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Get the Film Festival look on a budget you can afford!
September 5, 2008
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The Toronto Film Festival has taken over the city and there are Hollywood Celebrities everywhere you look and there are exclusive parties every single night.
If you are invited to one of these parties, the first thing that comes to mind is the dreaded question: “what do I wear”? Dressing up for a red carpet event or a party that will be star-studded can add a lot of pressure on your wallet if you don’t know where to shop.
I was recently invited to meet Sandra Graham, eBay Jewelry & Celebrity Style Director, to get the insiders’ scoop on how to use eBay as a one-stop-shopping destination for designer wear.
I was fully aware before going to the event that I’d be looking at red-carpet worthy outfits, jewellery and accessories, but I truly was not prepared for what I saw (and how affordable the prices were) during my meeting with Sandra and the five models she dressed from head to toe with great eBay-finds.
Sandra Graham is truly a gifted jewellery and style expert and she has been responsible for placing some of the world’s most stunning jewellery and dresses on actresses such as Jennifer Lopez, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon, and Beyonce Knowles. In fact, she placed the Asprey & Garrard necklace on Hilary Swank when the actress won her first Oscar in 2000.
It’s obvious that Sandra’s background makes her a sort of style magician and she surely displayed her talent during my meeting with her.
1) The first look Sandra created was inspired by British 20-something superstar Keira Knightley. If you take a look at the red trench coat and red dress you can immediately see how this look can easily go from work to cocktails without skipping a beat. The entire look including the hat and booties was about $200!!!
Sandra gave the basic black dress a second breath by removing the red trench and pairing the dress with a $15 gold colour lace shawl (lace is such a hot trend this season), a gold cuff bracelet (it only cost $5!) and a pair of Christian Louboutin gold slippers.
2) The second look was a nod to Angela Bassett (who recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame). This vintage dress is all about detail. When you look closely you can see that whichever angle the model stands, you can catch glimpses of the great details on the dress.
3) The third look is probably the most shocking in the sense that it’s the Marc Jacobs dress Anne Hathaway wore at the 2006 Gold Globe Awards in 2006! Yes, the SAME dress. Sandra paired the Marc Jacobs midnight blue dress with a pair of silver Louboutin sandals. The ENTIRE look cost about $250!!!
4) If you grew up flipping the pages of Vogue magazine as a teenager in the late 80s and the 90s then you know exactly who Azzedine Alaia is and how talented he is. This little (he’s quite short) Tunisian-born designer took Paris by storm in the 80s with his curve hugging designs that celebrated a woman’s body. Azzedine Alaia’s designs are making a comeback and this red dress is surely the type of dress you would expect blond-bombshell Scarlett Johansson to wear at a premier of one of her movies. The dress was paired with a pair of Robert Lee Morris earrings that were a mere $40 and the gold cuff bracelet was a real steal at $5!
5) The last look Sandra put together was inspired by South African beauty Charlize Theron. The black dress was truly a work of art. It was perfectly fitted at the back and really accentuated the waist. The flower that sat on the right shoulder was a real trompe-l’oeil for the dress Charlize wore. If you can believe it … the dress was only $200! Sandra paired the black gown with an Alan Journo black clutch ($80), a pair of Randolf Duke earrings and a real diamond cuff bracelet ($1800).
You might not have time to shop on eBay to get your outfits for the Toronto Film Festival, but there is plenty of time for you to start browsing the pages of eBay for your upcoming charity galas and the 2008 Holiday party season!
Here are the all the photos of the eBay styles created by Sandra Graham:

The gold slippers below are Christian Louboutin and bought on eBay:

Look at the back of this dress:

This Gold Sara Covetri cuff in gold was only $5!!!

This (real) diamond bracelet was about $1800, but retail it would be at least three times the price:

This is the exact same Marc Jacobs dress Anne Hathaway wore on the red carpet:

Look at this gown … it’s simply beautiful:

This red dress will turn heads at any party:

Compare the Marc Jacob dress Anne Hathaway wore on the red carpet to the dress Sandra bought on eBay:


Photos of red carpet dresses for Charlize Theron and Anne Hathaway provided by eBay.
Posted by Beauty Match on September 5, 2008 | Permalink
Topics: Celebrity Beauty Secrets, Celebrity Interviews, Celebrity Style, Fashion Trends, Style over 35 |
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