Lisavet Darchiev sighed as the door closed behind her and Maks Derbensky, her lover. “Thank God and the saints, we’re home,” she said in Russian, since they were by themselves instead of with American or British friends, and she crossed herself in the Orthodox style. “I love the Oscar ceremony; I love the parties; and I love getting together with Piper. But I think I love most getting home afterwards, so I can put up my poor aching feet!”
Maks chuckled as he locked the last deadbolt and clicked on the door alarm. “You have but to blame your ‘poor aching feet’ on yourself, Liza, and your penchant for stiletto-heeled shoes. And kindly do not tell me, my tsarina, that you’re getting too old for the social rounds. Besides limiting your access to the power brokers and business opportunities in this crazy city, that’s simply no fun at all.”
The field shook itself out fairly rapidly for this year’s Oscar Fashion Photo Contest. As ever, thank you to all the entrants, and I hope you enjoyed the opportunity to show off your red-carpet chops.
The main difficulty this year was between First and Second Places. It could easily have gone the other way, and almost did. A fresh evaluation gave this order, however; and I’m pleased to welcome a new First Place winner this year.
So, with further non-ado, here’s this year’s placers ….
Last update on the 9th Oscar Fashion Photo Contest, before the proceedings close following the real Academy Awards on Sunday night. I’m going to pass this year on doing the RL 2017 recap.
We’re currently standing at 18 entries, way low for my taste, but enough for an award pool. There’s still several days to get your own entry in, and I hope you’ll do so. I look forward to the difficulty of judging a large field every year. So put yourselves together and shoot some red-carpet photos, and we’ll see what happens in the next few weeks, when the results are announced!
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Lisavet Darchiev had been invited to join the Academy from the year the screenplay for her first novel had won that year’s award. She had begun writing her own screenplays since then, and had also attended every year since joining; and this year’s soirée was no exception. One difference did arise from her previous attendances, though — she was escorted not by her business manager, Andrei Nekrasov. Andrei was somewhere in the hall, accompanied by his British husband, Sascha, she was sure. But tonight, Andrei was not squiring her.
Rather, it was someone much more satisfying than even the pretty (and completely gay) Andrei Leonovich; so satisfying that she had chosen to uproot herself and move to Los Angeles permanently ….
I’m taking a pause in Oscar Fashion Photo Contest work to check out the bar at the Rose Theatre. Lots of wood and chandeliers, nice atmosphere, and plenty of beer. Stop in sometime and have a glass.
While I’m refreshing myself, here’s a quick update on the OFPC. As of today, we officially have enough in this year’s group pool to make a full contest — eight Residents are in with photos. But there’s still plenty of room for more, and just over a month for the Oscar Fashion Photo Contest to run, so you should get your glam on and start shooting photos. Remember, you can submit as many times as you like, but only the most recent one will be considered in the judging, or the one you designate in the end. Read the full rules, and ask questions if you’re uncertain! And, of course, submit your contest entry photo to the OFPC group on Flickr.
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This year’s featured red carpet actress was a name to conjure with in the 1990s; then a combination of a career slump, personal difficulties and a conviction for shoplifting almost derailed her. The woman is back, though, strong as ever, with her own show on Netflix, and still catching attention on the red carpet when she appears.
Let’s take a look at Winona Laura Horowitz — better known as Winona Ryder.
Born in Winona, Minnesota, Ryder began auditioning around 1985, did her first film (Lucas) in 1986, and broke out in 1988 — before she had graduated high school — with three films: Beetlejuice, 1969 and Heathers. The last film became one of Ryder’s signature films, the black comedy of “teenage angst with a body count” placing her in a generation’s mind. She appeared at the 1989 Academy Awards in a black velvet midi, on the arm of her Heathers co-star, Christian Slater.
Black seems to be Winona’s signature color; she’s worn it more often to the red carpet than any other color in my memory. For instance, in 1990, Ryder came to the Oscars in this lovely strapless sheath, accented only with a bracelet and earrings ….
… and appeared in 1997 in this frock, which is actually my least favorite of what I’ve seen her in. (This also illustrates Ryder’s taste for vintage.)
In the same year, though, Winona showed she could also rock color, at the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award for Martin Scorsese. This is one of my favorites ….
… as is this look from 1994 (which is, I believe, at an after-party).
Finally, come forward to the 2017 Golden Globes, with Ryder the adult star of Stranger Things. The old standby black once more — but Winona Ryder makes it shine.
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Next update in two weeks or so, then our own appearance after that. Get shooting, folks! And, to help you along, here’s some inspiration: a 2017 Harper’s Bazaar slideshow of the great Oscar looks of all time to their date.
