So it’s year end wrap-up time and this time we need to be really frank: 2012 wasn’t exactly a banner year for red carpet dressing. The usual stars–Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton, Zoe Saldana–didn’t make many red carpet appearances, while most of the internet’s favorite wardrobe hits were culled from so-called street style blogs (= models and bloggers dressing in contrived ways for photographers).
Which is to say, this year end wrap-up was hard. It was hard to come up with even 10 memorable red carpet looks. We scrolled through every gallery published on The Gloss this year and tried to narrow down our favorites. On a curve.
This is a long, meandering way of saying: we tried. We’re sure we missed a bunch and we’re probably wrong on some too, so tell us your favorites in the comments.
First off, honorable mention:
Hellen Mirren in black. We’re not too crazy about the dress, but how fucking great did she look at the National Review Awards? Honorable mention for her beauty.
So now begins our list:
Obviously, Tilda Swinton would appear on this list. Though she disappointed us at Cannes, we really admired her gorgeously fitted Haider Ackermann at the Golden Globes.
Maybe it’s just because this one’s fresh in our memory–and we’re still not crazy about the peach pumps–but Kerry Washington (at the AMA’s) should wear yellow all the time. She looks extraordinary (and that’s a great neckline on her too).
One could never accuse us of liking Gwyneth Paltrow too much, but her white Tom Ford Oscars look rightly lands her in the record books. If nothing else, she was the first truly successful Academy Awards cape.
Jessica Chastain was no slouch at the Oscars, either, in dramatic black and gold Alexander McQueen.
