Christina Ricci is as cute as the proverbial button. And I feel like this little dress is ALMOST as cute as she deserves.

But there's something about it that just doesn't quite work for me. It feels like what you'd get if you decided to make a saucy nightgown for the goth-enthusiast who REALLY hates her arms. If it were sleeveless, and had a better defined waist, we might be in business. Or if we chopped two feet off the bottom and wore it with jeans, she might skate by. Or....well, you tell me in the comments. As Elvis once said, don't be cruel. Also, please try the peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwiches. They're DELICIOUS.
But there's something about it that just doesn't quite work for me. It feels like what you'd get if you decided to make a saucy nightgown for the goth-enthusiast who REALLY hates her arms. If it were sleeveless, and had a better defined waist, we might be in business. Or if we chopped two feet off the bottom and wore it with jeans, she might skate by. Or....well, you tell me in the comments. As Elvis once said, don't be cruel. Also, please try the peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwiches. They're DELICIOUS.





I feel like this should be tagged, "Look Into Pants."
I can't be alone here, right?
I think it should be 6 inches longer (though her legs are deeply enviable, duh), and there should be a wide belt in a kicky colour like yellow or kelly green.
I think a pair of colored or patterened tights would add a nice pop, paired with a not black pair of shoes.
Sleeveless with some waist definition, BUT I really wish she would go back to looking like a healthy woman versus a wraith...
I'd like to see this a tiny bit more fitted, and maybe a couple of inches longer (not more, or it'll get wrinkly the moment she sits)... as it is, it makes me think a bit of the top half of a pants suit involving a tunic, from which the pants have been omitted, because pants suits are not really going on, these days. But I love the cut-outs and the sleeves... almost perfect!
Elvis also liked white cotton panties, and if she raises her arms just a bit... Actually, I like the sleeves with the length. It's the applique' neckline that I find hideous. And her shoes don't fit.
I think the dress is lovely, really suits her. The problem I have is with her hairstyle.
It gives her a case of Severe Lollipop Head.
I...don't hate it. I think she looks cute. A belt might stunt her, being short waisted and all.
I think it would be better if the sleeves were 3/4 length and a bit more fitted. I'd also like to see the dress a tiny bit more fitted and some kind of color thrown in...a handbag or perhaps a colored shoe...
It's a dress with cute potential which needs to be expressed.
Give it a waist, make the sleeves fitted, not flowing, and add 2 inches to the length. Add some sparkly jewelry - drop earrings? bracelet?
I like the long sleeves with the shortness of the dress, it's a fun contrast, though it should be maybe 2 or 3 inches longer. And I'd like a slightly less boring style on the sleeves. Maybe a bell-shape with more of that cut-out from the neckline going on at the cuff or something.
I was thinking about the belt idea too, but I wonder if it might be too much with or distract from the really cool neckline. I'm thinking it should just be a little bit more tailored to her body-line, in lieu of a belt.
However, I hate the haircut. She looks like a 12-year old boy.
Girl needs: A) A defined waist, like you said. B) Bangs that swoop slightly less sideways. C) And scratch the ponytail altogether. Then we're in business!
...Okay, as an afterthought, her head looks giant on her body. Maybe the sandwich you mentioned as well. (Extra mayo.)
I think this dress, as with so, so many others, would look better just above the knee. Partly because I'm so tired of the vulgar "look, look, look at my body" of so many Hollywood outfit, and partly because I think if you're short, something that is so short it's almost square makes YOU look shorter. A longer skirt is more elegant, more grown up, and will lengthen the line of the body.
I think the dress is fine, what I have a problem with is her hair. Change the weird severe side bang thing and I think she looks fine.
I think it's the sleeves that should shoulder the blame (sorry, couldn't resist). If they were cap sleeves, or snug three-quarter length sleeves, I suspect I would like the dress a lot better. I actually like the laser-cut effect of the yoke a lot. And black is a good color on her.
