. That said, let’s discuss this: After I initially ran around Jessica’s hotel room turning over tables and throwing lamps against the wall, because I think this makes her look incredibly broad around the shoulder region, I have since calmed down — and scrolled down — and now cooler heads are in place. The pattern is bold. I like her hair. The shoes seem right with it, and the belt nipping her at the waist reminds us all of those classic Joan Holloway Harris curves. While I think a scoop or a light v-neck might’ve made this a knockout, in the end my knee-jerk tantrum may have been for naught. Although I may have burned off that glass of port I guzzled after dinner, so that’s something.
Loading ...Now let’s check out the OTHER red-haired winner who wore a print:
I appreciate that Florence is branching out from translucent muumuus, but I’m not sure branching into shoes that only cover two of her toes is quite the best direction. Much like with Hendricks, I do enjoy and appreciate the bravery of the pattern, which is a bit gentler than Christina’s; however, I think her signature hair is weighing it down a little. A loose bun or somesuch might’ve helped, no? Or is that too much change for one outing?
Loading ...[Photos: Getty]
Comments (59):
Oh man, Christina Hendricks. I feel like she always “kind of, sort of, almost, maybe with a few tweaks” gets it right.
I think the real problem is that she doesn’t have a stylist at all? Or her stylist is incompetent? In any case, I find it really frustrating, since she’s a total knockout, but…there (almost) always seems to be something wrong.
Yeah, I think if the skirt were cut a little slimmer, it would create a nice line with the poofy shoulder, which I do like. That and maybe pulling her hair up so you can really see the details would make this work.
Darn you, I was expecting Florence Henderson!
Now there’s a lady that can rock a print.
I think Rihanna was wearing that same funky toe-cap style of shoes as Florence in her recent Well Played….
Also noticed that. They could grow on me.
I don’t know. I think your toes would tend to pop out as you walked, which would be both dangerous and unattractive.
Yeah, Rhianna was wearing a version of them. Hideous on her as well. And from a distance, the black squiggly design on Christina’s chest looks like a cross between Trollface and Forever Alone.
I unabashed love this on her. It’s pretty. It fits and shows how fit she is. The pattern is bold without being ostentatious or overly cute. Love the purple with her red hair. The dark teal shoes are a perfect selection to bring out the teal in the dress Nothing wrong with this in my book.
I agree Tony G! She’s gorgeous. and I think when you’re that curvy on top, high necks often make you look bigger than you are, but I actually think the high-neck works on this dress, and makes her chest look smaller.
Oops…unabashed-LY
I have a theory – I don’t think that women as blessed as she is in the breastal region should wear shoulder pads or puffy sleeves unless:
1. They are in a suit, accompanied by a nice deep V-neck blouse under the tailored jacket, so that the waist is super nipped in
2. They want to look like a linebacker, in which case vive la poof!
On the other hand, I forgot to say that I do love this color and print on her – she really is stunningly beautiful.
Preach, Casey: I too am Hendricksy in the chestal areas, and I canNOT wear a shoulder pad or puffy sleeve. She does look …better…but the colors are too harsh on her. Love the shoes, though, so yay! with notes.
I share the resemblance, and I would love to get my hands on her wardrobe and make her look as wonderful as I know she can. She can wear shoulder pads, but not THOSE shoulder pads. Those are leg-o-mutton sleeve adjacent — she needs shoulder pads that don’t push out the line of her shoulder past the outside line of her sleeve.
The main thing is that she needs to simplify. She needs beautifully cut simple lines in great colors. That dress is way too fussy. The fabric is gorgeous, but for someone else. On Christina, the large motif (at least on my monitor) looks bigger than her head, which makes her head look small and the rest of her look big. The top looks tight, and it may not be; it’s just too much. Women with large breasts look better, or at least not so voluminous, when they don’t sheathe their top section with an unbroken swath of fabric. She needs V necks. Scoop necks. Narrow belts. Diagonal lines. Call me, Christina; we could have a blast picking out things that make you look fantastic!
Her hair, makeup, and shoes are all outstanding.
I had a dress almost identical to the one Christina is wearing…
in the 80′s!
Shoulder pads (I assume)? Silk dress? Noooo! Get thee a stylist woman!
Yup – in 1985 I wore this dress’s older sister, or possibly its maiden aunt. Looking at it, I feel an overwhelming urge to get a spiral perm and gel my bangs into little spider legs.
I just guffawed aloud!!! Kroozle – too funny! complete agreement…but the 80s is a theme we are seeing lately no? I’ve noticed a lot of Dynasty-esque dresses this awards season….
