7:02am Saturday 6th March 2010
WHOEVER leaves the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood tomorrow night clutching the iconic gold statuette will be sharing the limelight with some other winners.
For there are always two sets of victors on Oscars night: those with the Academy Awards and those with the amazing wardrobes.
Fashion editors will be on call to scrutinise the dresses of Tinseltown’s starlets, while the paparazzi will be on standby to capture the good, the bad and the ugly for posterity.
No Oscars ceremony is complete without designer dress disasters. Who can forget Bjork dressed as a swan or Gwynnie as a goth?
It remains to be seen who will fall foul of the fashion fuzz this year, but the band of luvvies vying for Oscar glory includes Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren, Sandra Bullock, Penelope Cruz and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Hopefully, they will have chosen their outfits wisely. If there is a golden rule for dressing for a night at the Oscars then it has to be: glam it to the max.
Actresses who take their cue from Hollywood’s golden era, paying homage to the likes of Rita Hayworth, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn, should walk the red carpet with confidence.
Hair should be perfectly groomed (the bigger, or slicker, the better) while the dress should be in a strong colour and fitted to show off the star’s best assets.
Back home in York, we might not have a front row seat to the 82nd Academy Awards (no, the sofa doesn’t count), but we can still learn a trick or two about dressing for an occasion from watching the Oscars.
Whether we are going to York races, a posh wedding, a prom or black-tie ball, there are times when a touch of Hollywood glamour is just the ticket.
And if you are looking for some inspiration, step no further than Fifi Boutique on Shambles, the newest kid on York’s fashion block.
Owner Marie Catchpole has spent 30 years working in fashion retailing and reckons she knows what women want.
“I’ve listened to people over the years,” says Marie, a 48-year-old mum of two. “Lots of people want a great product, good quality, at a fair price.”
With the likes of Victoria Beckham and Cheryl Cole flying the flag for feminine, glamorous clothes once more, Marie has pitched her new boutique at that niche.
“Women want feminine clothes and dresses where they can feel really glamorous,” says Marie. “They can look as glamorous as anybody else – but at a fair price.”
Red carpet fashion without putting you in the red is the philosophy behind Fifi Boutique. Dresses befitting a party in Beverly Hills as well as a night out in Beverley start at about £50, with full-length designs worthy of a diva priced from around £120 to £150.
In a novel move, Marie will also hire dresses from her Monsalina occasion wear collection for about half the original price.
“When you can pay more than £100 for a full-length dress, some women may have a budget of about £50 and may prefer to hire – especially if they know they aren’t going to wear it again,” she says.
The Monsalina range is made in Coventry and features knee-length and full-length dresses in different colours and designs. At Fifi Boutique, Marie has a wide selection of Monsalina, with no two dresses the same. “It’s a great brand because you get a unique dress at a fair price. They are very feminine and each has a different detail, be it beading, ruching, a sash or fabric roses,” says Marie.
If you are looking for a little black dress, Fifi Boutique will make you think again. With dresses in bright greens, turquoise blues, tomato reds and burnished bronze, you can’t help but widen your colour horizons.
“Colour is a big thing this year,” says Marie. “Girls are coming in and saying: ‘Don’t give us black’. They are not frightened of wearing colours.”
The shop also sells a selection of accessories such as handbags and jewellery as well as knitwear. Other labels stocked include Lipsy, Love and Catwalk Diva.
Marie believes that a little bit of fabric can go a long way in boosting a woman’s confidence.
“I see women coming out of the changing room jumping up and down because they are so happy,” says Marie.
And these Cinderella moments are coming more regularly as word spreads about York’s newest dressing-up shop.
“If you feel great when you go out it gives you lots of confidence,” says Marie. “Lots of women want to look and feel different at the weekend. When you are really dressed up, you feel wonderful.”
• Fifi Boutique, 21 Shambles, York, tel: 01904 620541
• Thanks to our model, 21-year-old York student Kirsty Beckett
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