July 1, 2009

Exactly how cute are you allowed to be after the age of 40?

Is this going too far?



Oh, go ahead and trash her, but I love Helena Bonham Carter! She's beautiful and adorable. I loved her in "Room With a View" and "Howard's End." She was perfect for that sort of thing, and also perfect in the completely different sort of thing, the fabulous "Fight Club." And — look! — she's the Red Queen!

38 comments:

Fred4Pres said...

She was great in Fight Club, but those rediculous outfits almost made me spit coffee on my keyboard and monitor.

Hoosier Daddy said...

I never found her to be even remotely attractive and that outfit pretty much confirms that for me.

I honestly believe when people become a hollywood celebrity they actually lose some semblance of sanity.

Jennifer said...

She wears some of the most outrageously crazy stuff and I love it. She's not like a Bai Ling or a Cher who are mostly only outrageous in an attempt to cover the least amount of skin possible. She's crazy in a Chloe Sevigny meets Tim Burton kind of way. Love it.

robinintn said...

I was all ready to trash her, but then she's Helena Bonham Carter and I just can't. So maybe the question should be "Exactly how cute are the rest of us allowed to be after the age of 40?"

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

You remember how he would trust strangers, and if they fooled him he would say, 'It's better to be fooled than to be suspicious'--that the confidence trick is the work of man, but the want-of-confidence trick is the work of the devil..

E.M. Forster

Ron said...

What is the first rule about Althouse? 'Cause we do talk about Althouse!

kjbe said...

Going too far? Not at all. It shows great spirit...

and it looks like it's just a day out for the girls.

MadisonMan said...

The little girl (daughter?) is very cute - except for the crocs.

Fred4Pres said...

Ann, why don't you try dressing like that and see if you get any stares in your favorite cafes and haunts. That guy walking several paces behind you and pretending to look the other way, that would be Meade.

Better yet, get Meade to dress up like that too. Now that would be special.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Going too far? Not at all. It shows great spirit...

and it looks like it's just a day out for the girls.


Oh you have to be kidding. She looks like a clown. Well she looks like a clown anyway but that outfit simply emphasizes it.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Howard: What was he wearing? Well, uh, let's see, he was wearing a red argyle sweater, and tan trousers, and red shoes... No, he's not retarded.

Sixteen Candles, 1984

Anonymous said...

All she and the baby need are those
white kerchiefs with strings and they could pass for Amish.

TWM said...

If she weren't rich and famous she would be that bag lady everyone walks to the other side of the street to avoid. Instead she's just eccentric. But, cute, no.

How does the poem go . . . oh yes.

"When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me"

She's a tad to young for it, but if it makes her happy . . .

Tibore said...

How... whimsical.

Lyle said...

I like Ms. Carter. Great actress. She may have dressed up as much for the kid's sake as her own. Irregardless silliness for one's own sake or that a child's should be encouraged.

Ann Althouse said...

Now you guys know how I feel about men in shorts! All Helena Bonham Carter is doing there is dressing like a child, something few of us women over 40 ever do. But you men do it *all the time.*

Lindsay said...

I can't wait for Alice in Wonderland, between her, Johnny Depp, Ann Hathaway, and Tim Burton...I think it's going to be awesome!

KCFleming said...

Helena Bonham Carter can do anything she pleases. The appeal of her looks are like anyone's, entirely subjective. I find her quite beautiful.

She's what used be known as "eccentric". This once was quite well tolerated in Europe, especially England, even perhaps held a place of reverence.

Now it's almost illegal.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Now you guys know how I feel about men in shorts! All Helena Bonham Carter is doing there is dressing like a child, something few of us women over 40 ever do. But you men do it *all the time.*

Oh sure Professor. Dressing like a 18th century French serf is exactly like a guy wearing shorts.

Maybe they dress kids differently there in Madison but I don't see to many kids walking around dressed like Oliver Twist.

former law student said...

From the link:

The couple's relationship is less than conventional. They live in separate but neighbouring homes in north London - connected by a secret adjoining corridor.

Frankly this sounds ideal to avoid intracouple friction. You can be as messy/neat as you want to be; you can have a pyramid of cosmetics in the bathroom if you want, or rebuild a carburetor in the kitchen if you'd like.

