Clooney and Alamuddin: the wedding dress
Let me make one thing perfectly clear: I couldn’t care less about George Clooney.
I don’t like his acting. I don’t like his movies. I don’t like his politics. I find him a bore, and I don’t follow any of it.
But you’d have to be away from a computer to have avoided seeing photos of his recent wedding to British/Lebanese lawyer Amal Alamuddin, and I haven’t been away from a computer. I also—as readers of this blog know—like fashion. And weddings involve wedding dresses.
Alamuddin has an interesting look. She’s a lawyer of some renown (yes, I know she’s on the left in her political leanings, just like Clooney, so they have that in common), but she sure doesn’t look like most lawyers. She looks like a fashion model, tall and rail-thin, a stretched-out ectomorph who is the very epitome of a clothes-horse. She’s considerably younger than he (36 to his 53), but they don’t look as mismatched as that sounds because she doesn’t really look her age.
It’s not that she looks older, it’s that she looks timeless and ageless. Her style is that of a 50s model such as these gals:
They look like women rather than girls, no matter how old they may be. Dignified and very grown-up indeed. That’s how Clooney’s bride comes across. Next to her, he seems almost boyish, despite the gray hair, and as though she’d have to give him lessons in etiquette.
Here’s the couple at their wedding:
You can see that her dress is more covered-up than a lot of the current bridal fashion, which features strapless bodices cut low, and tight form-fitting dresses that are sometimes even transparent. Ugh! Like Kate Middleton before her, whose dress was reminiscent of Grace Kelly’s 1956 number, Alamuddin’s wedding dress conjured up none other than Jackie Kennedy when she got married in 1953:
Clooney was good playing an idiot in Oh Brother Where Art Thou, a Cohen brothers movie made in 2000. Before that he did all right in Return of the Killer Tomatoes. As for the rest of his work and his politics I agree, he is a lightweight, pretty-boy jerk.
A lovely dress !
strong features on this woman, lol
profile looks a bit like a *tranny*
Not all of her fashion is timeless or more covered-up:
http://www.gofugyourself.com/fug-or-fab-amal-alamuddin-in-giambattista-valli-09-2014
That’s an up-skirt photo waiting to happen! But she’s certainly up to date on fashion trends and does look more like a model than a lawyer.
This wedding, with all its images of stars arriving in tuxedos, classic wooden speedboats on the canals of Venice, etc.) had the hallmarks of old Hollywood glamour. It was compelling in the same way that Grace Kelly’s wedding must have captivated.
Clooney reminds me of classic stars like Cary Grant (in terms of his looks, anyway. I don’t have an opinion on his acting). And her dress is lovely. I’m so tired of the strapless trend in wedding dresses. She also looked incredible in the white pantsuit and hat that she later wore to the civil ceremony in Venice. I didn’t love the short white lace dress with the red flowers (too much).
Overall though, the whole wedding event looked classic and beautiful and after an overdose of Kardashians and Beyonce and everyone else who parades in front of us on a regular basis, a little old Hollywood glamour is a refreshing change of pace. Now we’re back to the regularly scheduled Kardashian programming.
Regarding the glamorous Amal, I think the only way one can afford to have a career as a fashion-forward, globe-trotting “human rights lawyer” is if you’re already wealthy to begin with. Nice work if you can get it!
I’ve never really cared for Clooney – he just looks too slick, too plastic – like the mannequin in the window of an upscale men’s haberdashery.
But i agree with CV – the new Mrs. Clooney’s taste is a refreshing and very adult change from the Kardashians and Bouncy.
CV:
Clooney, like Cary Grant? Surely you jest. Grant has it all over Clooney in every way, including looks. Grant’s looks conveyed wit, intelligence, elegance, and self-deprecating humor. He was singular and unique. Clooney? Vapid, even-featured, boring.
I fell in love with Grant when I was a child. And I’ve never seen any reason to fall out of love with him.
