As much as I *liked* a lot of the dresses worn by the ladies, there wasn't anything that totally wowed me. And normally this would make me sad - but it IS about the men on this one night, so I actually think it's a great thing. Most stayed classy and understated.... most.
Enter Hayley Bracken.
Oh dear lord, who thought this was a good idea?? It just screams 'look-at-me-pageant-queen'. Which is quite ironic, since she apparently plans to wear this 'self-designed' (uh oh) gown at the Miss World Australia AND the Miss Globe Australia pageants. WHY would you debut such a memorable dress BEFORE the pageants?? And WHY wear the same memorable dress to TWO?? Clearly she's also trialling the bigger-than-Texas hair and OTT cheesy grin.
Have some style, girl. You're meant to be supporting your successful husband, not putting your own goodies out on display. I will go on record to say that I DO NOT like this sort of upstaging AT ALL.
One of my most hated upstagers from last year's event was Jessica Bratich, who wore a gown that *oops* revealed her underwear. She of course claimed that it wasn't meant to happen... but yet she wore coloured underwear... if you want to hide your underwear you wear nude colours, don't you?? Anyway, look at what 12 months and an engagement ring can do:
Ahh... that's better. Although not great - the dense sparkles make it look like her boobs look tiny and out of proportion. I think if that panel was slightly larger, or maybe the crystals weren't quite so dense it would have been more flattering. But in general a massive leap forward. Loving the hair clip as well - such a wearable look, and an easy way to dress up hair for a special night out.
Other notable mentions for me include:
What's a cricket event without Lara Bingle? Love the white Michelle Jank dress, but it's the straight from the runway Chanel fake tattoos that really set the outfit on fire. She's also showing off some sexy skin, yet remaining classy and demure. Nice work. A simple bronze smoky eye and golden cheeks set the dress off nicely (too dark and it would have bordered on vampy), and a simple bun pulls focus to the face and keeps the look understated. Hayley Bracken - take note.
Lee Furlong, I just love you. This subscribes to the Lara Bingle 'understated class' theory of dressing, and I think it works just as well. Keeping the neckline high but with a plunging back gives the audience an unexpected treat, and the messy low bun highlights this feature. Makeup is classy and sophisticated. High fives all round.
Rhianna Ponting is one I normally don't look at, but this silhouette at the back is just divine. The angles just make it geometrically sexy. I imagine there will be some brides copying this look - after all, when you're walking down an aisle everyone's looking at your rear view. Why not make it spectacular!
Now it wasn't all black and white - here are my favourites:
Amy Hussey was a bright spark in this great turquoise dress and sparkly chandelier earrings and clutch. Katrina Quaine is a face I'm not familiar with, but her soft rainbow dress will make me look for her again. The side pony is great, but the eyeshadow seems to be a little too frosty for my tastes - but I'll forgive her for that.
All in all, it was a great night, with a lot of the ladies hitting the mark. Hopefully they are starting to realise that an awards ceremony is not their chance to get noticed by Zoo Magazine.
Did you have any favourites?
BC xx
