CANNES, THEN AND NOW

Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III, 1955

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, 2008

Photos courtesy style.com and In Style magazine, respectively.

VIOLET FEMME

Couture Carrie is inspired to craft (yet another?) colour-themed post after perusing the recent red carpet shots of Natalie Portman at the Cannes Film Festival [insert Cannes pun here, such as "I think I Cannes"] in this incredible, frilly strapless Lanvin dress. As anyone worth her eight fashion periodical subscriptions knows, Ms. Portman adores violet-hued clothing and accessories. Natalie, brava for sailing into port in purple! Photo courtesy elle.com/uk.

There are a plethora of purples to choose from this season if you are in the market for a fabulous frock. Fortunately for CoutureCarrie, as I am totally feeling the "back is the new cleavage" trend, many of them are backless as well!

Behold this D&G open back sleeveless bubble hem dress, (at left, available at Neiman Marcus). Delish!


Slightly less scandalous, but still a variation on the theme, is Searle’s slightly deeper-hued purple open-back silk sheath (at right). Go to neimanmarcus.com.

Mara Hoffman’s built-in bustier dress is cheekily bi-colored, and has a swingy handkerchief hem skirt (at left, for purchase at shopbop.com).


Last, but decidedly not least, is this Zac Posen strapless pouf dress, which awakens our purple passion (at right, available at net-a-porter.com). A sophisticated take on the 80s prom dress, the topstitching, banded waist, and tulle overlay make this party frock rock!