I liked him in “Oh Brother…”; and in the movie he resembled Clark Gable.
Neo–agree with you 100% about Clooney (and Cary Grant!) and also about the bride’s looks and fashion sense. Her dress is beautiful. I have never understood the strapless wedding gowns–especially their popularity. With the number of pictures taken of a bride during the course of the day, I can only imagine how many unflattering poses are caught by the camera. Lately I am seeing them less often. A good trend in my opinion.
Sam L.:
I have to say I wasn’t all that keen on Gable as an actor, either. He had it all over Clooney, though.
Love, love, love that wedding dress. Hate strapless wedding gowns. So nice to see something different and elegant. Thanks for posting on this Neo- so glad that you enjoy commenting on fashion.
I remember reading that Jackie Kennedy didn’t like her wedding gown. This from Wikipedia, ‘Despite the acclaim for the dress around the world, Jacqueline later admitted to friends that she didn’t like her wedding dress, because it accentuated her flat chest.[5] She was critical of the dress and also said that it looked “like a lampshade.’ The rest of the article on the dress is interesting too.
Neo,
Agree that Cary Grant is in a class by himself.
Maybe I should have said that Clooney is handsome “in the tradition of” Mr. Grant. Or Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, etc.
I don’t find Clooney as gorgeous as some but he’s not hideous to look at either. Compared to say, Seth Rogen or Judd Apatow 🙂
CV:
Don’t get me wrong.
I wouldn’t kick Clooney out of bed—as long as he shut up about politics 🙂 . And of course, before he was married.
If I lost thirty pounds and grew 6 inches, I’d be just his type, too.
Clooney isn’t an actor I seek out or avoid; however, if you’re interested in fashion (and liked ‘O Brother Where Art Thou’), take a look at another Coen Brothers movie that featured him: ‘Intolerable Cruelty’.
…now that I think about it, it has a few things to recommend it related to this post. Clooney, fashion, weddings, lawyers, and a few tons of clever word play. And, frankly, Catherine Zeta-Jones is so stunning as to be reason enough to check it out.
Lovely couple no doubt but given their politics the real thing to do would be donate that 4.6 million the wedding cost to a worthy cause. Do something good for mankind. Isn’t he (next to al gore) the face of climate change movement?
Another case of do as I say not as I do.
On the looks angle of this post let me say there is a young woman that could easily fill her shoes right here in my neighborhood … in fact several. No doubt there are men that could fill his too. There are gorgeous people all over the world not just Hollywood.
Of course they get all the attention.
Or it might have cost $13 million.
Love this detail:
“The star of Gravity and The Monuments Men flew in cases of his own brand of tequila and the couple gave iPods loaded with a special collection of their favourite songs to their guests as presents.”
Reminds me of Obama giving the Queen an iPod that had some of his speeches uploaded onto it.
Ann,
I actually think the iPod filled with favorite songs is a pretty great wedding favor. Unless George and Amal were singing the songs themselves, of course. I assume they have good taste in music based on the wedding 🙂
But Obama gifting the queen HIS OWN speeches..well that still leaves me speechless, but not surprised. I hope the queen kept the iPod, deleted Obama, and added a few classics by Winston Churchill.
Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t kick Clooney out of bed–as long as he shut up about politics.
Fat chance of that happening.
Gringo:
Of him getting anywhere near my bed, or of him shutting up about politics?
I guess of both.
Obviously she’s not a practicing Muslim, if a Muslim at all.
I do not understand celebrity worship or why anyone is interested in their daily lives or the wedding photos of these vain people. They are for the most part not especially knowledgeable people about any subject under the sun. Why should anyone care about them beyond the screen, stage, or recording performances? Yes, they entertain, and that is valuable, but we pay to be entertained. Beyond that, paying attention to their personal lives and their largely silly opinions is a sign of feeble silliness. Stop buying into their desire for attention in their personal lives. Why? Because you do not want them to marry your grandchildren.
parker:
I don’t usually say this, but perhaps you might consider lightening up.
