Our girl Sophia Bush has been out and about a lot the last couple of days, handily illustrating the thrill of sartorial victory and the agony of its defeat.
This one, I think, is a win:
Does she look like the world's sexiest referee? Maybe, although she was smart to leave her whistle at home. But she also looks sort of modern and graphic and curvy -- frankly, I think this works, although I'm concerned that her shoes are brown. Surely that's just craziness on my part, however, yes? Brown shoes would be foolishness at the level of the fact that last night's One Tree Hill involved NO MALE SHIRTLESSNESS. Considering that this is the first time that has EVER happened on that show, let's just say....I am concerned. Also, I'd like to take this moment to officially thank the OTH crew for casting Hot Hot Robert Buckley as Nathan's Generally Shirtless Troubled Manwhore Agent With a Heart of Gold and MYSTERIOUS PAST. I'd also like to share that when I originally wrote that sentence, I accidentally left out the word "Agent," and I admit that I would also watch THAT show.
Anyway, further craziness on Sophia's part, however, is amply demonstrated by THIS:
This one, I think, is a win:
Does she look like the world's sexiest referee? Maybe, although she was smart to leave her whistle at home. But she also looks sort of modern and graphic and curvy -- frankly, I think this works, although I'm concerned that her shoes are brown. Surely that's just craziness on my part, however, yes? Brown shoes would be foolishness at the level of the fact that last night's One Tree Hill involved NO MALE SHIRTLESSNESS. Considering that this is the first time that has EVER happened on that show, let's just say....I am concerned. Also, I'd like to take this moment to officially thank the OTH crew for casting Hot Hot Robert Buckley as Nathan's Generally Shirtless Troubled Manwhore Agent With a Heart of Gold and MYSTERIOUS PAST. I'd also like to share that when I originally wrote that sentence, I accidentally left out the word "Agent," and I admit that I would also watch THAT show.
Anyway, further craziness on Sophia's part, however, is amply demonstrated by THIS:
I get this dress in theory. It's sexy and lacy and something I could imagine seeing on a recently widowed French prostitute -- which isn't necessarily as tragic as it sounds, because...you know, the French can pull things off the way the rest of us can not -- and I could be talked into believing that it looks better in person than it does in photos, even if there is no real way that she doesn't need maybe an extra half inch in the hem. In fact, I feel like I could secretly love this regardless of skimpiness if it didn't come complete with a built-in feather-y neck brace. As I always say, when you are modeling crotchtacular, semi-sheer classy French prostitute-widow's weeds, a feather--y neck brace is, frankly, just overkill. All you need to complete that particular look is a cigarette and a bored expression.
I too love Robert Buckley. That is all.
PS: The striped one is really cute.
There was no "MEH" option for both. Neither really made me cry out for joy...or throw up either. MEH TO BOTH!
Points off the striped one, though, for the shoes. That shoulda been a slam-dunk, and she missed it.
she needs to dress to elongate her torso, I think that's why I'm slightly put out by both dresses, even though theoretically they're ok.
Seriously, what color ARE those shoes in look one?
I too would watch a Robert Buckley manwhore show. When is that airing?!
Pretty sure the shoes with the striped dress are purple/burgundy, in which case, very nice.
i agree with the need for a "meh" option on both. I think the shoes in the first one are more of a burgundy color, but maybe the red carpet makes them look brownish? The neck feathers wreck the second look. And both dresses could be an inch longer. Look we get it, Sophia: You like short and tight dresses.
Second pic looks like someone excised her neck and then replaced her head with another that's five times too big for her body.
LOATHE to both. the first one makes her body look like...disproportionate. i don't even know. plus, pretty sure she's worn that almost exact same dress before...and the second...ugh. just...no. it honestly looks like her head was photoshopped onto that dress. when did lacy, sequined turtlenecks become acceptable to wear on the red carpet? sophia...hon, get a new stylist.
and i have to agree about rob buckley...good choice, one tree hill. verrry good choice.
Click the striped dress to get the closeup - the shoes are burgundy and kind of boring.
I vote Meh and Meh.
And does the first one remind no one else of a piano?
Jessica - I'm pretty sure her shoes in the first picture are burgandy Trib Twos. I don't mind the first dress, but I'm kind of tired of Herver Leger bandage dresses.
No horizontal stripes. EVER!
And I'm pretty sure Britney Spears has that very same black lace dress. Like three years ago.
