This post has gone through about a half dozen iterations since it started this morning. 

First, we were going to pick an "Oscar" lady: one with great everyday style, and  whose Academy Awards' dress we loved.  And we wanted to go with a younger woman, just because our choices have generally favored the more mature ladies.

And so our top pick was the gorgeous Penelope Cruz.  While some sniffed that her vintage Pierre Balmain was too "frothy" and "princessy" (some said like a wedding dress) we loved it!   We thought she looked exquisitely beautiful and elegant.  

But when we went to find photos of Penelope in everyday attire, we found slim pickin's.  Oh sure, there are loads of the sexy starlet photo shoot type pics, but not many of her just out and about in real life.

And herein lies the problem with choosing a younger subject: there's just not much of a record to look at when trying to  realistically assess someone's style.  And since everyone has their what was I thinking when I put that on days, the younger you are the harder it is to have a great track record.

But then we saw the photos of President and Mrs. Obama at the White House Dinner Sunday night.  Yowsa!  At the risk of sounding disrespectful to our First Lady: Michelle is hot!  Great dress - great jewelry.

So, we thought,  why not profile two gorgeous ladies, on two separate coasts, with two different careers, who both attended big soirees in fabulous dresses?!

  

Two beautiful women - two beautiful dresses - just makes us smile!