Tag Archives: TCA Summer 2017

Out of the Box: Look of the Week

11 Aug

Florals are here to stay — much to my delight — and this is the final week of the summer TCA press tour, which means more panel attire and some fancy awards threads. TCA is not the only celebration this week as there is also Black Girls Rock! and Variety’s ‘Power of Young Hollywood’ event.

Plus the excellent magazine covers continue. It is September (in magazine terms) after all.

Unrelated, but check out my interview with Defenders costume designer Stephanie Maslansky here.At the American Horror Story: Cult panel, Sarah Paulson looks stunning in a watercolor adjacent lace Monique Lhuillier frock (as always tipping my hat to Karla Welch) and I’m happy to kick off this week’s “Out of the Box” with something this bold.

As always I am intrigued by the new season of AHS, but I tend to lose interest halfway through a season and the only one I have made it to the end of was Coven. And that isn’t even the best one. So there is a high chance this will happen once again. But the cast is always very good and I am here for all the promotional time with Sarah Paulson. One of my best makeup purchases last year came courtesy of Aya Cash (also at TCA) and once again Cash is the lipstick queen of TCA. Yes I have shamelessly asked her on Instagram what shade it is (as she is sadly no longer on Twitter).

This Christine Alcalay top is also another fabulous take on the floral trend and I cannot wait for You’re the Worst to come back. Even if that season 3 ender was a full on heartbreak.Sterling K. Brown is a man of many talents — and surprise cameos — and at the TCA Awards he sang For Good” from Wicked with former Wicked star and host of the TCA Awards, Kristin Chenoweth. So many swoons. Also a great sparkly mini frock from Chenoweth.

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Not quite the usual hotel corridor pose from Elisabeth Moss, but just as fabulous pre-TCA Awards and another amazing Vampire’s Wife pick from Karla Welch. This color is stunning.Issa Rae was honored at Black Girls Rock – airing on Tuesday, August 22 on BET — and I am digging this whole ’70s vibe. Oh hey, Jay Ellis. Loving the choice of pants/jacket.

The video for Jay-Z’s “Moonlight” — directed by Master of None’s Alan Yang — is now available for non-TIDAL subscribers to watch, so that portion of pop culture FOMO is over and it is just as good (if not better) than the clips suggested it would be. Yara Shahidi once again proving she is a Magical Fashion Unicorn in a very hard to pull off Philosophy peplum floral jumpsuit at the ‘Power of Young Hollywood’ Variety celebration.If you know how I feel about ’70s styling — strongly positive — you will not be surprised to hear that I yelped with joy when I first saw this Zendaya cover for Variety, which leans hard into the whole disco vibe.

As with her recent Vogue profile, I read most of it pretty much nodding along and saying “fuck yeah” out loud. She’s great and I’m so glad she continues to get a large platform to speak out to fans both old and new.

She articulates why her Spider-Man character was so interesting and I hope this continues in the second movie “It was nice to play a character who wasn’t a damsel in distress but actually very smart, quirky, different and outspoken.” And on her fashion line she notes the importance of not having specific plus size sections “I don’t think thicker, curvier women should have to shop on a different section on my page or feel excluded.” Zendaya is the best and a solid choice from Variety for their ‘Power of Young Hollywood’ issue. Donald Glover wasn’t there to pick up the Atlanta TCA Award on Saturday as he is still shooting the new Han Solo movie, but it is clear he is having a very good year. And as this Hollywood Reporter cover notes he is quite the multi-hyphenate. A good use of millennial pink, aviators and the Gucci tiger collar here and inside the issue.

