The green light
Natalie Portman may have won her Golden Globe. However, that calamine pink Viktor and Rolf dress is something a lot of people may want to forget. What we will remember is that her hot co-star Mila Kunis wore a sparkling forest green-colored Vera Wang dress that took four straight days to make, and nearly managed to outshine Angelina Jolie who wore an emerald-colored dress by Atelier Versace. Both actresses were lauded to be the best dressed of the night along with Catherine Zeta Jones, in an intense green Monique Lhullier that can be best described as British Racer green, and Elisabeth Moss, in a forest-toned Donna Karan.
There is no color that symbolizes envy more than the color green. Whether this sudden trend will have positive connotations or not is irrelevant; green is actually a challenging color to wear. It has the tendency to make the complexion sallow and the wrong shade can make you look like Tarzan. So a rich glow to the skin is needed to wear this precious shade.
Green godesses: Hardly jaded in rich forest tones donned by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Elizabeth Moss at Golden Globes. I have a deep love for the hue, though. My “everyday” engagement ring is a cabochon emerald set in a simple white gold band. This is perhaps the reason why, among my favorite fashion movies, green has been more than a tone but a theme.
Alfonso Cuaron’s cinematic rendition of Great Expectations revolved around shades of green. Whether it was the chartreuse madness of Anne Bancroft, the icy jewel-toned Donna Karans donned by Gwyneth Paltrow or the mints that the children wore in the earlier scenes, the color ceased to be just the signature shade that is prevalent in most Cuaron movies, but created a mood of deep envy. Kiera Knightley’s unforgettable Jacqueline Durran emerald slip gown in Atonement remained both provocative and regal, just like the movie. As with Great Expectations, Kiera’s character was the object of envy and desire. It’s quite funny, because these lustful films revolved around green tones that were thought to be unnerving by great directors such as Hitchcock, who used the color on the doomed Tippi Hedren in The Birds.
Lush scenery: Gwyneth Paltrow quietly seduces in different variant of green in Great Expectations. Yes, red may be the color of passion, but green is the color of desire. It’s time to go green in every way.