I think I'd just like her to stand up straight and pull down the skirt a little in the second one.
Is there a slip under that black lace mummy's costume? I think my eyes are seared from seeing la bush de Bush. Not to mention les boobs.
can i just ask why my uni are advertising on your page ?????? lol
dont go there noooo
Horizontal stripes are a friend to no one. She looks way wider than she actually is in that number. I LOVE the second one in theory, but it is bunching up in all the wrong places. I think on a taller girl with a flatter chest, who would also add a couple inches to the hem, this would be divine.
Thank you, LB--yes, the striped one IMMEDIATELY made me think of a piano. Remember Tom Hanks in BIG? If she lay on the floor and I stepped on her, I bet I could play Chopsticks.
um, the second one is, like, so 2002 (or something) because Britney Spears wore that one already to an award show!! I remember.
I like the first one a lot! I want that dress: it gives the illusion (quite literally) of having a waist.
She looks like she sustained a neck injury while visiting an aviary, and an enterprising chiropractor devised a brace from a flock of buzzards.
Meh on both dresses. More distraught over the lack of shirtlessness on the parts of Robert Buckley and James Lafferty in last nights ep! A girl doesn't ask for much, but a little shirtlessness goes a long way.
I think the shoes with the stripped one are burgundy, which makes it more of a near miss than a total failure.
Am I alone in my horror at the apparent total lack of underwear under the lacy thing? I'm sure I see stuff that can only be described a genitals.
@lotte -- Thankfully, she's definitely wearing a strapless bra and panties. Click on the photo for the full-size view and they are clearly visible. It would have looked better if she had worn a nude full-body shaper slips. (And no, I am not a perv...I just wondered the same thing!)
I think in the first pic she is wearing dark, dark red shoes, not brown. And I like the entire look. She looks FAB.
The second dress would be fine without the feathered neck and if it was about 2 inches longer. It's a sexy, fun look.
She looks like she's having some sort of Spanx catastrophe in the first one, really pinching at the waist. A big problem in a dress that tight, or maybe the dress itself is creating the problem. Plus somebody really should have fluffed her boobs out equally before she stepped in front of a camera.
I agree, those are totally groin folds visible. Gross. She's better than this.
My recent lack of cable makes me cry for all my OTH babbies!!!!
I adore Sophia and she rocked the black and white pertty hard, I give the black an OK not great not bad, seems like something somebody more needy of attention would wear though, like day Hayden Panat-ican'tspellhername
@Tina - Gina's right, she is definitely wearing a strapless bra and underpants, in lovely beige. The underwear are actually surprisingly modest and I imagine look really weird in person, you can see the stitched elastic edging. It would appear she did not go for the g-string, either, so good for her?
Her head looks like it's been photoshopped on in the second picture.
Someone please tell me what has become so wrong, so awful, so abhorrent, about leaving a little to the imagination?
Question: is she wearing underwear under the lace one? Ew.
Stripey likey!
The second one makes her look like she has no neck. And a giant head.
I just wish women would collectively quit wearing things that teeter on the edge of exposing lady parts. Or am I wrong and a healthy breeze round the nethers is a good thing?
Well, it might prevent a yeast infection?
I hate the lace.
Why do so many actors have such freakishly big heads on tiny bodies?
...didn't britney sport this same look at one point? I may be wrong...
Dress with stripes, cute. Black lace, lose the neck.
Ms. Bush doesn't look comfortable in either picture. Perhaps she should look into a stylist that "gets" her? Or simply learn how to stand up straight?
Far as I'm concerned, both would be substantially improved by a couple extra inches on the bottom. I think that would take the striped one from "eh" to "awesome!" and the black one from "bleagh" to "eh." If you catch my drift.
The first one screams "I invented the piano key necktie!"
Seriously, the 2nd dress looks like she stole the neck off Cher's Oscar gown & sewed it to her childhood ribbon collection. Also, it's a little "Bride of Frankenstein." FUG
Methinks the shoes in the 1st pic are some sort of burgundy color, but they still ruin the trompe l'oeil effect of the dress--which I am liking on her. Something THAT busy needs a classy black shoe (for example, take the shoes from dress 2 and you're good).
The world's sexiest referee? Is that what that's supposed to be? I thought she was taking her zebra costume out for a pre-Halloween test drive. But it's still miles better than the other one. That made my eyeballs bleed.
Lovely young woman, strange sartorial choices.