In the piece Glover discusses the success of Atlanta — which I’m gonna do a rewatch of soon —and what it is like starring in an iconic franchise as the younger version of an iconic character (and some of the behind the scenes bumps that have occurred). There’s some great additional quotes from Tina Fey, Dan Harmon and his brother Stephen (who is also a writer on Atlanta) and the whole profile is a fascinating insight into Glover’s process while also remaining enigmatic when it comes to his personal life.The September issue of Nylon used to be their TV special and there is still that element, but I’m not gonna be too mad about the lack of TV star cover when forever fave Kirsten Dunst is here. And she is wearing the same amazing polka dot Alessandra Rich number — minus the black belt — that Beguiled co-star Nicole Kidman wore to the Veuve Clicquot Polo event.

I haven’t bought Nylon in ages, but I will definitely pick up this issue as both the shoot and interview are great. This profile is written by one of my favorite culture writers, Molly Lambert and while this piece is about Woodshock, it also acts as a great career retrospective of an actress who has been around for what feels like forever and has done a number of very different projects. Plus what she looks for now as “A lot of the choices I make are director-driven. I’d rather do a tiny little whatever in a good film.”

Out of the Box: Look of the Week

4 Aug

A very busy style week, which is why there is a separate TCA sartorial catch-up here. Although, as it is still in full flow there is more TCA below. Plus premieres and some September issue offerings that not only give great photos, but also deliver on the interview front.At the Defenders premiere Mike Colter looks suave af in custom Michael Andrews Bespoke – they also do a lot of the menswear tailoring on The Defenders – and this is how you wear a three-piece suit.

I’m very late to Luke Cage (I’m about halfway through the season) and am thoroughly enjoying Mike Colter in his mix of henleys and hoodies with the occasional suit. I don’t tend to love a cut out, but Krysten Ritter looking hot as hell in siren red Julien Macdonald. She stands out on her own and in the group shots with the guys. Love that she’s not toning it down on the lipstick front either.

Thankfully I am not left wondering what brand/shade it is because Ritter’s makeup artist, Nick Barose shares the Lancôme details on Instagram.Elisabeth Moss has gone all in on patterns while promoting Top of the Lake and super stylist Karla Welch is all about floral Kate Spade at the moment (see also America Ferrera below). And they are working like a charm.
Regular readers will know how much I obsess over yellow, so of course I am head over heels for Aja Naomi King’s Reformation frock that she wore to the HFPA Annual Grants Banquet. A strong week for strong lipstick.Also at the HFPA Annual Grants Banquet is Zoe Lister-Jones in a ’70s inspired Longchamp pattern dream that would look great in my closet. Lister-Jones also keeps with the lip color theme.  So much happiness in this photo of Rachel Bloom and Albert Tsai at the CBS TCA Summer Soiree. Also sadness because I miss Bert and Trophy Wife. Bloom is also wearing an ideal patterned frock for this event.As I mentioned yesterday, Louboutin red soles are perfect for TCA panels because you’re gonna see the flash of red. The same applies to striped socks for guys as Sterling K. Brown expertly shows at the This is Us session. Also, oh hey Sterling K. Brown. Looking good.America Ferrera gives great floral frock at the NBC TCA day, in a poppy covered Kate Spade and I am so here for this sleeve length. There’s a couple of looks this week that point to the changing season (yes I know it is still August, but fashion is very much thinking fall right now).September issues are being rolled out and magazines are gifting us this week with some amazing interviews/editorials. This really is my favorite time of year.

One of the best comes from Town & Country with Billie Lourd as the cover star. Lourd is about to star in the new American Horror Story and original Ryan Murphy muse Sarah Paulson is the one who conducts the interview. Murphy is not the main link between these women as Lourd’s mother Carrie Fisher, took Paulson under her wing when Billie Lourd was just 10-years old. The interview is funny, sad and insightful delivering a look into what it is like to grow up with such an iconic mother and grandmother. Plus dealing with the heartbreak of losing both women within a couple of days of each other.

It is very much worth your time and the accompanying shoot is just as fabulous. Paisley frocks and ladysuits; my ideal combination.Aziz Ansari is a stylish guy so it makes a lot of sense for him to appear on the cover of GQ Style and go to Paris Fashion Week as part of the profile. The interview itself covers everything from creative process to Ansari unplugging completely from the internet, which made me think of the Parks and Rec episode where Tom is banned from looking at screens. But a voluntary version. It goes to some very personal places and I do like an interview that doubles as an almost therapy session.