I think the hair is the real issue here. When I try to imagine the outfit before she got that awful Peter Pan haircut, it doesn't offend me. Might seem less goth-y though in a different color.
I'd go with capped, slightly puffy sleeves and ditch the bias cut hem, as it looks totally shapeless. And maybe not the satin. Oh, and the little cutout bit...oh, never mind. I like the colour.
Wait. Is that a haircut? I thought it was just a ponytail!
I actually love this. Maybe a little more definition at the waist, but I think she looks fantastic.
I think it looks fabulous on her and I love the detail at the top. Don't overthink...just love on it!
I think if the sleeves were tighter and the skirt were a liiiittle bit longer, we'd be in business.
She should always be pantless, with those killerlegs.
Needs a shiny belt, and a skirt that's more full and longer, otherwise we're straying back into Manson anniversary tryst wear. And the 90s boy bander bangs need to go when you have ten-head for days like she does. It's nice that she's smiling. Maybe that's because she knows she's NOT counting down the hours to an awkward, pasty-fleshed rendezvous full of tender gothic romance and blood.
I like the theory behind the cutouts, but the execution is off. The dress should be sleeveless, with the cutouts around the neck and top of bodice. The rest of the dress should be smoothly form fitting and hemmed just above the knee.
Also, fluff the hair.
Love the dress, and I think it's cute. Sure, the sleeves could be a bit different, but still cute!
But again with the orange, people!!
I just think the dress and her don't quite work well together. I could totally see this in a color, like purple and on somebody like Kim Kardashian but on Ricci it just looks bizzare
It needs a few inches in length, definitely -- once she wrinkles the back (ie as soon as she sits) isn't it going to potentially rise up even more? Yikes.
I agree with several of the previous comments - she should've looked into pants or made the dress a tad bit longer. There's a fine line between pulling off a short short dress and looking like you honestly forgot the pants part of your outfit before you left home. Unfortunately, this falls in the latter category. And I almost think it makes her legs look too muscly, if that's possible. I think it's lovely other than that- I would keep both the cutout and the sleeves.
Actually, I like this. Though I would lower it to just below the knees. (Kneecaps are ugly, even on a pretty young lady like this.) I would not remove the sleeves. I would definitely not add a belt or any other form of cinching in the waist: it would ruin the line of a dress whose strong point is that other than that elaborate cutwork on the upper bodice, it is ABSOLUTELY PLAIN and can thus *get away with* the elaborate cutwork.
No belt nor more waist -- with that much leg and that much collar, a cinched waist and/or belt would be a bit much. The make-up is pretty but the hair is YUCK. Not only does she need more hair, she also needs to leave the grease on her sandwich and not try to butter up her locks. Aside from a different hairdo, what this outfit needs is color. Perhaps the dress in navy and the shoes in... red, yellow, green, purple... really any color but less shiny.
This looks like what a saucy little granny would wear with the hope of looking hot.
i love the dress,but yes,some kinda colourful belt feels so right!!
somerhing is very wrong though,and that is peanut butter,banana and bacon sandwich!!!i mean,really? banana and bacon??jeez...
More fitted, about 6 inches longer, and with bell sleeves and she would be in business. Also she looks like she could use that peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich.
in the immortal words of chris farley: just cinch it! and maybe loose the ballony sleeves.
The modesty panel behind the cutwork is like Tim Burton getting a kickback from Supp-Hose.
Despite Alexa's witty comment about saucy granniness, Wrink is hard-pressed to find anything redeeming to say about this hideousity.
I like the dress very much as is. Would only make it a little longer. Not a lot, like about 2 inches. No belt, it would make this look like a Hefty Cinch-Sak garbage bag. Better shoes for sure, not sure what, but something a tad less boring. The hair does not suit her face/forehead at all. Having her hair off her face and shoulders does complement the neck of this dress though, it just needs to be less severe of a do, that's all.
I agree completely with djheydt: the goal here is to focus attention on the cutouts, rather than distracting from it with color somewhere else, or a belt that breaks the line of the dress. If you hate the cutouts, then they can just go, but a colorful belt would make this ensemble much, much worse.
