Fashion coup de grâce or faux pas: what is left to shock us on the Red Carpet?

June 20, 2014

From It Happened One Night, when the mere show of a leg could stop a man dead in his tracks, to the now infamous Angelina leg pose on the Oscars 2012 Red Carpet, the slit has slowly made its way up a woman’s leg — from the ankle, to the knee, to the thigh. A fashion statement for the past few decades, the slit is empowering and sexy, hinting at what’s underneath — without giving away all the goods, as they say.

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Angelina Jolie and the infamous thigh-high dress slit. Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

But, as evidenced by the recent Much Music Video Awards, the question once again is whether some designers have taken it too far.

Kendall Jenner entered the Canadian fashion scene by wearing a white, jewel-encrusted Fausto Puglisi gown with a purple undertone, while making her debut as host of the popular MMVAs.

You’d think this beautiful dress was what caught everyone’s eye. But no. All the media channels were buzzing about the peek of her fully naked leg, pelvic bone and hip, as well as the fact that she was likely going commando (no panty line there!).

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Gwyneth Paltrow, showing a peek of leg and more. Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

Though Kendall’s look was striking, the question on everyone’s mind was: “What happens if there is a gust of wind, and how is this dress staying on?”

Compared to a leg, how sexy is the glimpse of a woman’s lower stomach and hip? Is it the fact that, at any moment, there might be the chance of a “vajay-jay slip” on the Red Carpet?

The “no panty” trend is not new on today’s Red Carpets or at premieres. At the premiere of Iron Man 3 in April 2013, Gwyneth Paltrow stunned photographers in her Antonio Berardi gown with its sheer side panels. Though no slit was apparent, fans got an eyeful of the side-butt and side-boob (no panty line there either).

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Jaimie Alexander: sexy on the Red Carpet. Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com

At the Thor: The Dark World premiere in November 2013, Jaimie Alexander wore a floor-length spring 2014 Azzaro dress with not one, but two sheer (and daring) panels that did not leave much to the imagination.

But when speaking of nearly naked looks, who cannot bring up Rihanna’s Adam Selman fishnet (see-through) dress, complete with a fur shrug and a definite panty line, worn at the CFDA Fashion Awards this year. Daring and sexy, or just completely trampy? The Internet was abuzz for weeks after the Fashion Icon Award-winner debuted her look.

We have certainly come a long way from the 1934 film, with sheer panels, slits as high as the eye can see and low-cut dresses. But this instance of fashion vs. faux pas is not the first, nor will it be the last. Remember the uproar when Jennifer Lopez debuted her Versace dress at the Grammy Awards in 2000? It put Jenny from the Block on the fashion map and greatly helped her career.

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Jennifer Lopez in that memorable deep V number. Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com

For Kendall, the final thought is: would the gown still have the same impact with the double slit if it had been lowered to just the top of the thigh? Or would we have forgotten it as just another pretty dress worn by a pretty girl?

Only time will tell in the career of the 18-year-old aspiring model. As for me, the pelvic bone and lower stomach area are not necessarily things I will be flaunting at my next Red Carpet event or anytime soon.

Feature image credit: Andrea Raffin / Shutterstock.com

By FAJO’s secret fashion insider
Photography by Shutterstock

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