Elle Fanning in Rodarte

The Rodarte sisters, Kate and Laura Mulleavy, are notoriously finicky when it comes to who they dress–and rightly so, given their exquisite creations–so it should bode well for Elle Fanning that she was lucky enough to don their Spring 2011 tan suede and gold leather embossed dress (straight off the runway, no less) for Sunday night’s NY screening of “Somewhere.” While Dakota’s younger sister was wise enough to keep the full transparent white socks on the runway, she did make it easy on herself by keeping the Nicholas Kirkwood for Rodarte metallic gold embossed wedge heels firmly in place. The dress is a flattering cut on Elle’s petite frame; I love how the silhouette transcends down past the waist and then flares out in box pleats above the knee. If you look closely at the panels of her dress, you’ll notice a subtle laser-etched floral pattern on the surface. It’s a bit armor-like, no? Aside from the dress, Elle’s hair is a little “in her face” for my taste, and some might argue the dress is too close in shade to her skin, but it’s stunning in person.