Entertainment

Mr. Blackwell's Foul Fashion

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 12, 2000 / 11:44 AM EST / CBS

What do Cher, Martha Stewart and Queen Elizabeth have in common? They're all on Mr. Blackwell's 40th annual list of worst dressed women, reports CBS Station KCBS-TV in Los Angeles.

Cher tops the list as the "ultimate fashion fiasco."

Blackwell, a former fashion designer who writes a column for a supermarket tabloid and entertains on ocean cruises, did have something nice to say. He declared that Gwyneth Paltrow, Sophia Loren, Oprah Winfrey, Camryn Manheim, Barbra Streisand, Halle Berry, Helen Mirren, Nicole Kidman, Sharon Stone, and Princess Caroline of Monaco were "fabulous fashion independents."

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The finest frippery in music - .from the Beatles' flashy suits to Madonna's damn-the-torpedoes bustier.

Here is the complete list, with Mr. Blackwell's commentary:

Cher: "A million beads and one overexposed derriere."
Celine Dion: "In her backward tuxedo, there's no way of knowing whether Diva Dion is coming or going - a profusion of confusion."
Queen Elizabeth: "Was she the palace Christmas tree or just a royal clown?" The 73-year-old British monarch stunned her subjects by swapping her flowery gowns for a multicolored, sequined Harlequin outfit in November. Added Mr. Blackwell, "From Her Majesty to Her Travesty. The queen's cartoon makeover is the talk of the town."
Martha Stewart: "Dresses like the centerfold for the Farmer's Almanac."
Fiona Apple: "A kinked and curled kewpie doll wrapped in a collection of yesterday's fatal fashion frights."
Britney Spears: "This belly-baring songbird is better heard than seen."
Sarah Jessica Parker: "From Sex and the City, Sarah's fashions are a mix-and-match pity."
Jennifer Aniston: "She's a fashion bore and a snore." He also said that her boyfriend, Brad Pitt, looks better in a dress than she does.
Cameron Diaz: "On Any Given Sunday, Cameron falls prey to a
freaky fashion curse - ad as the week continues, she just slips from bad to worse."
The Dixie Chicks: "They look like a trio of truck-stop fashion tragedies trapped in a typhoon."

While Mr. Blackwell acknowledges that many members of his fashion hall of shame are fabulously talented, "when it comes to choosing a wardrobe, they seem to have entered the Land of Bad Taste -- no exit in sight."