Helen Mirren’s flawless formula for adult glamor: The veteran actress wears many great dresses
How the hell does he do it? I’m sure this question reflects the thoughts of many women when they watch Dam Helen MirrenThe 76-year-old received her Lifetime Achievement Award at the Screen Actors Guild this week.
How he manages to nail in the style of the red carpet again and again, event after event, even on this occasion to knock Lady Gaga and Cate Blanchettboth significantly younger and certainly without flowers on the wall, in the shade?
Her choice of this particular Dolce & Gabbana dress was a triumph and proved my personal motto: “You are never too old for pink”.
“Don’t be afraid of color” is the message as Helen Mirren shines in citrus yellow in Cannes last year (left) and shows off some elegant sticks waiting (right), both from Dolce & Gabbana
But, of course, not all pink is the same, and it had just the right amount of lilac in it to caress her slightly tanned skin and add sophistication to what could be a girl’s color. Along with the rich decoration of deep pink flowers and the elegant silver epaulette on a chain, the dress was not a prom number, but a dress for a worthy woman.
And if there’s one thing Mirren has proven over the years, it’s that she’s revealed the formula for dressing adults with glamor.
As an extremely successful actress, she must appear constantly in a number of different, magnificent outfits that can be subjected to intensive research on the red carpet. And while there are younger actresses who oppose the commentary on their appearance, you feel that Mirren just loves to have fun with her.
She collaborates with UK-based stylist Rachel Fanconi most of the time and with Los Angeles-based stylist Lee Harris at times. They both avoid the mistake made by many when dressing their clients in visions that captivate them or are fashionable because of fashion.
Mirren looks beautiful in a peony pink dress with a full skirt by Schiaparelli (left) and an elegant kaftan by the American design team The Row (right)
This is never the case with Dame Helen. She always has the look. Her outfits play in front of the camera with bold gestures, glamor and impudent accessories, but they are clearly rooted in a set of tried and reliable guidelines that never let her down, even as the years go by.
Like many actresses, Helen Mirren is not very tall and has always had curves. Over the years, she has learned what shows her best, emphasizing and, if necessary, creating her narrow waist and often drawing attention to the cleavage, which should be envied by many women in the 70’s.
Not that she comes close to a bland neckline – she’s too elegant for that – but her dresses often go over her collarbone and shoulder, or dip into an Winterhalter-style emboint, often replacing bare skin with forgiving transparency of tulle, chiffon and lace.
Similarly, her use of sleeves – often transparent, sparing aging hands from the spotlight – is a classic tailoring trick for more mature toilets.
Mirren wears her hair pulled back from her face at the premiere of The Duke last month (left) and dazzles in the British brand Goat (right)
While many older women seek refuge in the safe house of the neutrals, Mirren is not afraid of color.
In fact, she is not afraid of any color or style, of the striking pink pleats of Schiaparelli, which she wore to the Oscars in 2019, the amazing silver Giambattista Valli, in which she appeared for the L’Oreal Awards, and even go on the gondola at the Gabbana Alta Moda Dolce & Show last summer, in a theatrical golden, inlaid with jewelry corset.
The clothes of the Italian duo have recently become a major part of her performances on the red carpet and go well with her earthy playfulness, which sometimes cuts through their excessive display of stereotypical Italian style.
Of course, it helps that Lady Helen is an extremely good-looking woman. With an excellent bone structure – high cheekbones and arched eyebrows, a slightly olive skin tone and dark sapphire eyes – she started with the smiling gods in the appearance department.
Dolce & Gabbana is a solid favorite for the lady, both in beautiful pink tones (left) and in delightful red (right)
But the way she managed to manage the aging process so brilliantly – allowing those eyes to be their natural crow’s feet while playing with amazing turquoise shadows, heavy lashes and brilliantly colored lips – became her style. . The fact that she looks so good at her age, not at her age, adds to her attractiveness.
She doesn’t look like a woman trying to look a decade or more younger, or a woman throwing all the preventative measures at her skin and body to keep her age.
Heavens, she’s even allowed her hair to turn gray, which with Mirren’s archetypal bravado now wears long or beautifully curled, as she did at the premiere of her new film The Duke last month.
No doubt a great colorist works behind the scenes – gray hair that looks so good requires a lot of attention – but it shows how effective it can be part of the arsenal of shine. Especially when combined with amazing jewelry. As befits a woman who played both our Queen and Catherine the Great, Lady Helen is never consciously inadequate.
Eternal style: Mirren demonstrated masterful sewing with her best effect in a dress by Alexandra Rich in dots (left), still stylish after winning the 2007 Oscar in 2007.
Most of us don’t have access to the same level of rocks, but pieces of costume can add sparkle just as well.
At last year’s event for the Prince Albert Foundation of Monaco, she combined a lavishly extravagant leaf-shaped necklace and earrings with a green dress to convey the ecological message of the evening.
And at the Golden Globe in 2020, her plum-colored draped Dior chiffon – the full skirt not only lengthens her waist, but also creates a light touch that never fails to take years from a woman – was paired with real diamonds.
In the coming weeks, with the Oscars and the Bafta ahead of us, there will no doubt be more inspiring performances.
At this week’s SAG ceremony, she joked that at her age, “hanging” was a word she preferred not to say. But, honestly, who doesn’t mind a little sagging if it makes you look a little like Helen Mirren.
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