Of all the actresses nominated for Oscars this year, Sandra Bullock is the one most likely to generate sales for the label who dresses her, reports The Wall Street Journal. (Vulture has a slideshow of Bullock’s recent red carpet looks.) The website StyleSpot.com tracks a famous person’s ability to sell things by monitoring the number of click-throughs to sites where people can buy the clothes. Sandra Bullock’s Vivienne Westwood dress at the People’s Choice Awards generated the most click-throughs to retail sites of all red-carpet appearances this year.
So you would think labels would be angling to dress Bullock for the Oscars. They probably are, but she might not be as hot a commodity as Carey Mulligan, whose red-carpet style fashion people adore. Yet Mulligan doesn’t motivate sales, according to StyleSpot. Bullock may not have the best red carpet fashion sense (she may have skinned and waxed Barney for her Golden Globes gown), but she’s relatable on top of being pretty, and this is what matters to the masses. It seems that if you can you hold up an InStyle cover, you can probably generate sales. Case in point: A lot of people tried to buy the spring 2010 Burberry shoes Jessica Alba wore to the People’s Choice Awards (they couldn’t because they’re not available yet, so they bought similar styles, which kind of screwed Burberry, but then again not, because the label is rolling in it anyway). Kate Hudson, Drew Barrymore, and Penélope Cruz are also top sellers, according to StyleSpot.com.
Vogue’s Hamish Bowles posits that Meryl Streep will be a top generator of sales after the Oscars, as could be Gabourey Sidibe.
Ms. Sidibe, the star of “Precious,” is “an alternate paradigm for the red carpet, but she can carry these very strong colors,” says Mr. Bowles. What’s more, the plus-sized market is one of fashion’s fastest growing.
Meanwhile Woody Harrelson, a Best Supporting Actor nominee, could generate the most click-throughs for menswear. Fine. But he better not wear one of those hats he always wears and continue to fool men everywhere into believing they should do that, too.
Which Stars Sell Fashion? [WSJ]
Related: Red-Carpet Look Book: Sandra Bullock