Christina is a goddess but why doesn’t she get an awesome stylist?’ This is better as her boobs aren’t bursting out for once but a nice purple figure hugging yet classy outfit without a Turkish boudoir like ‘carpet’ design would have been so much better. Did her portrayal of Joan in Mad Men win the plaudit? As Joan she is stylishly dressed…
I thought she was holding a book (that’s what I get for skimming the description… yes, please flog me for my indiscretion) and thought “wow, she matched her dress to the book cover!”
Come to think of it, that might make me like this dress better.
Haha, I ALSO thought she was holding a book and wondered how she got to match perfectly. Oh, what too little sleep will do to a person…
I actually (mostly) like the dress, though. Not a fan of the shoulder pads, but this is a solid B, and for someone that generally scores a D-, well…
I thought this exact same thing & was trying to work it out!
Ugh. Hate,hate, hate the floral pattern trend. Both of them appear to have created dresses from the upholstery on Granny’s old sofa. Everyone seems to be going so ape over floral and I geniunely loathe it.
That said,the shape of Christina’s is a bit off, somehow. Florence’s is better but still floral so, nope.
I completely agree. They both look like old couches. Also, I really hate their shoes.
I absolutely agree. I hate floral patterns and to me they can never be redeemed. They look like cheap JCP dresses and I just can’t stand them. Oh, and those shoes that only cover a couple of toes look hideous and so very uncomfy.
I have had it with Christina. She has SO MUCH POTENTIAL to KILL IT in HOT CLOTHES that accentuate her HOTNESS yet she REFUSES! A redhead in purple should be shutting it the eff down. She just looks sad.
Florence looks only okay. I like the dress, hate the shoes and the hair.
Guys, I think it’s time. I think we have to finally abandon the hope that Christina Hendricks will ever wear anything remotely flattering.
Florence’s dress is gorgeous I just wish she had worn less matching shoes and gone with thin strapped sandals in a pale or jewel green.
Is this a Bizarro World Episode? Up is down, black is white, Britney Spears is Swinton, and Christina Hendricks is “MOST WELL DRESSED”??? I hope this is just so Lois Lane can marry Superman for Valentine’s Day.
I thought they were saying she was The Best Dressed On TV and were rewarding her character on Mad Men and not actually her.
Turns out no, they genuinely believe she wears nice things.
I really, really just want Sofia V. to send her stylist to Christina’s house. Or perhaps just go over there. And then film that. And then come over to my house, too. She is SO PRETTY. It hurts my heart.
I had no idea that was an award – I simply assumed Ms. Hendricks had coordinated her outfit with the book being launched.
I just watched 9 to 5 this weekend and I’m pretty sure Jane Fonda wore Christina’s dress in a more muted pattern. If you look like 9 tp 5 Jane Fonda….just say no. Although, maybe she’s trying to get cast in the movie-that-became-a-musical-that-will-probably-be-turned-into-a-movie/musical version of 9 to 5? Although, she should really be angling for the Dolly part, in which case, say yes to Springalators and no to Busy Prints.
LOL, I can picture exactly what you’re talking about with Jane in 9-5. See, for example, second pic from top here: http://janefonda.com/nine-to-five/
Really, Christina needs to INVEST seriously in, what do you call them, s corister? Or brassier specialist? And find bras that really give her much better control of her breasts and torso. Then she gets a very talented stylist and tailor. And she’s there. But I may be wrong and she needs to think more about what she wants to do with her body. Does she really want her breasts to dominate every look she tries? Even with breasts like hers, it’s possible to do other things to do–not hide them, but work with them.
Ha! I watched 9 to 5 this past weekend, too. During the show, I was thinking, wow, I really hope these fashions are not revived! Although Lily Tomlin’s outfits weren’t too bad, Jane Fonda’s were AWFUL (the awfulness surpassed only by the size of her glasses and headsuit) and I couldn’t stop looking at Dolly’s pointy boobs under those skin-tight dresses.
But I digress.
The COLOUR of Christina’s dress is lovely. The print and its inappropriate shininess… the poofy sleeves… the high neckline… have all landed on her from the World of No.
I hate what Florence Welch wears, but it’s her thing, and it’s pretty consistent. I’m just not that into the Elfin Hippie Fashion Queen thing, and she always looks as though she probably carries a faint smell of Nag Champa and mildew.
Is the fashion award she won the “Celebrity Who Consistently Makes Us Feel Better About The Way We Dress On A Much Smaller Budget”?
The print looks like several photoshop filters gone bad, horrible bad.