While I like the stripes, I don't think it's a very flattering look for her. The black lace is pretty gynecological. Yuck.
But what I really would like are suggestions on the use of "crotchtacular" in everyday conversation. I have a board meeting tomorrow. If I tell Madame President that her skirt is positively crotchtacular, will that win me points, or will it get me kicked off the board? (That would not be a bad thing.)
How did you even see her shoes? I was blinded by that seizure inducing dress.
My husband saw the second dress and said "That's trampy. Actually, if tramp was an animal, that dress would be its' skin." Hee!
Consider pants. No horizontal stripes, not even on the skinny gals. Just no. I like her hair in the first. I like nothing at all of the Britney Spears hand me down, especially not her hair. Or the feathers. Or the lace. Or the length. Or the too-small shoes. I guess "nothing" sums it up.
I agree with an earlier commenter. You can definitely see the Spanx in the first one. If you need to wear Spanx, choose a different dress.
And the black one is just in poor taste. (Does anyone say that anymore?)
I'm going with "plum" or "aubergine" for the shoes, and yes, "Nice choice!"
The first one is the dress version of "the piano tie."
Thank you, I'll be here all week.
I think the first dress is actually an exception to the "no horizontal stripes" rule, because it's also got that curvy-body-silhouette line going (which I love). But yeah, shoes are WRONG.
And I am enjoying the classy-French-prostitute angle in the second look by imagining her wearing it with a spectacular giant hat.
I'm pretty sure Britney Spears wore that second one to the 2001 VMA's minus strange feather choker.
And as for me, I'm pretending that the shoes are the striped one are a nice complimentary maroon. PLEASE let them be maroon.
I really like the first dress, but I can see what appear to be Spanx peeping out the bottom, and the waistline shows evidence of poorly fitting Spanx. Why, why, WHY are we still fixated on that dreadful 1910s idea that shaping garments which end at the waist line are a good look?! Sexy Referee dress = win, undies = fail.
The black one, to me, is just "meh". I like the theory, but the practice didn't work out so well.
Meh. The stripes make her look wide, not curvy. And that lace number looks like it's trying to strangle her.
as a musician who should probably be practicing instead of reading this oh-so-amusing blog...the first dress reminds me of a piano. sigh.
the second dress appears to be a madonna reject, probably cast off because it wasn't quite crazy enough.
The striped dress makes her boobs look amazing, and she looks incredibly curvaceous. However, i think her shoes may be a velvety red, not brown. The lace dress is all fug for me, it reminds me of one of Lady Gaga's many VMA dresses, probably because of the feathered neck brace. At least her make up is okay in the French prostitute dress, whereas in the stripy one, she looks overdone. I'm all for a red lip, but only if it's done right.
She strongly resembles Kristen Bell in photo #2.
My opinion is probably coloured by a MASSIVE girl crush here,but still.
I love the first one - it looks like it's made from a harpsichord, and good on her for wearing horizontal stripes. To quote OTH itself, "Zero is not a size" and Sophia is gorgeous, healthy, and looks it.
The second one? I'm more concerned with the neckline + severe hair. Long hair and a slightly longer hem, and she'd be in business.
Still. LOVE HER.
Love the first one. I think her shoes are burgundy.
I'd wear the second one if it were longer, but then I also love wearing large ridiculous things at my neck.
The second dress totally reminds me of one that Victoria's Secret sold via catalog in the early '90s... It was the ubiquitous sorority girl formal of it's day, that day being a long, long time ago. And even then? It was fug.
Is it just me, or does the black dress make her head look HUGE for some reason?
I like the first dress, even though it makes me think of piano... :D Shoes, though, are big meh. They should have been something edgier and as modern as the dress.
I like the neck part in second dress, but the rest of it is horrible. It could work without sleeves. Or not.
The feathery collar makes her look neckless, like her head was photoshopped onto this body. Plus, the dress is too tight, which could also be said of the striped one, though I liked that better on her.
This girl is advertising a bondage fetish. EEEEWWW.
The striped one looks like she is being squeezed to death.
The black one? Hmmmn. Lace and ribbon. All wrapped up like a birthday present. And what's with the strangulation neckline?
Does it have to be so OBVIOUS? and so SHORT?
FUG THEM ALL.
i actually love both.
i think the first one looks great on her (and she in it), ESPECIALLY with the understated shoes.
i love the second one because i actually think that the neckbrace is a nice contrast to the shortness of the dress. i love her legs in it and i like the sleek and understated hair and shoes that go well with the dress.