...gain 15 lbs., Ricci, please. You used to be my favorite girlcrush.
Also, cut the sleeves, add a few inches, etc.
You're insane. This is adorable.
The dress is cute on her, but it needs to be fitted (What's wrong with darts?) and maybe 2 inches longer. I think a belt would be overkill, but a defined waist would make all the difference. I agree that a different sleeve would be better, although I like the length. And she really missed a chance to do a stunning shoe and some earrings or a bracelet.
Otherwise, she's so cute I hate her.
It's a rare occasion when I think "This would look better if it were tighter."
And yet here we are.
I think that if you're going to make it a dress it needs to be a couple inches longer and slightly more tailored at the waist. It's cute as-is... just with pants. I don't think it qualifies as a dress unless you can safely get out of a car without flashing your lady-bits to the world.
It's the shoes. If they were strappy, the line of her legs would run interrupted and she would look longer as supposed to squished into her current shoes. If she wants to keep the shoes, then tights are a must. Also, some kind of cocktail ring may be helpful.
While the dress is a bit short, I think that in this case, that's okay /because/ it isn't fitted. Had it been skin tight at that length, then it would have crossed over into trashy. As it is, it's a fun, cute outfit that just requires the wearer to be mindful of how they move in it so that they don't show off things we don't want to see. I don't have a problem with the dress overall.
The hair, as others have mentioned, needs work. Christina Ricci has a bobblehead as it is, and she is only accentuating that by slicking back. I don't remember the last time I saw her hair just loose and natural. It would be refreshing to see, but also do wonders for her Charlie Brown head.
Slightly longer but otherwise love it.
I think the problem is that the cutout pattern is too wide for the dress which makes her look even more like a rectangle.
I honestly LOVE this. I suppose it could be three or four inches longer, and a couple of darts wouldn't hurt anything, but I think she looks great as-is.
She needs pants with this.
Dress is perfect. Fix the strange hair and even stranger expression, and you're in business.
I think its the hair that's fugging it up. Although the blousiness of the sleeve isn't great either. Fix both (and feed her a meatball sub) and we're in business.
I love it in its entirety. No unfugging needed.
If there were no sleeves or short sleeves, a slightly more defined waist, three more inches on the hem so that I was no longer afraid I might see her nether regions, and some red or green or purple or gold shoes ... I would totally dig this.
From the eyebrows to the chin, she's reminding me of Lisa Kudrow for some reason. As to the dress, I'd switch the cuffed full sleeves for 3/4 length kimono-style ones, shape the waist, add six inches to the hem and either raise or lower the panel at the chest; where it is now isn't doing her bust any favours.
...didn't Fergie wear this exact same dress in the London Bridge video? Except in tan?
Anyway, since Fergie Ferg is...Fergie Ferg, yeah. As for the dress, I do think it looks a bit too gothy in black - perhaps a different color (I don't know...green, maybe?) or maybe with a bit of bling around the neckline. Honestly, it doesn't offend me that much.
Oooh, it's soo close to being great! I don't mind the arms, I like the black, I like the cutout neck, but I don't like where it hits her boobs. It doesn't have to be fitted, but maybe a little bit of a baby doll effect would have been better.
Love her legs by the way.
I do love it but think it might fit her better with a more defined waist. she is a skinny girl so why shy away from pulling that look off.
I love the neck line and the lack of accessories and I think if she wanted to make it more fun she could throw any color pumps on and make them pop. But even so I think she looks sweet and unlike many celebs at the moment she can pull off sweet.
omg, killer legs indeed! what dress?
I would be totally on board with this dress if it was more fitted, had fitted sleeves or maybe no sleeves, and she was wearing 60s style go-go boots.
Peanut Butter and Bacon and Banana are the perfect combo! I can't believe you like them too!
the arms need to be more fitted. as they are, they chest piece is being pulled down. maybe if she needs the dress to be long sleeved, more of a bell sleeve would look better.
