Nicki Minaj fashion at American Music Awards: Playing it safe

Monday November 19, 2012 4:16 PM By Anne Bratskeir

Photo credit: AP | Nicki Minaj arrives at the 40th Anniversary American Music Awards in Los Angeles. (Nov. 18, 2012)

It was like the bizzarro world of fashion at the American Music Awards on Sunday night.   Wild things like Nicki Minaj – we mean, c’mon, she attended the Grammys in papal robes this year – turned out in a perfectly lovely mainstream couture confection by Monique Llhuillier. We’ve seen this neon yellow number before: on “Modern Family” star Julie Bowen at the Emmys.

Minaj wasn’t the only one who surprised with, well, tameness. Christina Aguilera, who has gone so far as to sport a gramophone hat on “The Voice,” looked lovely but reserved in her lavender ombre-dyed Pamella Roland wrap gown. Even raucous Pink donned a kind of ladylike gown – laser-cut metallic leather with a brown chiffon skirt.

What was up with all the toned down?

On the flip side, there was Taylor Swift, who looked glam and jazzy in a verrrrry short brocade mini by Zuhair Murad, and Kerry Washington, who stepped out of her comfort zone (and bucked the body-clinging trend) in a loose, lacy, vintage-style Stella McCartney frock in sunny yellow.

Cyndi Lauper was one of the few who sported, natch, her true colors. A tartan shawl (huh?) atop a leather jacket was worn over shredded leggings. And the hair? A pale pink bob. 

Thank you, Cyndi, for keeping it unreal.  

Tags: Nicki Minaj , Christina Aguilera , Cyndi Lauper , Taylor Swift , Kerry Washington , Monique Llhuillier , Pamella Roland , Stella McCartney , Zuhair Murad