Friday Fame: Helena Bonham-Carter

So for this week's Friday Fame, I actually had something COMPLETELY different planned, but then as I was looking through The Evening Standard (a free newspaper they hand out near Underground stations in London) on my way home from shopping (the fruits of which I might post in my scheduled post tomorrow or which I might hold off on posting until next week), I saw a picture of Helena Bonham-Carter at the London premiere of her new movie, The King's Speech.

Now in my opinion, Helena is very hit or miss on the red carpet (with more hits than misses). She has a very distinctive style that suits her well when she finds the perfect dress, but she has a major tendency to come off looking overly sloppy. However, I think she got it right with this dress (or is it a shirt and skirt combo?), designed by Vivienne Westwood, I believe.



Generally Helena's look doesn't really appeal to my personal taste, but I actually REALLY love the bodice here. It looks a bit helter skelter at first, but upon closer inspection, it's actually quite structured. It's distinctive without being overwhelming. And I think the length of the skit is perfect. At first I thought it'd look better with a full length skirt, but upon further consideration, I think that would have been too much (or "a lot of look" as Tim Gunn would say). Too much volume would push the look too far, especially for a premiere which isn't quite as formal as something like the Academy Awards.



Even her hair and makeup looks great. Her makeup isn't overdone, but it's not so neutral that it washes her out either. And her hair looks a bit carefree without looking like she just rolled out of bed.

So in conclusion, I think that this is an excellent example of Helena working her aesthetic to her best advantage. It's not my personal style, but I still think she looks great. What do you guys think? Do you generally like Helena's red carpet looks? Is this look doing it for you or are you not impressed?

Edited because I forgot to mention: The one problem I really have with this look is her bag. It's kind of juvenile, like something you might have bought at Hot Topic in 2004. But other than that I think it was well-accessorized and I LOVE her black pumps.