Las Vegas Weekly

May 23, 2012 · 11:27 AM

Do some folks dress for L.V. without checking a mirror, Laura Croft asks

By Robin Leach

Laura Croft hosts the Sexy Bunnies Bash at Crazy Horse III on Saturday, April 7, 2012.

Photo: Dave Proctor/daplv.com

Reality TV star and Playboy Playmate Laura Croft knows her fashion faves and faux pas, and she pens an occasional column for Vegas DeLuxe on Las Vegas do’s and don’ts of dressing for the Strip scene. Here are her newest raves and rants, plus a shout-out to Holly Madison and Audrina Patridge.

While looking at photographs from recent events in Las Vegas, I came across some unusual looks. I know that for the most part, this is a city where anything goes, but I have to wonder if some people do not have access to a mirror. I’m not trying to be nasty, but when you’re going somewhere knowing that you will be photographed, wouldn’t you take pride in your appearance?

Often when starting a career in entertainment, people want to stand out from other entertainers and try to do something quirky. Unfortunately, quirky does not work for everyone and can come off looking sloppy. Not everything has to match, or be of the same designer, but when putting together an ensemble, some care should be taken.

It’s not just the clothes, either; the way some of these get-ups were accessorized was awful. When the main part of an outfit is patterned, everything else should be simple. It can be tempting to pile on as many accessories as possible, but this is a case where less is certainly more.

Ladies, if you’re going to wear a pretty dress, don’t make it ugly by piling on a bunch of crap. And, guys, you look silly with a bunch of accessories; keep them to a minimum. Don’t even get me started on grooming. If your clothes and you don’t at least appear to be clean, stay home!

I’m hoping when some of this week’s unnamed offenders see their photos, they will not make the same mistakes in the future. There were two looks recently that caught my eye in a good way. One was reality TV star Audrina Patridge in the dress she wore to her 27th birthday party at Wet Republic. The light, short, little dress with a mixture of blue and gold in the pattern paired with simple gold jewelry was a great look for an arrival to a pool party.

However, I didn’t really like her choice in swimwear. She’s a very pretty girl with a great body, but the top seemed to be ill fitted, and I will never be a fan of mismatched bikinis. I did, of course, ahem, love her heart sunglasses.

Photo: Darrin Bush/Las Vegas News Bureau

Holly Madison at a press conference at the Las Vegas Convention Center with the original Miss Atomic Bomb photograph, left, and her re-creation.

The other look came from my friend Holly Madison at the unveiling of her photograph as the new Miss Atomic Bomb. She wore a ladylike bright pink lace dress with a beautiful trim and black sash by BCBG and a pair of her signature Christian Louboutin heels in a matching pink hue. I love how she exudes old Hollywood glamour and always looks classy.

Don English of the Las Vegas News Bureau took the original Miss Atomic Bomb photograph in May 1957 to promote tourism. She was a Sands showgirl who wore a mushroom-shaped garment, possibly a bathing suit with an appliqué of cotton wadding glued to cardboard with high heels and a smile. During this time, hotels and casinos had bomb watch parties during aboveground testing at the Nevada test site. Sounds like a good time to me.

To mark the 55th anniversary of this iconic Las Vegas photograph, Holly was named Miss Atomic Bomb 2012. In the few years that she has lived here, she has become one of the most recognizable faces in the city. She loves promoting Las Vegas, so she was the obvious choice and was very flattered to follow in the footsteps of the original.

Photo: Las Vegas News Bureau

New Miss Atomic Bomb (Holly Madison).

Darrin Bush of the Las Vegas News Bureau shot her photo. Holly’s Atomic Bomb outfit was a lingerie/body shaper-type garment of marabou feathers and silver tinsel made for her by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. In an interview, she said that her biggest concern with doing the photograph was finding shoes to match, and she did so at Bebe.

Audrina and Holly pulled off great looks for Las Vegas. Audrina was casual and chic; the gold jewelry complemented her dress instead of competing with it. Holly was in a more formal look and let the dress be the focal point of her outfit. Both appeared to be clean and chose smart accessories.

Great job, ladies!

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

Share This