lea michele: love it or leave it?

There are certain Hollywood actresses that stand out from the crowd. Ones that know when exactly when (and how) to take a fashion risk. For the most part, Lea Michele falls into that category. Time and time again, her red carpet style has left me in awe. She loves to play with colour, shape, and texture. Most of the time? She looks stunning. But there is the odd time when her fashion risk fails to pay off. The picture above is of Lea at the recent Hollywood Beauty Award ceremony. It has certainly been a polarizing look, so.....love it or leave it?

What I Love: This outfit is such a hit and miss for me. There are certain elements that work and others that completely miss the mark. To start with, let's focus on the positive aspects of this outfit. I am loving her hairstyle (it is simple but sleek and doesn't overpower this bold dress) and makeup (that shade of red looks perfect on her). I also am a big fan of the neckline (it is interesting, unique, and head turning) and the print of the dress (it's a little bit 90s but still has a sophisticated finish). Certainly quite a few loves here!

What I Loathe: Now for the things that I did not love. Unfortunately, there are a number of aspects that I don't feel were successful. While I love the neckline of this dress, the slouchy sleeves were a miss, as was the length of the dress, and that high cut slit up the side. Why? All of those different elements put together created a dress that was all over the place. There were too many design elements screaming for attention! If the slit up the side was removed....this would have looked so much better. The removal of just one of those details would have made a huge difference. Other no-no's included the nail colour (I love it in general but it goes a little too vampy when you have a deep red lipstick and a dark dress) and those strappy shoes (the straps looked way too busy when the dress itself was already very busy). Overall, it was just way too much look going on!

While I love Lea Michele and think she has great red carpet style....this look scores a leave it from me. There were simply too many design elements fighting for attention.

Something I do adore? The makeup look that I created using the Too Faced Power of Makeup palette. Take a look at my latest YouTube video and let me know what you think of it.


What do you think? Love it or leave it?

xo Shannon