Red Carpet Review: The 2019 Tony Awards (part 1)

The 2019 Tony Awards were this weekend, and of course, I posted a lot of commentary on the fashions during the red carpet pre-show as well as during the ceremony itself. But I'd love to comment on a few dresses I didn't get to talk about, as well as go into a bit more detail on a few that I did. And in fact, I'm going to do this blog in two parts, because there were so many fabulous (and a few not-so-fabulous) variations on the basic tuxedo that the men deserve an entry all their own.

In fact, the men deserve to go first, since they are so often neglected in my fashion commentary. While there's never anything wrong with wearing a standard black tuxedo to a red carpet event (provided, of course, that it is well-tailored and well-pressed), I love it when the stars let their personalities shine through with variations in color, cut, accessories, textures, and any number of other ways to individualize a tuxedo without losing its innate formality and flattering silhouette.

First, we have the undisputed master of all things fashion: Bob Mackie. Mackie won Best Costume Design for The Cher Show in this immaculately tailored classic black tux with a satin shawl collar, hand-tied bow tie, and a tiny slip of white pocket square. The pants are a slim fit without being overly skinny, and the jacket opening dips just a tad lower than standard, giving it a contemporary feel. Nothing short of sheer perfection, naturally.

Charlie Carver's tuxedo leaned more toward the skinny pants that are so popular of late, but like Mackie's tux, they're not so extreme as to leave the realm of "classic." Carver's tux is just shy of true black, more a dark steel gray with just a hint of a sheen, with a satin shawl collar and a large black bow tie. Classic and elegant, with just a hint of personal flair.

Daniel Fish paired his black tuxedo, with its skinny shawl collar and slightly longer than standard jacket, with a black collared shirt and ribbon-style tie, finished with a black pocket square. The all-black ensemble was very dramatic and striking, especially paired with his cool shades and salt-and-pepper beard. Just perfect for a theatre event.

Darren Criss got rid of lapels altogether in his slim-cut black tux, pairing it with a plain white dress shirt and a white long tie. It was a bit casual and bland for me, especially since the tie blended into his shirt and vanished, but I will admit that the long narrow slash of visible white made him look especially tall and slender, which is never a bad thing.

David Miller (left) wore a black velvet tux jacket with satin collar and cuffs to add some old-school Hollywood glamour. Ryan Murphy (right) swapped out the jacket of a standard black tux with a shiny powder blue metallic jacket for an eye-catching yet still classic (and vaguely retro) look.

Erich Bergen added some pizzazz to his standard black tux with red piping outlining the jacket, including the collar and cuffs. It was just subtle enough to not look cheesy while still adding the tiniest pop of color. Nice.

Clint Ramos was one of the few real fails for me for men on the red carpet. The black satin fabric was a good choice, but the shapeless, baggy cut of both the shirt and the culottes was unflattering. It needed some kind of structure somewhere, whether squared shoulders or a nipped-in waist or even more of a jodhpur cut to the pants. But it just looked messy and unfinished to me, especially when worn with white-soled sneakers - although he does earn major bonus points for accessorizing with his grandmother's jewelry, as he explained during a red carpet interview.

I absolutely adored Aaron Tveit's look - a skinny-cut but still classic midnight blue tuxedo, but topped with a long black pinstriped outer coat that fell to the knee. I even loved the extra-long white cuffs on the shirt. It was very dramatic and contemporary, yet the lines and silhouette were still completely classic. Sheer elegance with a modern twist. 

Gideon Glick modernized his midnight blue tux with textured fabric, the wisps of eyelash breaking up the sheen of this gorgeous silk tux. He opted for extremely slim-fit pants, which worked beautifully on his slender build, and - thankfully - avoided the modern trend of too-short pants with bare ankle peeping out, which to me breaks the line of the leg and looks too informal for the red carpet. Excellent choices all around here.

One of my favorite variations on the black tuxedo was this amazing ensemble worn by Andre de Shields. His long black and silver coat with wide black satin lapels flared just slightly, and the sparkle of his gold lame bow tie and gold lapel pin were echoed in his fabulous golden winged sneakers, a charming nod to his character of Hermes, for which he was nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (spoiler alert: he won). Not just anyone could have pulled off this look, but a legend like Andre de Shields can make anything work.

Jeremy Pope wins the tailoring award for this impeccably structured all-black ensemble. There are so many amazing details, from the wrap-front satin pants, to the high-pointed jacket lapels that reach above the shoulder line, to the open angles at the bottom of the sleeves, to the black lace, high-collared shirt with offset bow at the neck. And the impeccably polished, just slightly-heeled boots were the perfect finishing touch. I loved everything about this look. I would wear this look (just probably not as well as Pope).

Cutest couple of the evening had to be Matt Bomer and his adorable son Henry, who both went for slight variations on the classic tux. Bomer Senior paired standard black pants with a midnight blue tux jacket and matching shirt and bow tie, while Bomer Junior paired his black tux with a white shirt and black bow tie, but added his own stamp with white-soled black tennies and a perfectly-folded three-point white pocket square. Everything about these two was simply delightful.

White dinner jackets are another lovely old-school red carpet look, and Denny Directo wore his well, complete with an oversized black bow tie. A tiny red pocket square and just a peek of bare ankle above his loafers gave a contemporary flair without spoiling the Bogart vibe.

Ephraim Sykes took the white jacket one step further (perhaps one step too far?) in this all-white ensemble, which included a shiny white satin jacket and matching bow tie, white dress shirt, white bucks, and white pants which seemed to consist of satin shorts with organza pantlegs. I will give points for the beautiful French seams and deep hem of the organza section, which gave it the finished, polished look that's often missing in see-through garments. But the overall look just felt unbalanced and mismatched to me. Not terrible, just not terrific either.

