Oscars 2018 Countdown: Laurie Metcalf-Ology

Posted on March 02, 2018

Pin

Continuing your intense course of education on the study of best actress and best supporting actress nominee gownery, we present Miss Laurie, who surprised us by showing both a unique sense of style among the awards-track set, as well as a willingness to evolve or change up her look over time. There are things to suss out here, in terms of her preferences, but we’d be hard-pressed to make a prediction about what she’ll wear on Sunday night. She lives to mix up the details.

 

At the Palm Springs International Film Festival in Christian Siriano
Pin

Pin
Possibly because of her theater background, she brings an admirable sense of drama to her red carpetry, as well as a willingness to stand out. This is a highly unusual look for the red carpet, and yet it’s hard to ignore or forget. She also has a love of sweeping lines and unusual color combos.

 

 

At the Golden Globes in Sachin & Babi
Pin

Pin
As you can see from the rest of this list, participating in the “Time’s Up” dress blackout forced her into a darkness and colorlessness she clearly doesn’t prefer. We tend to see this look as an outlier because of that, although the clunky shoes and unusual shape are very much in her mode.

 

 

At the AFI Awards in Dhela
Pin

Pin
She’s a lady who loves a good choir or graduation robe, that’s for sure. Here’s another one of those off-kilter (but flattering and highly suited to her) color choices. Also another example of her not-so-great shoe preferences. And as we’ll see, she has a somewhat surprising love of plunging necklines – also, because they suit her. That’s the thing about her style choices: they’re not always the red carpet usual, but they’re almost always something that suits her in particular. She’s a woman who knows herself.

 

 

At the BAFTA Tea Party in Temperley London
Pin

Pin
Another odd little dress in a weird color with a plunging neckline. And yet, it mostly works for her. The bust is a bit tight and we question the color, although it may just be non-photogenic rather than unsuited to her.

One consistent critique we have to make: She rests every look on the dress’s color and shape. The hair and makeup seem like afterthoughts every time. In fact, in almost every look, the hair and makeup look DIY. That’s no crime, but we really hope she pays a good team to style her head on Sunday.

 

 

At the Critics’ Choice Awards in Cristina Ottaviano
Pin

Pin
This is uncharacteristic, both for being somewhat conventional and also for being pretty much flawlessly rendered. Sorry, Laurie. Luvya, but quirky imperfection is clearly more your speed. Not that we’re complaining about this look. She looks fabulous. But the neckline, body-con fit and lack of sleeves don’t play to her preferences.

But we’ll say right now that we wouldn’t be surprised if Sunday night’s look was along these lines. It doesn’t seem like her first choice of style, but she really does look amazing in it.

 

At the SAG Awards in Sachin & Babi
Pin

Pin
She’s back in sleeves, but the neckline’s high and she’s covered in sequins, an element she doesn’t seem to turn to all that often. She works within her own restrictions and preferences but still finds ways to break out or surprise with her choices.

 

At The National Board of Review Awards in Christian Siriano
Pin

Pin
Having said that, formal hospital scrubs do seem to be more her speed.

We’re not saying that to be bitches. We really like her style, especially the way she seems to be game to try all sorts of things. We don’t necessarily love this look, but we appreciate it for being different and feeling very much “her.”

 

 

At the Critic’s Choice Awards in Jill Stuart
Pin

PinThere she is. Sleeves, sweeping lines, a plunging neckline, and an overall ecclesiastic or academic feel. This is why her approach differs in tone from Saoirse Ronan, whose all-over-the-place style speaks of someone who hasn’t figured out her look yet. Laurie knows her look, knows what she likes, and for the most part, knows what kind of variations or outside-the-comfort-zone choices she can get away with.

 

At the Academy Awards Nominee Luncheon in Temperley London
Pin

Pin
She seems to favor solid pieces, but she’s made some interesting choices with print and applique. This plays into her love of unusual colors while also serving the V-neck and sleeve action she goes back to again and again.

See what we mean about the head-styling? No one’s asking for a bold lip and a smokey eye, but some strong earrings and a blowout would do a lot.

 

At The Hollywood Reporter 6th Annual Nominees Night in Yanina Couture
Pin

Pin
As much as we’d love for her to show up at the Oscars in something this bold, it’s just not likely to happen. This sums up a lot of what we’ve been noting: bold colors, unusual applique, a strong neckline, sleeves, and a full skirt. But all stylists bring their A game to their clientele for Oscars night, and we can’t imagine Laurie won’t show up sporting an uncharacteristic (but welcome, by us) pair of half-a-million-dollar earrings, with a face beat to the gods and impeccably lacquered hair.

On the other hand, as much as we’d love to see her really show up looking like a champ (on a night when she’s likely to lose to Allison Janney), we do hope she holds onto some of her own style. Give us a bold color, a plunging neckline and a million-dollar diamond pendant, Laurie.

Don’t miss our courses on Margot Robbie-ology, Mary J. Blige-ology, Allison Janney-ology, and Saoirse Ronan-ology to keep up to date on your continuing red carpet education.

 

 

[Photo Credit: INSTARImages]

Please review our Community Guidelines before posting a comment. Thank you!

blog comments powered by Disqus