Fugs Red Carpet Watch: Kendrick vs. Mulligan

As the Oscar red carpet fast approaches (and, oh yeah, the actual Oscars), we’re particularly excited about seeing the outfits of two first-time nominees and heretofore unknowns: Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air) and Carey Mulligan (An Education). In the seven months of premieres, parties, and award shows that have served as the run-up to Oscar night — a period where many freshman starlets might choose to play it safe, for fear of landing on the worst-dressed lists — both of these women have consistently made risky sartorial choices, some of which paid off, and some of which should pay us off to forget they ever happened. Translation: On Sunday, these ladies could trot out anything. So as we wait to see who will make the bigger splash on Hollywood’s Night of Nights, we present a side-by-side comparison to see which starlet, Anna or Carey, so far reigns supreme on the red carpet. Think of it as a slideshow Thunderdome, but with fewer loincloths.

Although Anna is thisclose to busting right out of her peach cocktail dress, she’s endearingly flirty and twirly, like she’s about to break into a cheerful ballet interpretation of her movie. We also love Carey’s ruby slippers, but wish she’d click them three times and send the dress back home: It photographs like she folded over a dress twice the size and just cinched it. A proper fit is a girl’s best friend … in the absence of an actual best friend to tell her what not to wear. Winner: Anna
Carey’s deep red sheath embodies Old Hollywood glamour with a Dynasty flair (that quasi-cape would be dynamite in a catfight), and stands out as unique without being ridiculous. Conversely, we took one look at Kendrick and said, “Wait, Sophia Bush is in Up in the Air?” Not that there’s anything wrong with being Sophia Bush — girlfriend is hot, and made a killing off One Tree Hill — but a relatively unknown brunette bandaged up in a tight short dress was going to look like a CW starlet no matter how many nominations she scored. We’d have loved something more original, even if it veered into Nutsville. Winner: Carey
By the time Up in the Air came out in November, it had picked up a lot of buzz, so we understand the temptation to go proportionally bigger with the clothes. Unfortunately, Anna overshot. This frumpy, musty bridal mess is little more than refried Miss Havisham. By contrast, although Carey’s flower detail looks woven from shredded paper, the dress she wore at An Education’s October premiere was intriguing and youthful in all the right ways, much like her character. Winner: Carey
With the exception of the detailing at the shoulders, Carey’s simple frock is terribly boring. And her purse looks like a brown paper lunch bag (which isn’t necessarily bad: We love lunch). Anna, however, did in fact make her long-anticipated foray into Nutsville by taking a pretty — if slightly overwrought — Marchesa and winterizing it with thick black tights and heavy dark shoes. Winner: Carey, if only because her legs and arms at least appear to be attending the same event.
Apparently, both women got the memo to wear a long, sleeveless black dress. While Carey accessorized hers with a figure-flattering belt and a groovy, chunky necklace, Anna looks like she forgot to finish getting ready before she left the house. She doesn’t look bad, but she could certainly look better. Winner: Carey
It pains us to pick a winner here. Anna’s Marchesa dominates her, and its color palette evokes minty whitening toothpaste; Carey’s Nina Ricci quite simply doesn’t fit. Again. Though we like the navy-and-black dress itself, we desperately want to hand her a strapless bra and then hike up the whole bodice about three inches. Ergo … Winner: Anna
It’s nice to see both women wearing color on the red carpet. While Carey looks gorgeous from the waist up, the cut of her dress creates the unfortunate illusion that she is suffering from a rare and bizarre giant knee tumor. Anna, on the other hand, is a knockout in violet. Winner: Anna
There may be a reason that Anna didn’t walk the red carpet at the DGAs: Her green and black strapless number seems suspiciously musty and a tad droopy. Carey, on the other hand, shines in a flattering-but-not-boring pink cocktail frock that’s basically the more successful younger sister of her Globes dress. Winner: Carey
Oh, dear. An LBD, especially one by Prada, seems a tad easy. And the debut of the Dye Job should doom Carey, because it’s Michelle Williams circa Dawson’s Creek meets Gwyneth Paltrow in Sliding Doors, and both did it to better and less brassy effect. But Anna looks like she broke her torso and has been put in some kind of heinous tulle traction. Winner: Carey
This wasn’t a slam dunk for either of our contenders. Carey’s Vionnet dress is amazing … for Helen Mirren or Meryl Streep. While we admire it conceptually, it’s far too old for someone as youthful and gamine as Mulligan. And we’re worried that Anna looks a bit boxy in her sunny yellow shift, although we love the color. In the final analysis, though, age-appropriate cheer trumps theoretical superiority. Winner: Anna Overall winner: Carey Mulligan takes it with six of our fake points to Anna’s four, so we’re putting our money on her to out-dress Kendrick on March 7. But don’t lose heart, Anna: if there’s anything we’ve learned over the years, it’s that the right dress on Oscar night could eclipse everything that came before it.
Fugs Red Carpet Watch: Kendrick vs. Mulligan