I feel like it's a little Liza Minelli for her with the cut out neckline but with her gams showing all the way. Not that they aren't enviable, they are. It just doesn't fit her well - she's so tiny it just hangs. Lose the sleeves, lengthen it maybe 2 inches - can we make it red too?
I dunno... I'm bothered by the helmet head of hair she's got going on. Love the dress. She should have gone strappy with the kicks. Nothing about this pix caused me to wince in pain. Thumb up.
I actually like the dress/shoe combo as is. It's the hair that's killing me. The cut does nothing for the shape of her face, it's plastered to her head like she was just stuck in a rain storm, and the color/shine makes it too matchy-matchy with the dress. Change the hair, keep the cute dress for sure!
The dress is designed to show off her fabulous new physique, and it does. She looks great in this dress, her head is sort of roundish so any cut to unaccentuate that would be boring same ol. FAB!
Just a tiny bit longer with a belt.
Also either wear a bra with a bit more uplift or have the cutouts go lower to show a tiny bit of decolletage.
Also yeah, the hair is a bit flat.
Great legs! That's why I don't want to cover them up too much. Maybe just another 2 inches of dress.
I really love the cut-out & I think she looks really cute - just say NO! to satin - different fabric, keep the rest the same & we're in business.
This is an easy one. The hair is is not good. The dress is very cute, but I would like short sleeves on this and then shape the dress. There's no reason it has to hang the way it does.
She's showing off her legs; she doesn't need a defined waist. Does no one understand how to wear a mini? If she had a waist on the thing you'd call it skanky instead of cute.
It is a little 60s, so I'd go all out and give it bell sleeve.
tight sleeves to the elbow.
cut a slimmer silhouette to show her waist.
black knee boots with a good heel.
earrings -- small, maybe diamond studs -- to keep attention on her face because she is tiny.
As it is, it's way too goth-nightie for my taste. But if it were full-length, you could add a hat and have a witch's halloween costume. (Probably not what she/her stylist was intending.)
The dress isn't the issue.
It's the fugly, fugly hair.
All the attention that should be on the cute face and the great legs is too busy puking over the fugly hairdo.
Christina, honey, stop consulting Bjork on your hairstyle.
A slimmer, fitted sleeve - and the dress should definitely be fitted and I would love it, especially with those shoes .. and those legs!
I think the dress looks just fine and, actually, it seems her pose is pulling the hem up an inch or two. I could get picky and say the dress needs a strappier shoe or maybe boots, but she's really short and they might make her look stumpy.
I agree with those saying the problem is the hair - a fuller style and she's in business. The only thing I'd change about the dress is the cuff of the sleeve - something just seems a tiny bit off about the fit or style. Maybe something a little more interesting in the shoes, subtle, though, like color or a better fit, would finish things off.
The dress needs a waist a inch or two more length. She kinda looks like a mod Morticia Adams, but I like it!
2/3 sleeves, right under the elbow, still ballony: done!
It's the hair. I keep wondering if it's a ponytail or Renee Zellweger's "Bee Movie" 'do, and I can't focus on her outfit.
I think it's a fun dress in an ok color. Blue or red would've been better, probably a color in general. I would lengthen it, cinch it a bit either on the dress or with a belt and shorten the sleeves. If Ricci's hair is long(er), I would style it in an updo of some sort. But it's generally a good look.
The dress is cute...
the hair hat is atrocious!
Baby doll sleeve and en empire waste band with a cute buckle would just about do it.
bright tights + shorter sleeves
You know, I actually like this. I think her legs look amazing, and she's following the Skin Reveal rule of not showing boob when she's showing leg or vice versa. She's slender enough that she can have it a bit looser without getting lost in it. Yes, I vote Good Job!
Step 1. Make this a short sleeved shirt, and a little shorter.
Step 2. Jeans.
Step 3. Jewelry? Bracelets? Earings? Oversized ring? Something?
