by Carlie Lawson | Featured Contributor
Award show season whets our appetite for fashion but, not many of us have the opportunity to wear Prada or Christian Dior formals. We can apply the best elements of red carpet fashion to our everyday looks to perk up the business day though. Between the Golden Globes, the Oscars, and the Grammys, five elements shouted, “Take me to the office.”
1. Bold colors. The Golden Globes and Grammys featured celebrities rocking bright blues, vibrant reds, passionate purples, and Scarlett Johanssen rocking emerald green on Oscar night. A dress or skirt and top combo in these jewel tones easily fits into most offices but, if you’re in a more somber setting of a bank or law office, for example, you can easily integrate these “it” colors in small doses with accessories such as a scarf and belt or jewelry ensemble. If such bright tones clash with your skin tone, making you sallow or washed out, use an accent piece worn away from your face, such as a belt, purse, shoe combination.
2. The absence or bare hint of color also filled the red carpet: white, cream, peach, and pearl. Follow Jennifer Hudson’s grand Grammy’s example and wear winter white right on into spring. Clothes in these shades fit any office. Matching accessories are a breeze to find but, make sure your whites match.
3. Pant suits. Don’t call it a comeback. Quite a few actresses chose an
easy-to-wear pant suit, previously popular in the 1970s and 80s. Pant suits suit a busy career woman since it’s the female equivalent of a business suit. Wear it on a day full of errands and meetings for dressy comfort. Pair it with flats or heels. An added benefit: monochromatic equals slimming, especially using darker colors such as deep purple, brown, or black.
4. Natural makeup. Celebrities rocked natural, almost bare faced, makeup looks with lots of nude, browns, and peach. Natural look standouts included: Jennifer Anniston, Cate Blanchett, and Jennifer Lopez with pale pink lip color her only departure from a bare faced look. Notice that the barest faces often paired with the pale clothing color scheme for emphasis. Don’t forget to use eye and lip liners from the same color family.
5. Classic accessories. The most graceful ladies, like Kerry Washington and Naomi Watts, carried boxy, small clutches and wore classically styled jewelry like Johansson’s ensemble.
We may not have many real life opportunities for couture gowns and Harry Winston baubles but, using these performers’ examples of the best of red carpet we can bring star quality to everyday clothing and accessories. Now, go raid your closet for your red carpet office look.
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Carlie Lawson balances careers as a model and entrepreneur. As a fashion and commercial model, Lawson enjoys print, runway, and live event work. She loves the combination of the athletic and creative aspects of modeling and the traveling is pretty cool, too.
She owns three businesses. Powell Lawson Consulting (formerly known as Natural Hazards Consulting) helps businesses and municipalities develop business continuity and emergency response plans, as well as, related educational products. Powell Lawson Creatives authors vibrant, engaging original content for print and online media, ranging from blog posts to feature articles to catalog descriptions. TechGrrl Services works with individuals and businesses in rural environments to address technology needs with a special focus on bringing them online to help leverage the Internet’s increasing educational, career, social, and health opportunities.
Lawson holds three degrees: a Masters of Regional & City Planning, a Bachelors of Journalism & Mass Communication, and a Bachelors of Film & Video Studies from the University of Oklahoma. She lives in a cabin she and friends built in the woods on the side of the mountain on Lake Eufaula, OK. Her cat, Silly, doubles as her furry research assistant. She consumes copious amounts of coffee, loves to bake, hike, and play guitar. You can find her on Twitter.