Michael James Scott also went with a nearly all-white look, which was much more successful for me. I love that he added a vest under his jacket, and especially that it's a morning suit vest, which is cut straight across at the waist instead of having points, like most men's formal vests. I find that a very flattering cut on a stockier man like Scott. But he truly won me over with his midnight blue, gold-studded slippers, an obvious nod to his role as the Genie in Aladdin, as well as simply being a fun, whimsical touch.

Another look that won me over with a great vest and shoes was Michael Urie. He paired deeply cuffed, wide-legged white pants with a deep blue textured jacket with wide satin lapels, over a white dress shirt with pale blue organza ruffled cuffs and and overlapping blue vest studded with white flowers. The flower pattern was carried through in a diamond lapel pin and double diamond buttons on the sleeves, which in turn were echoed by diamond bows on the navy loafers. So many great touches, and they all worked well together without being too much.

Sometimes, unfortunately, too many interesting details can be too much, and that was the case for me with Reeve Carney. There was just too much going on that didn't really tie together: an overlarge top hat with a kettle brim, an overlong sleeveless fitted jacket/vest, baggy metallic gold pants, and who knows what was going on with the collar and tie. Any one of those details could have been fun (I actually really loved the vest), but as it was, the ensemble looked costume-y and disconnected.

Colored tuxedos were quite popular on the red carpet. Benjamin Tyler Cook opted for a vivid lilac slim suit with narrow notched lapels, paired with a white dress shirt and long, narrow black tie. It would have worked for me except that it was a little too tight, as evidenced by the tugging jacket button, the wrinkling under the armpits, and the clear outline of a folded paper in his right pants pocket.

Damon Daunno also opted for a colored tuxedo, in his case maroon with black lapels. I like the look other than the slightly-short pants revealing bare ankles. I can live with loafers paired with a tuxedo, but not when worn without socks. Certainly not at a red carpet event.

Bryan Cranston went a little retro in this handsome tweed jacket with curved midnight blue satin lapels and matching midnight blue pants. Bonus points for color-coordinating outfits with his lovely wife, and for his perfectly polished patent leather shoes.

Jack Noseworthy (left) and Sergio Trujillo (right) were another nicely coordinated duo. With similar silhouettes and colors to tie them together, they each made the style their own with slight variations in texture and lapel shape.

Brandon Uranowitz went even further than tweed in terms of patterns with this modern, almost futuristic, metallic-print suit - it's strayed a little too far to call it a tuxedo, I think. It reminds me of a cross between a Mao jacket and a dentist's coat, with its offset closure and slightly raised collar. Somehow, I don't mind the short pants and bare ankles with this look; it suits it. Not a look I'd have chosen, but it's dramatic, it's memorable, and I like it.

Hamish Bowles was one of several men sporting floral print tuxedos at the Tonys. Although I'm not a fan of the style in general, somehow his total commitment to the look, including not only a bubblegum pink print, but matching tennis shoes, made it work for me.

James Corden walked the red carpet in a floral tux as well. Corden opted for a subtle gray-on-brown print with a nice sheen that was one of my favorite looks of his over the course of the night (he changed tuxedos at almost every commercial break, I think).

I was not a fan of Corden's look for the opening number, with its ghastly clashing red-and-neon-pink jacket. The cut was fine, the color combination was physically painful. I was very glad that he quickly changed to another look.

A pair who chose not to coordinate their looks was Jesse Tyler Ferguson (left) and Justin Mikita (right). Ferguson wore an olive silk tuxedo that complemented his red hair and fair skin beautifully, and which was tailored beautifully. I was less of a fan of Mikita's novelty print tuxedo, which was made of cheap-looking fabric that was cut more like yoga pants than tuxedo pants. It was cute as a novelty look, but it wasn't appropriate for a red carpet event, or paired with Ferguson's much more elegant look.

James Harkness, however, was very easy on the eyes in this elegant, almost smoking-jacket inspired tuxedo. The shiny silver-and-black fabric was just subtle enough to be eye-catching but not ostentatious or overdone. And the large, old-school bow tie was the perfect finishing touch. I like that that style of tie seems to be coming back into vogue.

Zachary Quinto pulled off a similar contemporary-twist-on-old-school-glamour with this double-breasted midnight blue velvet jacket and black pants. The jacket was cut a hair shorter than I would have liked, but the overall silhouette was still good, and the color was very striking with Quinto's dark hair and eyes.

I'm a sucker for a cape, I admit this. But Jordan Roth pulled off this vivid scarlet, spangled, caped ensemble with exceptional panache. The the matte suit underneath with its flared pants and ruffled front, the pointy-toed boots, the patent clutch; every detail of this look worked together to bring it right up to the line of being obnoxious without crossing it, setting it firmly in fabulous territory. I loved it.

Naturally, the look that everyone was talking about, however, was Billy Porter's. And although there were parts of his look that I really loved, there were parts I was less than fond of. For example, the pink-and-red color combination just didn't work for me, at least not the oceans of frothy pink tulle at the sides and hem. I didn't really like the way the tulle was frothed just at the sides of the legs, either - it looked like a lopsided bell bottoms from ABBA. But what I did like - love, even - was the structure of the jacket/vest. I loved the way the collar stood up at the nape of the neck, and I loved the way the front of the jacket was nipped back below the buttons. I loved the fitted silhouette. I even loved the pink buttons and pink piping - somehow, the pink and red combination worked for me here. 

I'm not sure if Porter had to remove the overskirt to fit into his seat during the ceremony, but when he came up to sing karaoke during the commercial break, he was wearing just these cropped pants, and I LOVED this look. The shoes are great, the length and cut of the pants are great, the overall look is balanced. So I'm still giving him the nod for a winning look.

 Tune in tomorrow for my critique of the ladies' fashions!