Step 4. New Haircut. Please.
I think she looks great, head to toe; v. v. Christina Ricci.
PS: I thought Kimberley's post said "Yes, I vote Good Boob Job!" and was all, wtf? there for a minute.
I think she looks great, head to toe. V.v. Christina Ricci.
PS: I thought @Kimberley's last line was "Yes, I vote Good Boob Job!" there for a minute, and was way confused!
and now I look like an idiot with the double post.
The hair appears to be taken directly from Gary Oldman's character in "The Fifth Element".
http://www.mahalomilla.com/Milla/Zorgs_Men/IMAG008.JPG
I think it needs to be ironed...For some reason the crinkles get to me, Am I the only one? Maybe it's just the fabric.
Less wrinkles with more length at the bottom and it would be more appetizing to my eyes.
Sleeveless, a little longer, belted. And she IS adorable here. Looking less waif-y than usual, right?
Sleeveless would fix it. The elastic around the wrist is killing it. If it were sleeveless you could get away without tucks. As it is, with sleeves, you need either an empire seam or some tucks--something to show an hourglass.
I have to agree that the severe hairstyle (short or not) is aggravating the Morticiasness of this!
I'm still trying to figure this one out. It's kind of got a 60's fancy-design-on-the-side-of-my-mom's-coffee-pot thing going. The hair is not attractive, the sleeves and the length of the dress thingie feel all wrong. I hate to say, "start over", but I'm gonna say it - START OVER. And 'Cilla, bring me, uh, peanut butter and, uh, banana samich. And ma vitamins.
i believe satin + long sleeves is always wrong. ALWAYS. chop of the sleeves and we're fine. well, maybe give her a fringe (bangs?) too.
She's monochrome. Hair, dress, & shoes are all the same color.
And the dress needs to be 1 or 2 inches longer. Change those two things and she would've knocked it out of the park.
Incidentally, with all these mentions of Morticia Addams..... you do realize this is Wednesday all grown up, right?
I don't think it can be fixed. It's just not good and she deserves better than this.
A waist. And 3 or 4 inches more hem. I'm surprised this didn't get a crotchtacular tag.
All the suggestions made by Jessica would make this dress an out-of-the-park home run, but Christina still gets on base with the frock she's wearing, nawhattamean? Definitely not fug, but close enough to a well-played that nitpicking is inevitable.
Make it more fitted and make the sleeves much larger. I know, totally retro but I love the boho look in black.
Her hair is the part that bothers me. Anyone else think this is ala Gary Oldman in Fifth Element?
Add: Belt. 3 inches. Bangs all the way across.
Done!
The dress is cute but would be better sleeveless.
Chop off the sleeves to caps, add a foot to the hem and belt it! Shoes that aren't black might also help.
I enjoy the long sleeves, actually, it's the doily neck that makes her look like a punk grandma.
I think its her hair thats just not doing it for me...I can work with the dress.
It's the hair. She should've channeled Louise Brooks for this one.
Bell sleeves, a tuck and an interesting belt (how about a cumberbun?)? More hair over that forehead? Pants?
That dress is kind of dull to me but whatever works for her.
It needs to be sleeveless. And it needs a red sash/belt.
It's a great dress that's been tragically spliced with a nightie. Different fabric, more fitted at the waist and on the sleeves and maybs just a couple inches longer and it's back to great.
I really like it on her. That complicated pattern on the top brings all the attention to her lovely face. Okay it could be just a few inches longer but that's her choice - she doesn't need unfugging!
Add five inches to the skirt, cut off the arms, and nip it in a bit at the waist and you'll be in business. Also, Christina? Always wear bangs. Always. The movie may've been a dog, but you looked absolutely adorable in Speed Racer.
Jerry Seinfeld had no luck with puffy sleeves. Neither do I think does Ms Ricci.
I reckon that they WOULD ROCK WITH PANTS - and I am afraid that the only person I could see pulling that off with aplomb would be my namesake Alexis Colby Carrington.
