Really?

Really?

At this point, I have to wonder if singers do this on purpose. We talked before about how sad it is that women can give fantastic performances, yet the majority of the critiques they receive are mostly colored by their appearance and what (or "Who," if you're Joan Rivers...) they are wearing. I can't decide if the singers realize this and wear things like this on purpose, or if they simply have such poor taste.
One commenter put it perfectly : "Her costume doesn't match the light, joyful aria either. This is Juliet's Dream Song and she's wearing a strange, black costume that looks like something worn at a Funeral for a Star Wars character"

Ms. Battle is not the only one who has worn something reminiscent of Bjork's swan dress 



Singing the same aria, Diana Damrau wears a dress that looks like she bought it from a bar wench at her local Renaissance Faire.

At least at one point in time, this might have been considered a beautiful dress.

What, as singers, do we say about ourselves when we perform in outfits like these? Personally, I find it almost an insult. If I were to wear a dress like that for a performance I would either have to be out of my mind on painkillers or I would have to care so little about myself, my image, and my performance, that I thought wearing something like that would be funny.
Granted, a lot of stars spend a lot of money on hilariously awful outfits

When it's time for the academy awards, or the Oscars, or the Tony's or whatever red-carpet social event is in season, designers pull out all the stops, and sometimes I wonder if they are entirely lucid when they design their outfits.

What's worse is the women who wear them. The amount of mental absence it takes to step out of a building in that outfit makes it entirely believable that some of these women are on some serious drugs.

The men have the right idea. Just a tux. No bling, no feathers, no sequins, justatux.

But women can't possibly wear 'justatux,' as women we have to sparkle like jewels - we have to be the prettiest peacock to get the most desirable mate.

Interesting - the pretty peacocks (and generally most pretty, colorful birds) that strut around looking for the best mate are the men, but in the human world it's the women who primp and preen to catch the best mate.

How the heck did that happen?