I certainly don’t worship celebrities. I enjoy fashion. I also have an interest in beauty. These things are not the focus of my life, but they constitute pleasant distractions from the heavier concerns we all face.
Actors and actresses also entertain us with their art, as you say. Some are mediocre (I happen to think Clooney is fairly mediocre), but some are excellent indeed. Without art (plays, movies, fine arts, music, dance, literature, poetry, and I’m sure I’ve left out some) life would be an impoverished thing. Their beauty can be part of the picture, and people come to feel they know them, even though that’s mostly an illusion. But it can be a nice distraction and entertainment in and of itself.
Glad you did this post, Neo.
While I wouldn’t describe Amal as beautiful, she’s certainly striking and has a style that goes well with her svelte figure.
I loved her wedding dress and think it showcased two of her best assets: her voluptuous dark hair and lovely bare shoulders. Something about a woman’s shoulders that can be so vulnerable and alluring.
I, like you, have no attraction to Clooney in any way. However, they do make a striking couple and I wish them well in their new marital adventure.
Neo,
I value entertainment. I do not politicize entertainment. I spend my money on entertainment whether cinema or recorded music with no bias towards the political leanings of the artists involved. I would not boycott a movie or the music of an entertainer based on politics. However, I find all the attention paid to celebrities and their fashion silly and actually harmful. Why? Because this attention emboldens and amplifies their ability to effect public opinion. They are mere mortals, well paid mortals, often ignorant and dangerous mortals in their ability to sway other ignorant others, but mortals nonetheless. Beyond what we less celebrated mortals pay at the box office or elsewhere, we’ve paid the dues to enjoy their art.
You may see this as interest in fashion. I can respect that. But I wish to note that underneath celebrity fashion there is a border collie herding the sheep towards accepting the agenda of celebrities.
Sorry to rain on your wedding gown parade.
parker:
Well, I can assure you that they don’t affect or influence my opinions in any way. I doubt they affect the opinions of any regular reader of this blog, either.
Nor am I adding to their influence. I’m not writing for People, after all. I’m just writing this blog.
All that you say is without a doubt true about this little space. In the larger space of checkout lane magazines, it is a huge factor. I did not mean to insult you, I merely wished to comment on celebrity worship in general. Your interest in fashion in general, or the ‘cutting edge’ of celebrity fashion is your thing and I have no issue with you our gracious and magnanimous hostess to do your thing. Please note there is no tongue in my cheek.
parker:
That’s okay, don’t worry. It takes more than that to insult me 🙂 .
After going through all these posts especially on the topic of Clooney, I am happy to report that I have never seen a single movie or TV show he has acted in!
We came close last year to the one about being stranded in space but something intervened, probably a pleasant walk on a balmy night !
Neo, of his shutting up about politics.
I don’t really like his politics at all. But, I can easily see him stepping into politics and winning the Democratic nomination and then the Presidency. Look at the optics and timing here. Look at the dress. Conservative Kennedy Democrat appearing style and grace. Really, think about it.
Jackie’s right about her wedding dress.
Our mother’s (1950) was stunning: heart-shaped bodice, and lace sleeves (to the wrists) with a ruffle of lace at each; peplum lace at the waist; and over a hoop skirt, a full satin skirt and full cathedral train, with lace panels over the skirt in the front and rear.
The strapless wedding gown fad is popular with the stores because they are the easiest to alter, since most are constructed by attaching a bustier to a skirt.
I much prefer a gown with shoulders.
When a culture kills its traditions and gods, it looks to authorities like Hollywood to give them meaning in life.
As always, it leads to corruption, as Hollywood directors and producers are full of child rapists and other normal rapists.
I was thinking that Amal looks similar to Jackie and wondering whether that was Clooney’s ‘model.’ It is interesting you showed Jackie.