She would probably have an electric blue patent leather number or animal print belt matched with shoes...she slone...
I love this as a TOP, but it needs a bottom. It screams Yves Saint Laurent to me, so perhaps luxurious smoking pants, or a vintage Rive Gauche gold leather pencil skirt with better shoes and a better hairstyle. Killer legs and skin, just hair is too flat and oily for her movie screen of a forehead.
The neckline is interesting, and it's short, but not crotchtacular-short, and with her legs I think the length is fine. The shoes are good too, because she's a very short girl and yet the combo of the short skirt and low-slung pump actually makes her look leggy. The dress seems to be a bit too large for her, though, as evidenced by the way the shoulder seams droop past her shoulders. I agree with other posters who suggested 3/4 sleeves, but disagree that it needs a pop of color. If the dress fit better, that neckline would be enough intrigue. Also the hairdo is far too severe for her heart-shaped face.
i think the bottom of the dress needs to be a little more fitted, and her hair needs to be loose rather than up.
I love the dress and shoes. I love that everything is simple, no crazy jewelery or complicated hosiery. However, her hair is horrific. It that was better attended to I think it would be an allover winner.
it looks like she's on her way to a Mime convention all she needs is white face.
Her hair is BLAH.
Hack off the sleeves make the top more fitted around the bust and the skirt more a-line + a little longer, then it might have a cute 60's vibe, although I am not digging the shiny fabric AT ALL, which may make what I have just described super cheesy looking in which case there is no hope for it . Also I feel her hair is a little too 'small' to be flattering, it accentuates the round alien-like shape of her head.
I actually like it (a leeeetle longer, though, would be good), and call me crazy, but I think she looks faboo and super healthy and glow-y. Not too skinny at all (I mean by, you know, Hollywood standards - that's not to say she's not skinny). Slim and muscular is good, like she's had fresh air and not just a spray tan.
I am not crazy about the cuffs on the sleeves, but overall I love it. Yay, Christina!
Her hair looks like she has shaved half her head.
I dislike that more than I dislike the dress!
I kind of dig it. It has a sort of retro, Go-Go-gone-goth look that I really love.
Sorry if someone already said this, I don't have time to read through ALL the comments. The sleeves should in in a bell not a cuff. Do you know what I'm talking about? Long sleeves that end like bell bottoms. That's the ticket to making this fab.
It's a cute dress -- a little funereal, but the real problem is that it's just a few sizes too big. I think she couldn't decide on whether to hide the lady-places or have proportional shoulders, a tough choice. So, maybe lengthen the dress by 2 inches or so while simultaneously taking it in everything by the hemline?
WAIST. Not cinched with a belt, but actually sewn into a more flattering shape. I know she's got a trim little figure under there - with the long sleeves, we need a bit more of a hint of it.
HAIR. Seriously, bad hair. Change this. Pixie cut? Proper fringe? Whatever. Just... just something, please.
DONE!
Awww, little Wednesday Addams goes to the prom! Start with making it longer or adding pants. Give it more shape at the waist. Fire the hairdresser.
Less sleeve, more shape. The hair is quite, quite bad. She is too thin and the hair accentuates that. I think it all comes down to proportion, and everything here is "too" something.
I think the fact her hair is black adds into the goth look unintentionally... it just needs no sleeves so she can wear some accessories to add color and maybe some more snazzy shoes. Definition would be good, though that's not the main issue, the dress is quite short so the fact it's loose balances that out.
Sleeveless.
Open-toed shoes.
Better hair.
Sleeveless or better fitted and longer, plus hair that doesn't make it look like one of those makeover sites where you paste different hairstyles on a bald little noggin. Clearly this hair doesn't match this head and makes me feel like it might slide off her round little scalp any second.
Get rid of the cutouts at the top (or make them simplified).
Add one solid color (or a bright pattern) to the dress. If you add trim to the dress get rid of the cutouts. They'd be too distracting.
Loosen her hair or move it so it's closer to her shoulders.