One of my guilty pleasures is watching the Red Carpet of any of the big awards shows: the Emmys, Golden Globes, Oscars. Perhaps it’s the little girl in me that wants to dress up and look pretty. I remember when my mother would dress up on occasion to go to a party with my father. It was sort of magical to see her transformed. I still have her bottle of Chanel #5, and when I take the top off and get a whiff, I am transported to that time of watching her appear downstairs, looking and smelling different.

It’s the same with the Red Carpet. It’s fascinating to me as to how the actors transform themselves. Why did they choose that dress? Why that color, that shape, that jewelery, that hair? Who advised them?  Was it pressure from the studio, the designers, their spouses, significant others, their mothers, the media? Or did they just like the dress? What were they thinking?  Actors that I have great respect for play the game, and I wonder if they enjoy it, or feel they HAVE to wear an outfit that makes them look so different.

There is one actor that I continually look out for with great interest. She doesn’t play the game like anyone else, and we always can look forward to an interesting visual display.  Tilda Swinton uses her body to display the design of her dress, not the other way around. More often than not, her body is not really visable, and instead we see her dress and her ideas.  Her hair is always the same, and she does not appear to be wearing make-up. Her display is so out there, I am captivated by her guts.

It’s almost, almost as if she is mocking us. And that’s what I love.