And separate interconnected houses might suit very well someone used to having her own house her own way for years.

bearbee said...

The couple's relationship is less than conventional. They live in separate but neighbouring homes in north London - connected by a secret adjoining corridor.

I've always thought that such a living arrange would be perfect.

Fantastic movie "Room with a View."

Essentially agree with bag lady comment....it's for the wealthy otherwise you'd be labelled as as a nut-job and avoided.

TWM said...

I wonder if the fact that she wears many whimsical costumes (Harry Potter, Sweeny Todd, Alice, etc.) has skewered her sense of style?

Then again Jonny Depp doesn't wear pirate costumes out in public. I don't think anyway. Does he?

Anonymous said...

I'm so used to seeing Helena Bonham Carter in period costumes, it's a little strange to see her dressed normally (and no, this outfit doesn't qualify).

By the by, it's "Howards End," not "Howard's End" (as in "The end of Howard").

Peter Hoh said...

Finally, something to help me get over my infatuation with Miss Bonham Carter.

Darcy said...

Umm...well, of course, she can wear whatever she wants. I think this looks ridiculous. Doesn't make her less beautiful, though.

Beth said...

I can barely tolerate the sensibilities of Tim Burton, but I like some things about HBC. She was the only thing I liked in the filmed Sweeney Todd. But I associate her with egos gone around the bend, like Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which was anything but Shelley's story.

As for the over forty thing? Good question. I'm far more disquieted by women trying to recapture their teenage sexuality - the body, in every way, just wasn't made for that. Our skin, our eyes, our coloring all changes - I adore women who make that work with some dignity and smolder - like Helen Mirren. But I expect fey and twee from HBC, so I think this look is fun. Better that than submitting herself to plastic surgery and looking like something out of Brazil.

Beth said...

Hoosier @ 9:13 -- big win.

traditionalguy said...

We need to hear from Camille Paglia on this new dress for success uniforms taken from Fairy Tales.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Thank's Beth. I guess I don't get the whole 'ain't he/she adorable' when they dress like loons solely because of celebrity status.

But I associate her with egos gone around the bend, like Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which was anything but Shelley's story.

My God that movie was an epic fail. I thought between Brannagh and DeNiro this was going to be a slam dunk yet I walked out wondering how it was humanely possible to destroy this story.

$9,000,000,000 Write Off said...

Whose Your Daddy claims that Carter's remote from attraction. Our Hostess says Carter is lovely. I understand these concerns, I understand how an anonymous commentator prefers more cheesecake and less cottage cheese, but I also respect that an elder's affection for her near peer is important and valid.

I reject the false choice between trashing Bonham Carter and loving her. It is important that both sides acknowledge their difference, and accept those differences, but remain committed to the more important goal of piece and friendship. We should study whether a commission should be appointed to study this.

knox said...

The layering, the necklaces and the big bow all make me think Madonna, early 80s.

magpie said...

From an interview with Emma Watson in the June 27th London Times:

Watson sighs. “I admire her [HBC] so much, she is so confident in herself, so happy. When she appears on the ‘worst-dressed’ list in Heat she says, ‘Who cares?’ She is comfortable with who she is."

Indeed.

Anonymous said...

Context matters. She is an eccentric actress know for being eccentric wearing eccentric things and being all eccentric.

I think it's awesome. Why not be happy?

*I, uh, am known to sometimes dress a little eccentrically, but not that much....

Methadras said...

She is one of those women that one one hand can look hot as hell and then on the other look disgustingly ugly. Great actress and with her in fight club, I think she really made that movie. She was the excellent foil for it.

rhhardin said...

But you men do it *all the time.*

Men are comfortable with any level of mess.

ricpic said...

In that top picture Carter looks just like my sister: a complete hippy nutjob.

ricpic said...

Men are comfortable with any level of mess

Depends. Whenever I come back from a trip the dirt and confusion I live in puts me off, but the resolution I make to put things right soon passes. In other words I agree with you, rh, but the level of comfort varies.

Beth said...

Her posture is askew - she seems about to tumble. I realize now that she's wearing those weird shoes with the boingy thing on the heel - Z Coils? Something like that?

Not my choice, but then I tend towards Vans.