Melissa McCarthy: Reveling in the moment at the Golden Globes

Image Credit: Bellasugar.com

The Golden Globes have become so much fun to watch. With the belief that they are the “precursor to the Oscars” and whomever wins a Golden Globe is shoe-in for the Academy Award, the show itself is a whirlwind of excitement to behold on many levels. What is everyone wearing, what inappropriate joke will Ricky Gervais make, and how will the stars find a path to the stage without bumping into chairs and spilling drinks on the way up to receive their award?

The style choices on the stars have become my secret guilty pleasure and I’m always aware of what the few fellow NWFs (Non Wafer Thins) are wearing on the red carpet. This year I was especially interested in what Melissa McCarthy would wear. Yes, Queen Latifah, now that she had a breast reduction, is always stunning, but she is tall and proportioned (and even moreso presently) and a solid 12W. Because of those reasons she has many more options available and has even ventured into the clothing design on HSN last year. But the new Queen of Comedy, having hit it out of the ballpark with Mike & Molly and the hysterically funny, Bridesmaids (what I call the answer to the movie ‘Hangover’ for women) Melissa McCarthy is someone I am completely rooting for and mindful of “getting it right.” She has taken on the torch and knows her weight is an issue and speaks on it candidly. Melissa states that her body is a work-in-progress and her mind is on a myriad of other things in her life right now. I loved her interview on Anderson Cooper and the articles written about what she said were revealing.

Melissa McCarthy’s challenge is not so much WHO will I wear, but WHAT can I wear. The options, as she herself has stated, after trying desperately to find something fabulous for her big Emmy Award night, resulted in her announcement that she was working with a designer to create her own line of clothing so she never had to go through what she had to go through to find something suitable. I didn’t know that she had studied textiles and fashion at Southern Illinois University and has been quoted as saying, “If ever there was a time to do it, it’s NOW.” Her fashion choices for the Audi sponsored Emmy kick off awards and her red carpet look at the Emmys were amazingly appropriate and somehow more spot-on than what she wore for the Golden Globes

It’s always fun to watch the show with someone who is sympathetic to the curvy cause, too. I am fortunate that Linda Ruck, (link) who is an up and coming superstar plus model in my estimation, is staying with me for three weeks in my New York apartment and was able to watch the show with me. We made dinner and sat by the TV, “dishin’ the duds” as I like to say. (Linda is from Holland and I had to define the meaning of “duds”…she thought I said “dishin’ the Dutch.” Love that!!)

We agreed on many things – What was that headband on Michelle Williams, what was Meryl Streep thinking with that matronly frock, and Kate Winslet wearing white on the bottom making her look unnecessarily wide on camera (light colors pronounce: Image Rule 101)? And on and on. When it came to Melissa’s evening attire, we were hyper-opinionated. Her figure challenges are a few, and any designer who would take on creating a gown has to be aware of them. She is under 5’8”, her additional fleshy upper arm give her that dreaded “sloped shoulder” effect and the lower apron she carries right beneath her navel are all fashion factors to draw the eye away from. Shapewear is a MUST. But even though the Badgley Mischka dress she wore was a beautiful jeweled tone green, the “new black” of fashion colors, it somehow missed on giving her the WOW factor. It had a stunning gold beaded encrusted plunging V- neckline which is the most face framing, flattering look. That was good. And the beautiful drape of the fabric was clingy in all the right places. But with any clingy fabric, the shoulder area can be the biggest challenge. In my opinion, the fabric did not do her justice as it exaggerated the slope into the upper arm and “rounded her out.” And with it being so close to her face, that being the major focal point, it upstaged and negated the diagonal effect of the V-neck. Also, it is the dreaded trade off with the overall dark green shade creating the “big block of color.” The long sleeve all the way to the wrist added to the blockiness. If the sleeve had even been bracelet length, showing off the wrist would have broken up the line and shown some more skin somewhere beside the décolletage.

The compromise is how to add balance and elongation, which wearing an all monochromatic color provides, without becoming one giant column. And yes, the burning question is: How do you cover up and still manage to complement? Just cause you can button it, doesn’t mean you should BUY it! I can only imagine the fittings, the decisions and the finally settling on the most “appropriate and understated” choice. It WAS elegant, that much I will concede. With the demon camera adding extra compression and poundage for everyone, regardless of size (Kate Winslet with her WHITE skirt on the bottom) there is a higher power to answer to. I am sure in person, she looked stunning. I loved the height of her hair style that elongated her face. Her makeup could have been stronger to define her features on camera a little more. She looked too “natural” for being a presenter at the Golden Globes. Come on, bring it on! If this is your time to “revel in the moment” as you said, then go for the Glam Slam on Cam!!!