The clothes are a lot of fun and considering how much I liked the coats on season 2 of Master of None it was impossible not to pick this mustard yellow dream.Jenny Slate always gives great interviews even when she is trying to be a little more guarded than in the past as you can see in this Marie Claire profile while Slate discusses Landline (I spoke to costume designer Elisabeth Vastola about the project here).

One of my favorite profiles from this year is this Slate’s unfiltered interview with Vulture and this is something Slate brings up in terms of when only a few soundbites from a long convo spread far and wide across entertainment/gossip sites:

“It seems so naïve: You’re just talking to a nice person, and you have a really honest, beautiful conversation, and she writes about it in an honest, beautiful way. But then, it goes through all these other outlets and gets distilled. And then it can be made to seem like you were being cheap.…I didn’t mean to do that. Especially not with an experience that was so precious to me.”

Also these matching REDValentino stripe shirt and shorts are fantastic.

Prints, Jumpsuits and Red Dancing Lady Dresses at Summer TCA

3 Aug

The Television Critics’ Association 2017 Summer press tour is currently in its second week and to stop “Out of the Box” from being super long, I’ve decided to do a separate post dedicated to the panel attire that has caught my attention.

One key thing when picking out an outfit for TCA is how it will look sitting down because that’s what you’re gonna be doing and most of the pictures will be from this angle. Occasionally there will be the entrance, arrival or party shots, but the only guarantee is that sitting down one.

Also you don’t want to be going too formal; think perfect daytime attire such as fancy office or even something that would be wedding guest appropriate. There aren’t strict rules for these kinds of events and there is plenty of scope for getting it right. As you will see from looks below.Outlander is back next month (!) with Jamie and Claire separated by time and at the panel they revealed when you can expect to see them reunited. Caitriona Balfe chose my favorite kind of look for TCA – see also here – in a fabulous print. This Marni frock looks great sitting down and a bold pattern is always a winner.Balfe’s onscreen Outlander daughter Sophie Skelton also went the print route and one issue with the whole sitting down panel wear is that it can be the ultimate tease; sometimes we only get a glimpse. But this is where Instagram comes in.

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Because we get behind the scenes swishy shots like this one and it turns out what I thought was a blouse and skirt is actually this dress by Maje. Instagram really has made hunting down pieces of clothing/make-up that much easier.
Confession; I have never seen Everwood so the big reunion panel didn’t have the same emotional effect on me, but I do appreciate a cast that likes each other this much. And Emily VanCamp’s pajama-adjacent floral jacket paired with skinny jeans and heels gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from me.Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Vella Lovell gives great jumpsuit in this bold green number and yet I still haven’t acquired my first jumpsuit. Still a 2017 style goal.

I fell down a Crazy Ex-Girlfriend song hole on YouTube a couple of weeks ago and it was wonderful and after reading the panel highlights I am now even more excited for season 3. It feels like Sonequa Martin-Green is giving me that look because she knows I’m gonna moan about the color of her shoes, which I was going to. But also red Louboutin soles are great for sitting down shots because generally you will see that flash of color.

Also that floral dress is delightful and I would love to know what shade/brand of lipstick she is wearing.
Speaking of red soles and Hayley Atwell demonstrates my point perfectly at the Starz panel for the Howard’s End miniseries. A co-production with the BBC and this cast is fabulous; I will follow Atwell wherever she goes and Matthew Macfadyen and Tracey Ullman definitely make this an enticing project.

There is of course another very famous version of Howard’s End and while I’m not a huge Merchant Ivory fan it will be interesting to see if the mini-series can step out of shadow of the 1992 Oscar winning film. Girlfriend Experience co-creator Amy Seimetz shows how a bold color pump can brighten up any outfit and I’m very into the whole shirt buttoned all the way up thing at the moment. And of course ladysuits.First of all I think this shot is pretty funny in that it looks like Ioan Gruffudd and Joanne Froggatt are being proclaimed as liars.