With thanks, as ever, to the Rose Theatre in Angel Manor for the ability to borrow their lavish halls.
We thought long on this one, considering last year’s performance, and whether we could pull off the publicity factor this year. But finally, tradition won out, and so the time has come once again. The Flickr group is open for submissions of your finest evening gown photos. Who will be the best-dressed avatar on the Hollywood red carpet when the Academy Awards are handed out? Around the Grid is accepting submissions for its 9th Annual Oscar Fashion Photo Contest!!
The contest group will open for submissions once this article is published, and the prize pool has been placed in escrow (so to speak). Time to talk to your stylists, find your hairdresser and book an appointment, call in favors at the jewelry stores, and decide what you would wear if you became a nominee for the little gold man. For those considered outstanding in their evening couture and artistic portrayal, there shall be (15 minutes of) fame, (a bit of) fortune, and hopefully fun in playing the game.
Entry is free; just submit a photo to the appropriate group on Flickr, or leave a comment with a link to your photo. (However, make sure to read all the rules, okay?) The prize pool is again guaranteed at over L$50,000. First place will receive L$25,000. So, if you want a chance at filling your virtual closet at my expense, come on and enter!
Here they come, sashaying down the red carpet — this years placing photos for the Oscar Fashion Photo Contest! The potential pool was disappointing this year in terms of size — the smallest slate of entries in the eight years of the OFPC — but the winners are deserving of their selection, and of the prize money (grin). So, with further non-ado, here are our choices for this year.
Last normal update before the contest closes in a few weeks. The good news is that we have enough entries for a contest. The bad news is that there’s only 13 entries so far. That’s way down from past years. I always work hard to get the word out, but it doesn’t seem to be taking this year. So I’m calling on all of you who haven’t entered yet, or who haven’t written anything up on the contest this year — help me out. I want to have the toughest judging year in the eight-year run of this contest! Start submitting entries to the group, and spread the word! With 50 grand in linden dollars up for grabs, half to the winner, it’s worth the time to enter — you’ll be able to afford a couple of Catwa heads and a substantial makeup suite, and still have money left over for a new dress! Plus fame and fortune (at least within Second Life). So enter now, and get the word out!!!
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Jem and I managed to snag a good box at the theatre for this year’s Academy Awards. And, even though we weren’t nominated for anything, well, this is the Oscars. You dress to the nines for this show!
Can you rock the red carpet and get your name into this envelope? You still have time. For the first seven callers, we offer at no additional cost, fame, fortune and 15 minutes in the limelight!!!
This year’s entries for the OFPC can be described by an adjective a writer of my acquaintance used to refer to international mail in the 1970s and 1980s: “lentitudinous.” I can’t find a formal definition, even in Oxford, but I’ve always taken it to be a £50 way to say “sluggish.” This point in the competition always drives me up the wall, and makes me start worrying that I’ll have a small pack to judge. I’d rather have scads of entries than a mere handful. That sends me off into the convoluted coils of Flickr, looking for evening gown shots that aren’t necessarily on theme, but might be contenders.
Please keep me from buying a bottle of St. John’s wort this year. You still have time to enter! Of course, you should do so only if you want a shot at L$25,000 and an opportunity to bask in Hollywood-like glory for a time. You know how to find the rules (grin). And, if you’re on Flickr and get an invitation from me to enter, don’t turn it down. It’s no guarantee of placement; I give the invitation to anyone who has a likely looking photo. But it is an encouragement to take your shot — or do another shot, and submit that one officially!
The first three entries are in the group for this year’s Oscar Fashion Photo Contest. I really want at least five to seven more before I’d declare it a contest, so consider this your call to work up a look and make a run down the red carpet. You’ll have a shot at a slice of over L$ 50,000, remember, so get your stylists thinking!
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Normally, I’d do a sidebar piece in this first update on one of the style icons of the red carpet, especially at the Oscars and Golden Globes. This year, I ran out of names to consider; Jem and me will have to bang our heads together over the next year to see if we can agree on someone. So, this year, we’ll just look at a flat-out style icon — in fact, possibly the style icon of motion pictures: Audrey Hepburn. Hepburn reigned as a screen fashion queen and real-life style setter staring in her twenties, with a definite knowledge of what looked completely smashing on her. And this in despite of her apparently lifelong self-image as an ugly duckling, according to an interview with BBC News.
(Be prepared if you click through; the full article is graphics-intensive.)
Second Life® with Harper, Conan, Jem, Diana and Morgan
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