If your body is a work-in-progress, as you say, then so are your style choices. Overall, I thought the Badgley Mischka dress at the Golden Globes worked in theory, but it didn’t give Melissa the standout pizazz she’s had at the other red carpet events we’ve witnessed her attending.

Which is your favorite Melissa McCarthy look?

We’re with you all the way, M Squared. You are the reigning Queen of Comedy and hopefully you WILL launch that line of clothing you promised to work on in between your busy schedule and two children and a husband. Your fellow Curvettes need you to focus on a collection that fits and flatters and looks fabulous. In the meantime, enjoy the well deserved kudos. You always have your incredible comedic talent that is a ‘good fit’ for your growing fans….Memorize this mantra for next time — Know Your Shape; Show Your Shape. Ride your curves, don’t hide your curves!

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Catherine Schuller -- Daily Venus Diva.

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CATHERINE SCHULLER’s status is legendary as she is considered one of the pioneers of the full figured fashion industry. She became a Ford Model in the 80’s when the industry was still forming and is a trained film and theatre actress who also became a standup comedienne when she was told at 5’10” and 175 pounds that she was “too heavy” for the acting world. She sought revenge in humor and created and performed her own sketch comedy cabaret act, “The Nerve!” That phrase became her mantra and she became an advocate for “being yourself” and having the confidence and style to put yourself out there no matter what After years of acting and modeling she combined standup with fashion and commentated in-store fashion shows at major retail chains for years, then segued into becoming a certified professional image consultant with AICI (Association of Image Consultants International) specializing in the plus size woman. She was invited to become an editor of the “Vogue-executed”, wildly successful MODE magazine in 1997, a position she held for the full four years of the magazine’s existence, which then led to her becoming spokesperson for retail brands such as Talbot’s Woman, Just My Size, Dillard’s, Nordstrom, Saks, Filene’s, Macy’s, The Bon Ton stores’ Boston Store and Carson Pirie Scott, Charming Shoppes’ Lane Bryant, Catherine’s and Figure Magazine. Her highly acclaimed how to modeling book “The Ultimate Plus-Size Modeling Guide” was self published and turned her into the go-to person for advice on model development. After Mode’s closing due to 9/11, she started another enterprise in March 2002 in New York featuring a high end runway show in New York featuring top plus designers called CurveStyle: Reshaping Fashion devoted to promotional and marketing efforts celebrating and elevating the “full figured woman to the status of fashion icon in her own right.” She has appeared on QVC with her own line of clothing “Shape Shopping with Catherine Schuller,” debuting her line of figure-flattering apparel in sizes 2-22. A frequently quoted expert, she has appeared in articles for the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Orlando Sentinel, St.Louis Post Dispatch, The Daily News, Times Picayune, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Chicago’s Windy City, San Francisco Chronicle, US Weekly, Good Housekeeping and on television she has appeared many times on The View, The Early Show, The Today Show in her hometown of New York as well as news programs where she is a frequent guest on Neal Cavuto’s Your World, Oxygen Channel and local morning shows across America. She was assistant style advisor to Wynonna Judd for USA Network’s Nashville Star where she introduced Richard Metzger to Wynonna and he designed her looks for the TV show and tour. She executive produced two full length films with Constantine Valhouli. The first, “Curve,” a documentary about the full figured modeling industry featured interviews with plus size models and luminaries in the field from the retail, media, modeling agency, design world all bearing their souls to the scrutiny of the lens where the film captured the honesty and ambivalence about the world of fashion and the fuller figures. Her next feature entitled “Sex, Lies and Superheroes” was inspired by the death of her first husband, Mark Gruenwald, Senior Executive Editor of Marvel Comics and writer of Captain America and other titles. She is the Image and Style Advisor for Divabetic, a charity started in honor of Luther Vandross to empower women living with, at risk of or affected by the epidemic of diabetes and teaches them to have a ‘diva’ attitude about their diabetes. She works closely with Luther’s personal assistant of fourteen years, Max Szadek, and is part of its creative core team, traveling around to major United States cities with a program entitled Makeover Your Diabetes sponsored by Novo Nordisk which targets women living with, affected by, or at risk of diabetes - an epidemic now affecting 23 million Americans, 80% of whom are plus size women. She teaches the course on special sizes at Fashion Institute of Technology in their Image Program currently. Her latest project is a coffee table book entitled Such a Pretty Face about the plus size models and their interesting career paths. She has been awarded the Icon of the Industry from Full Figured Fashion Week which she will be given in June of 2011.