The 2018 Grammy Awards: Red Carpet Review

The Grammys are always a lot of fun to review fashions for, because there's guaranteed to be some really crazy, off-the-wall looks. And there were of few of those this year, but for the most part, I felt like I'd seen everything before. So much so, in fact, that my red carpet review is a comparison of some of the 2018 Grammy dresses with other looks that have appeared on past red carpets.

Andra Day wore a lilac jacket dress with red satin lapels, pocket flaps, and buttons, with a deep decollete and high slit. The color combination was striking, but Jessie J wore exactly the same dress in solid black to the GQ awards way back in 2012. I have to admit, I like Day's look better, but it's certainly not a new look.

 

Military-style 6-button jacket with square shoulders, check. Cropped, pleated pants, check. Sexy bustier, check. Ridiculously high stilettos, check. Anna Kendrick has a bit of 80s vintage feel with her wider-leg trousers and Madonna-esque lace corset, and that, combined with the pretty pink shoes, gives her the edge over Alessia Cara's starker, edgier look from the 2017 American Music Awards.

Ashley Joi wore a fitted black and metallic gold criss-cross-patterned gown with long sleeves and a flared-from-the-knee skirt - very similar to the gown Christina Hendricks wore to the Emmys in 2015. Although I love both looks, I think that Hendricks' softer shoulders, lower neckline, and short train give a slightly more feminine and flattering silhouette.

  

Floral pantsuits were the order of the day for both Ava Max and Cyndi Lauper at the Grammys this year, and for Laura Whitmore at the 2016 Animal Hero Awards in the UK. Although I loved the retro 70s cut of Max's pants, the yellow and bright pink combination was jarring, and I didn't love the naked look of the open jacket over the flesh-colored corset. I liked Whitmore's softer print, more skimming fit, and casual rolled-up sleeves exposing the dark lining. But Lauper's soft print with just a hint of sheen, more variety of color, and gorgeous tailoring, along with bonus points for her picture-perfect makeup and the adorably color-coordinated streaks in her hair, all push her ahead for the hands-down win. 

 

It's a rare red carpet event where you don't spot at least one red satin column. Camila Cabello wore one to the Grammys that was similar in silhouette and neckline to Emma Roberts' gown at the 2017 Met Gala. Although I loved the train and bodice details of Roberts' dress, it was a little too snug and the hem was awkwardly long. Cabello wins this matchup with the gentle ruching at the hips and pretty ruffled effect along the cleavage of her structurally perfect gown.

Clinging, metallic silver worked better for a pregnant Chrissy Teigen at the Grammys than it did for Kim Kardashian at the 2016 Met Gala. Teigen's fabric creates soft curves while Kardashian's looks almost like battle armor, with its angular bodice fighting against her natural curves. Point to Teigen, whose pregnant glow admittedly gives her an unfair advantage.
  

 

Eve's black and silver striped shirtless pantsuit had a lot of parallels in Alexa Chung's similarly styled pantsuit at the 2016 Met Gala. however, Chung's stripes were muddier, her cropped pants were flared, and her slicked-back hair didn't seem to work with the look. Eve's suit, on the other hand, was crisp and impeccably tailored, with sharp angles at the hem of the sleeves and pants, and the narrow diamond choker and small black bag were the perfect accessories. Eve for the win.

 

Hailee Steinfeld wore a simple white strapless column with  wide front slit which could have been boring - until she paired it with these spectacular shiny, bright purple, above-the-knee pointy-toed boots. Compare the look to Bella Hadid's white column at the 2015 Tony Awards, which was still striking, but pales in comparison to Steinfeld's eye-catching ensemble.

Heidi Klum's revealing strappy black dress reminded me of Grace Jones' similar outfit from the 1989 International Rock Awards. Heidi looks gorgeous, but Grace wins this matchup for the hat alone.

Julia Michaels silvery-blue tulle ballgown featured a plunging-to-the-waist bodice and a full skirt - very similar to the grey-green tulle ballgown that Laura Haddock wore to the 2015 BAFTAs. But the softer color, the tone-on-tone bands, and the short train added just a hint of elegance and polish to Michaels' dress that Haddock's was lacking. 

Kelly Clarkson wore a striking gold-on-black gown with a pretty fringed capelet. The details may have been somewhat different, but the overall look was still very reminiscent of the gown that January Jones wore to the 2011 SAG Awards. Kelly looked lovely, but with the sleeker, simpler lines and more even embellishments, I felt like Jones' look was more polished and balanced.

 

Kristin Cavallari looked striking in her two-piece white gown with square shoulders, long sleeves, exposed midriff, and clinging skirt with short train. But Rihanna wore almost exactly the same gown to the 2014 Met Gala, and outdid Cavallari with the blingy neckline detail and soft gathering at the thigh which softened the lines of the whole look. 

Lady Gaga's black gown with yards and yards of dragging drain may have seemed cutting-edge and original, but the skirt at least had more than a passing similarity to the yards and yards of dragging train worn by Kendall Jenner at the Golden Globes just a few weeks ago. I appreciate that Gaga's was able to bustle to a more reasonable size, and for that alone I'm giving this one to Gaga. 

 

 

Lisa Loeb's metallic silver ballgown had heavy, stiff folds that reminded me of Aishwarya Bachchan's silver-blue gown from the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Both were pretty, but Bachchan's flowed better and moved more freely, despite its significantly greater volume.

 

The ladies of Little Big Town wore, respectively, a silver eyelash dress and a mauve ruffly dress. The two together reminded me of what Mara Rooney wore to the 2016 Golden Globes: A dusty rose gown with an eyelash skirt and ruffles wrapped around the bodice. I'd place the mauve dress and the dusty rose one at about the same level of success, but the silver thing is just a shapeless lump of muppet fur.

 

Miley Cyrus wore a strapless black jumpsuit on the red carpet at the Grammys, paired with a matching capelet. But Victoria Beckham pulled off the strapless black jumpsuit look at Cannes way back in 2016, and with the white-edged sweetheart neckline and tailored waist detailing, I have to give the edge to Posh.

All I could think when I saw Pink in this fuzzy, technicolor gown was that it was made of Muppet fur. And that it looked vaguely familiar. Then I remembered Kasey Musgraves' similarly technicolor (although noticeably less fuzzy and Muppet-like) gown from the 2016 Grammys. Strapless, belted, A-line, multi-color, ugly. Yep, they're practically twins. There's no winner in this sad matchup.

 

I guess when you find a style that works for you, you stick with it. That seems to be what Reba McEntire thought, given the similarity of her Grammys gown to the one she wore to the 2017 Country Music Awards. Both were slim-fitting sleeveless black columns with silver spangled sections creating soft curves, accessorized with a wide diamond cuff, with only slight differences in the neckline and shoulder details. I like the line of the Grammys gown just a hair better, though.

 

Rita Ora's take on a black one-shouldered gown at the Grammys included soft detailing on the shoulder strap (where she wore the white rose which was the solidarity symbol for the evening), a slit to the waist, a wide but short train, and pointy-toed pumps. When Emily Ratajkowski wore a similar gown to a fundraiser event in 2015, her gown included a diagonal-cut neckline, mid-thigh slit with spiky angles, a short and narrow train, and nude strappy sandals. Both are great looks, but Ratajkowski's looked effortless, while Ora looks like she's really working hard to make the look work.