I too LOVE Robert Buckley.
I think the second one would be better with different hair.
My first thought with the striped dress was, "Is that a wearable piano?" They both need another inch of length, but if someone held a gun to my head, I'd pick #2, feathers and all.
Some of you guys are crazy. She is killin' it in both of these. The striped (piano looking or not) is super cute and the understated maroon suede pump was a great choice. I would not wear the second one myself, but she's young, hot, and that lace is amaze! I'm glad to see her take a risk.
It's actually rather tragic that they don't seem to make dresses quite long enough for Ms. Bush. Perhaps she is eight feet tall? There's nothing here to give me perspective. However. the first one isn't too bad, and could be greatly improved by her following her mother's advice and standing up straight.
Smacks suspiciously of Herve Leger.... is this man magic or something??? EVERYbody's got one of those flipping bandage mini-things! I suppose it's de rigeur with that set.... I don't watch much tv tho/ but I do make time for Craig Ferguson -- she recently was on his show, btw who is this chick again?
The first one: It hurts my eyes and makes me dizzy. Never a good effect for clothing. the second one is too short.
She is a beautiful girl, with a beautiful curvy and fit body. She needs to dress for her body type. I think she needs to give Kim Kardashian a kall, as Kim really knows what works best on her body type.
The second one is SO sloppy!
That first dress gives me a migraine. Hope she didn't wear it around anyone with epilepsy.
Sophia Bush has a very pretty face, a head made for teevee. She has quite nice boobs. But a face (even with good boobs right beneath) is not the same thing as a body, and the short statement dresses do not do any favors to her petite, soft body type. A french prostitute could pull off the mourning dress because we would imagine she would look like pretty much the opposite of Sophia, who has a very truncated torso that does not serve as an elegant pedestal to her head. There's no aesthetic reason to play up those legs, leaving only an obvious marketing reason. Sophia is not fit, not even urban walking-fit. Rather, she is a young American, which is just fine; but she should save the little, fancy, sausage-skin dresses for the sorority parties, and wear something more flattering to public events. Yet, when all reservations are registered, the girl is youthful and rich, and one of those conditions doesn't last forever, so why shouldn't she be able to live it up?
Too short, too tight. No colour accents. The first one needed, say, a red cuff and less clunky shoes. The second is pretty tacky looking - but a bit of length and some less crappy shoes would have been less-awful. Not worth saving IMO.
The first one I love, love, LOVE! Some red would have been nice, but I don't think it really NEEDS it. If those aren't black shoes they def should be.
The second one looks very odd. Girlfriend has a great shape, but healthy thighs. The ultra-short works with that, but even for ultra-short, this is too short. It needs at least two more inches on the skirt - either fringe or a lacy ruffle would be adorable.
As to the top - either - bigger hair, the sleek thing is not working with this because of the neck line. Ordinarily you'd want to show off the neck of the dress, but in this case the dark makes her shoulders, neck, and head look disproportionately tiny, and her thighs look bigger than they really are. - OR - a different neck line. With a pretty, flattering square-cut neckline, the lightness of the skin showing would offset the thighs, showing off her pretty curvaciousness, rather than making her look disproportionate - because in real life, she isn't. A trapezoidal neckline would be great on this \__/ , lose the collar, and a pretty, but not overpowering necklace.
I think the problem here is that these dresses are a hesitant blend of "cute" and "wack" that fails to achieve either.
In order to pull off either of these looks - "New Millennium Mime" or "Physical Rehabilitation Hospital/Long-term Nursing Facility Dominatrix" - one must channel their inner Karl Lagerfeld. The dress is but an accessory - wear your attitude like a gown. BE that feathered outfit! TICKLE!
She either needs to follow the herd or hire Posh to slap her for making such timid shoe / hair / accessory / makeup decisions. In for a penny, in for a pound, Sohpia! It's not a good idea to sit on the fence in dresses that short.
I would have liked to see the lace dress a tiny bit longer and not a polo-neck style (it looks like it's swallowing her), but I love love love the prettiness of it. The striped dress I think she only just gets away with because she's tiny. Horizontal stripes? Neaow. Cute hair and make-up though, she makes it look casual and cute. I also think the shoes are a dark red colour, only the bright red carpet is making them look brown. She should have seen that coming really. But she's so cute, I can't be cross with her.