Despite the wind buffeting this year’s Baftas last night (May 12th) and the red carpet in London getting hit by sudden gusts that wreaked havoc with some of the dresses, it didn’t stop the event from providing us with some great fashion inspiration. Lots of our favourite telly stars looked fabulous for the occasion and unlike at last week’s Met Ball, there wasn’t a theme so the dress code was much more formal. That meant we got to see plenty of gorgeous gowns on the ladies and tuxes on the men.
There was a really star-studded guest list as usual, but it was the yummy mummies that stood out for us the most – Sienna Miller, Romola Garai and Holly Willoughby in particular looked really great.
Sienna only became a mum nine months ago to baby daughter Marlowe and she recently told the Metro she’s got “much less energy” for stardom since then. Nevertheless, she looked stunning in a 1950s-style prom dress with a botanical print and showed that having a baby around the house needn’t mean an end to glamour. To get the look for yourself, see our lace maternity cocktail dress. The Hour’s Romola gave birth just two months ago, but she already looked slim and composed in a lacy dress, without even visible circles under her eyes. She did make an eye-watering joke about childbirth though – but we won’t go there! Meanwhile, Holly evoked old Hollywood in a scarlet frock with one strap and gathering at the waist to emphasise those curves. OK, so her little ones are two and four now as opposed to being babies, but she was still a great poster girl for busy mums everywhere.
You can emulate them really easily too – all you need is a little forward planning and a fantastic maternity evening dress and you can shine just as much as the Baftas girls. Luckily, we can help you with the latter as we have plenty of party-ready maternity gowns in our Seraphine Luxe collection – why not take a look ready for your next big event?
One other thing we noticed was that lots of the dresses last night seemed to be modelled on those from decades gone by – it must be the combined effect of Downton Abbey and forthcoming film The Great Gatsby! Take Tess Daly, for example. She looked stunning in a really unusual black lace and chiffon creation that was exactly like something Lady Mary might wear (except for the hint of cleavage, of course). She even had a 1920s-style beaded bag that we just loved.
This year’s biggest trends had been paid attention to by many of the invitees, with several coral outfits on show (Catherine Tyldesley from Coronation Street provided our favourite) and a lot of lace. However, some chose to do their own thing and wear something totally different. Mel Giedroyc was perhaps the best example of this, as she looked lovely in a white blazer teamed with black treggings that had a white stripe up each leg. It was androgynous yet managed to appear very feminine at the same time, so this is definitely one you could copy if you’re not really a ballgown kind of girl.
That’s not to say we didn’t love the more traditional frocks – comedy favourite Olivia Colman flattered her figure in a dazzling off-the-shoulder aubergine style and Sheridan Smith was beautiful as ever in a black dress that had structured panels over her chest. It’s worth looking out for pictures of the fashion amid all the snaps of skirts being blown askew by the gusts – there are quite a lot of those today!
The one that made us giggle the most is that of Sir Bruce Forsyth’s wife Wilnelia – as she posed for photos in a bright yellow gown, one of the floaty chiffon pieces flew up and covered her face completely. Perhaps it might be best to go for a figure-hugging frock like Olivia and Sheridan if you’re attending a special party soon, just in case that mischievous wind keeps up!