Chesty lady signing in to say high necks and big shoulders cause a Pavlovian cringe response in me. THEY MAKE YOU THINK THEY ARE BUT THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIEND. But in any case they both have expressions that make me believe they also were thinking twice about those outfits.
hendricks here looks like my mom, c. 1985. or like working girl and baby boom had an actual baby that grew up, got drunk, slept through the alarm clock, and got dressed for a board meeting in the dark.
and florence’s feet look like they’ve been doin time in a honky tonk prison.
I don’t hate CH’s dress. I like the colors on her…it’s not black and her jugs aren’t competing with her face…baby steps?
Oh, god. This is just going to encourage her [CH], I fear.
How do these two win style awards??? Elle must not read this blog.
I like Florenc’s dress a lot. The shoes are terrible. And as for Christina, AT LEAST SHE PUT THE GIRLS AWAY FOR ONCE. Sometimes I feel practically assaulted by her photos.
(OMG, how funny would it be if Kim K and her boobs were leaning over chatting Grammys with Christina and her boobs, instead of Britney?)
Guys, look at the C-Hends’ face – even SHE doesn’t think she deserves this award.
I like the color of the dress, but would have stuck with just purple and done entirely without the puffed sleeves.
Too many toes hanging out of those shoes! I mean, how uncomfortable do those shoes look, eh?
I love a print, but I can’t get on board with either of these. For a start, they both need to be cut lower around the neckline so they aren’t so overwhelming. Florence really needs to re-think that hair too, the cut is too severe for her.
More problematic is their FEET! Florence’s are about to pop out of her shoes while Christina seems to have an ankle bone trying to escape. What?
The Elle Style Awards are a total farce – they pretty much find an award to give to any Hollywood celebrity who happens to be in town. Some of the past winners are hilariously badly-dressed, but none more so than Christina Hendricks, who seems to look like a total mess virtually every time she leaves the house.
The shoulders should be toned down a bit, but I actually rather liked the dress on Hendericks. Beautiful color and pattern. I also really like her choice of shoes.
Now for Florence, I’d say ditch the shoes and redo the hair. She has very strong features, so I think the bangs just sort of overwhelm her. Otherwise, I like the dress.
I love Christina’s dress, shoes, hair & makeup… FAB!!! I like Florence’s dress & makeup, but I’d like it better with silver stilettos and livelier hair! They both look BEAUTIFUL!
Woah Cristina’s just screams 80′s & I was barely there! The shape is awful & so is the pattern!! Florence has potential but fix the shoes & hair – she needs a really flattering hair cut, her features are very severe
On both: nice prints, bad shoulders.
Christina’s dress could be a vintage secretary outfit from 1982, right down to the print. But the colours are great on her. Those puffy sleeves are an example of what not to wear, ever; and that high mock turtle collar makes her whole body look squat. It’s a shame because she just looks so good in what Janie Bryant gives her to wear. I get that she’s afraid she’ll be typecast as Joan until she’s dead, but tailored, beautifully coloured clothing that flatters her doesn’t have to be limited to Mad Men’s time line. Items like that can be found anywhere, and lots of women with bodies bigger and more problematic to clothe than Christina’s have managed to find them.
And Florence could probably wear absolutely anything and look great, but she is choosing to wear stuff that covers her up and makes her look boxy. She looks extremely covered up. I wish she’d change her hair—it’s closing in on her face so that she looks like Steve Coogan in drag.
I was going to reply but ChaChaHeels said it all for me. (Except that I hate that dress on Hendricks a bit more than that.)
While I like the cut of this dress much better on Christina, I am still not happy with the neckline or the colour or the pattern. Nor her shoes. They look like she’s worn them everyday for the past year. Florence’s dress is simply fug fug fug.
The purple looks good with her hair. The green shoes are delicious. The Vikings need their shoulders pads back, though.
I strongly recommend Ms Hendricks to get an sylist who doesn’t hate or envy her… I agree with GFY that THERE ARE great dresses for her shape, which by the way it is not unique in Hollywood. Florence Welch is a beautiful young lady, which can be corroborated via candids; and IDK how she manages to look like a badly styled tranny each time she’s photographed at events.
I’m just glad that for once we don’t have to talk about her huge fucking boobs and how ridiculously large they look in whatever contraption she wore that “wasn’t holding them up properly” (which is almost always the case).
I have huge boobs and I manage not to look like she normally does without having to wear scary poofy sleeves. While this is an improvement from her normal “Tits McGee” routine, she could do better. There are high notes, but I expect more.