Actress Tan Zhuo took this lovely Roberto Cav­alli Spring 2009 gown and paired it with a far bolder choice than the one the designer chose on the run­way. Which do you like bet­ter? The gown’s full­ness is bal­anced by the elab­o­rate neck­lace. It also accen­tu­ates Zhuo’s wil­lowy stature, mak­ing her appear del­i­cate and strong, rather than lost in the lay­ers of millefeuille.

Tan Zhuo wear­ing Roberto Cav­alli (Spring 2009)

Eliz­a­beth Banks, who I have writ­ten about before, is in every way admirable. How­ever tak­ing designer Andrew Gn’s Fall 2009 run­way thoughts and fol­low­ing them as dic­tum should be a les­son of what not to do with jew­elry. She should have put her own spin on the look instead — focus­ing upward toward her lovely face would have been one sug­ges­tion (among a few oth­ers I’d have in mind). To put it politely, those bracelets fall at her widest point and add a cou­ple of dark, lumpy notes to what oth­er­wise is the call of a screen siren.

The run­way look isn’t quite right either some­how: a lean, young girl wear­ing the dress of a woman. The bracelets act as sleeve cuffs to empha­size the stretch of ivory skin between two points –naked­ness is where you find it I guess. Or where the designer deems it exists. I say when it comes to jew­elry, find your own real estate…claim it…make it yours. A good idea is only a good idea if it works in a way that flat­ters the body and the woman.

In other images from Cannes, Banks looks won­der­ful and she wears Hol­ly­wood glam­our and dia­monds with the grace and ele­gance of the old school.

Eliz­a­beth Banks at Cannes wear­ing Andrew Gn Fall 2009