Ebony and Ivory

Being one of those few and far between, at least in this beautiful Union, who indulges in the loneliness of television, as I do, indeed, agree with T.S. Eliot, I did not watch the presentation of the Academy Awards last night. While I will jocularly mock the lavish and superficial nature of these all too frequent ceremonies, I nevertheless relish in the delight of the sartorial successes and shames. This year, there were a number of hackneyed, obviously reminiscent of something else gowns, a number of sequined numbers, some beautiful and some less than impressive, however, few that I found simply remarkably stunning. My two favorite were rather unanimous across the media: Angelina Jolie in Versace velvet and Rooney Mara in Givenchy glamorous glitter. Each was an immaculate nocturne, representing day and night, ivory and ebony, and an almost innumerable list of dichotomous pairs representing light and dark. Rather appropriately, each allowed the dramatic draping of their decadent gowns to remain focal, as opposed to dripping their wrists, clavicles, ear lobes, and the like with borrowed jewels. With women this gorgeous, a risky slit, a plunging neckline, and a pair of red lips are more than sufficient to entice, seduce, and execute.

(images taken from Yahoo)