Fashion faux pas

A look at the AMA red carpet

By Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor

I did warn you that it was awards season, right? Well, with the red carpet rolled out and the stars ready to mingle it’s important they look their best—but what the American Music Awards (AMAs) offers is also a chance to be more casual, and show off their edgier side! Plenty of music’s finest were more than willing to do that, but there were also some fashion faux pas mixed in there as well, so let’s have a look at those misses.

We’ll begin with British songbird Rita Ora. Now I am normally a huge fan of her style, and the dress she wore to the AMAs was no different. That cinched waist and gathered top gave her an hourglass figure that most women would kill for—and the canary yellow definitely flatters her skin tone. Her faux pas was that she wore an evening gown to a semi-formal event. I see this all the time, especially this time of year with all the Christmas parties people have to attend. If you’re overdressed you feel awkward, and you make other people feel awkward—so find out the dress code for the event ahead of time. And if you’re not sure what the answer means (business-casual, what the hell is that?), there are a couple helpful cheats. If you’re a woman, wear a cocktail dress. They pass for either formal or casual depending how you accessorize them. For men, use the suit jacket from the formal tux, and wear it with a nice pair of jeans or pleated slacks that are in a different colour. Having the different fabrics will prevent you from looking too formal.

Next up we have a faux pas everyone should recognize from late nights on Granville Street. Model Gigi Hadid, who is the step-daughter of music producer David Foster, somehow confused being edgy with showing a lot of skin. Now don’t get me wrong, I actually like Gigi Hadid and find that she usually looks extremely well put together (that’s what happens when your mother was also a famous model in her heyday), but this look is just too much. The lacing draws attention to the open front, which is fighting against the bare midriff and the high slit in the skirt. Had the outfit eliminated the lacing, kept the deep V, and been made as one piece, instead of separates, it would have been incredibly chic; instead, it just comes off a bit stripper-y.

Former Disney kid Zendaya had her own set of problems. I watch a lot of awards shows, and generally Zendaya is a standard figure at any of the shows geared more towards teens and young adults. Unfortunately, she seems to suffer from the same fashion faux pas with every single outfit I see her in. Case in point, the AMAs, where she drowned in this over-patterned, over-textured, pink monstrosity. I don’t think I can name one person this outfit would look good on. It is terrible. The outfit itself is bulky, looks uncomfortable and is covered in these over-sized pink flowers. As a petite person, Zendaya should not be wearing such a structured garment with such a large pattern—break it up so that the whole look appears more proportional. It’s really all about balance; since large patterns and structured garments look “hard,” balance it out with something a little looser fitting on top, not an even more structured blouse. If you want to wear two structured pieces, either make them monochromatic or have the pattern be very minimal.