The best Kristin Wiig fashions on 'SNL'

OK, so awards shows aren’t about the fashion. They’re about the austere accomplishments of Hollywood’s finest and the great pop cultural significance thereof. In theory. Truth is, I tune in just as much to gawk at gowns as I do to find out the winners.

That is why Kristen Wiig’s ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards Sunday night dismayed me so. I love Wiig and her fearlessness on Saturday Night Live, and was raving after seeing Bridesmaids. (C’mon, who doesn’t love the scene with Melissa McCarthy pooping in a sink?)

So at first glance, I cheered at her Balenciaga halter-necked frock, gathered at the waist with swishing a mini-train behind her. It was one of her best looks to date, and I could even forgive the lacklustre colour because the cut was so complementary to her figure.

But then, that choker.  A chunky black strap, rhinestones galore, and far more suited to a New York socialite hijacking the grunge-goth look circa 1992. I get that it could be a nod to the whole high-low, mix style strategy, but gee, no wonder it landed her on so many worst-dressed lists.

It got me thinking, though, about Wiig’s characters on Saturday Night Live and their wackiest looks. Sure, the extreme hair and costumes are for comedic effect, but I’d just like to point out that there’s nary a chunky black rhinestone choker in the bunch.

	1. Dooneese Merrill on The Lawrence Welk Show The tiny baby hand always makes me giggle like a schoolgirl high on nitrous oxide. I mean, it’s a tiny hand … on a big person! Plus there’s the forehead that’s really a fivehead, and I’ve never noticed it before now, but it looks like Wiig’s smile is as gummy as a two-month-old.
	2. Gilly Admittedly, Gilly is not my favourite character – how often can you mine the catchphrase “sorry” anyway? But, her afro is indeed spectacular. It’s definitely in league with Robert Hegyes’s on Welcome Back, Kotter (may he rest in peace), and inspires me to dig out my grandma’s bell-bottoms and polyester shirt, and take a walk on the frizzy side.
	3. Shanna At first Shanna is all bombshell, with fiery red hair, tight-fitted skirts, sweaters, girlish pout and high heels. But in one particularly gross sketch, she peeled off her black sweater to reveal a halter shirt. And in one particularly gross moment, she turned around to reveal a hairy back that could send Bigfoot running for a razor.
	4. Mindy Grayson in the Secret Word sketches For a self-proclaimed star, Mindy Grayson sure has a limited wardrobe. The green brocade dress is pure ‘60s, and the long cream scarf is perfect for tossing over one’s shoulders and breaking into a song about “Chop Susie and the Egg Roll Gang” or “Sarah Made a Sound,” the story of a mute girl who desperately wanted to say the word jazz!
	5. Kat, of musical duo Garth and Kat I was torn between Kat and The Target Lady, but Kat won out because in addition to her fabulously feathered hair she and Garth don festive embroidered and appliqued vests over the most androgynous turtlenecks ever.

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