This is of course the name of their new Sundance show and I also love that Froggatt’s red Johanna Ortiz frock is giving off serious dancing lady emoji vibes. Gruffudd scrubs up very well and his beard game is strong. Also I miss his show where he couldn’t die. That was fun.The women of Top of the Lake: China Girl did not coordinate as well Nicole Kidman’s other co-stars from The Beguiled and this covers the spectrum of panel attire with Elisabeth Moss leaning into pattern delights in Camilla and Marc, Gwendoline Christie wearing menswear inspired cool, Nicole Kidman doing her usual ruffled frock thing and Alice Englert leaning maybe a little too casual.

For more summer TCA style head here and come back tomorrow for another bumper “Out of the Box.”

Out of the Box: Look of the Week

28 Jul

Comic-Con is done for another year, but it sure did deliver sartorially. Particularly in the area of a personal fave of mine; the ladysuit. Well, we have more menswear inspired tailoring from both premieres and photoshoots.

Plus Summer TCA is here, which means more panel attire. Ladysuit meets Cersei Lannister embellishments for Cara Delevingne, wearing custom Burberry at the London Valerian and The City Of A Thousand Planets premiere. Digging the pixie cut/headband combo and this is a great look for this movie. Seeing double Marc Jacobs at the Ingrid Goes West premiere and a coordinated Aubrey Plaza and Elisabeth Olsen. Love the playful twist with the almost-matching dresses – gold for Plaza, silver for Olsen – and how this nods to the plot of the movie they are promoting. One of the new shows I am most anticipating is David Simon’s The Deuce – because Maggie Gyllenhaal and those costumes – and at the HBO summer TCA session Gyllenhaal brought her lipstick and windowpane check jumpsuit A game. Also at the HBO session, Sonja Sohn discussed Baltimore Rising, the new documentary she directed; detailing the manner in which the media sensationalized the protests that took place after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. Sohn is probably best known for her role in The Wire as Kima Greggs and on Sohn making this documentary, Wire creator David Simon said ““She’s come to love the city as if she was born there and she has documented something that’s very important.”

On reasons for making this documentary and why it is so important Sohn explained:

“The people of Baltimore are actually engaging in a much more sophisticated conversation than I was hearing or at least that the media was covering in other cities. So at that point, it was simply my love for the community, my love for justice and my mission… and I feel like my purpose is to make the world a better place and to fight for justice and truth and freedom.”

I’m currently catching up on Luke Cage and while it is only a fraction of the show, I’m really enjoying the interplay between Sohn’s Captain Betty Audrey and Simone Missick’s Misty Knight. At the panel Sohn’s got the ideal Summer TCA frock; a colorful maxi dress and sandals.September is always a busy TV month and Broad City is joining the fall TV fray with season 4 premiering Wednesday, September 13. At their TCA panel Abbi and Ilana discussed how the current political climate has impacted the show with Ilana explaining:

“It’s not just casual, and if you’re going to talk about it, you have to clearly state your beliefs and where you stand ethically or politically. So our message is heightened and crystallized this year after our hiatus.”

In terms of panel outfits these are both ensembles I would very much like in my closet.At the TNT panel for Claws on Thursday, Nasim Pedrad shows that you can never go wrong with a floral dress at one of these things.Bookending “Out of the Box” with ladysuits brings me so much joy, as does the new season of Insecure. The Cut’s profile of Yvonne Orji delivers on the photo and interview front and Allison P. Davis gives great insight into what the vibe of the Insecure set is like.

They discuss Orji’s stand-up career, religion and she points to something important about her character on Insecure, “Molly is not perfect and we allow her to be not perfect.” I’m really looking forward to seeing where things are headed for Molly and for a good look at the costume upgrades in season 2 head here.

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