Entertainment / Caitlyn Jenner Wows At The ESPY Awards

Caitlyn Jenner Wows At The ESPY Awards

Entertainment Jul 16, 2015

by Monika Bhondy

Caitlyn's first major public appearance reveals that "less is more."

Known to the yesteryear generation as an Olympic gold medalist and to Millennials as the Kardashian step-dad, the 65-year-old, 6’2”, newly transitioned woman Caitlyn Jenner made a momentous public appearance Wednesday night at the 2015 ESPY Awards, where she was honoured with the year’s Arthur Ashe Courage Award.

While the haters disapproved of the win, supporters — including Jenner's mother and sister and nine out of her ten children, which included Kim, Khloé, Kylie and Brody — were all present to support the acknowledgement from ESPN.

As someone new to the women's dressing up scene, Caitlyn took no chances with her appearance for the big night and hired celebrity stylist Jen Rade — also known as Angelina Jolie's stylist — who, in my opinion, scored a home run with her choice of a white custom atelier floor-length Versace gown.

Behind the scenes with the glam squad/Instagram

Caitlyn embodied the epitome of elegance — age-appropriately.

Caitlyn Jenner onstage during the 2015 ESPY Awards on July 15 in Los Angeles, California/Getty

A classic, statuesque vision in white with side-swept chocolate-brown waves framing golden eyes and rose-stained lips, the awardee kept with the sophisticated theme and sported an understated V-neck with long sleeves. But she allowed the silhouette of her perfect frame to do all the talking as the gown's crisscross design showcased her slender curves in all the right places. She may have kept the accessories to a minimum in keeping with the "less is more" motto, but she didn't skimp out on quality. She wore $3,485 US emerald drop earrings and Stuart Weitzman sandals spotted through the gown's elegant side slit.

L–R: Caitlyn making a heartfelt acceptance speech, sitting with her mom and sister/E!

If Jenner was trying to get our attention and approval, she got them! She wore the perfect ensemble for what was about to transpire — a raw, emotional acceptance speech that tugged at your heart strings yet demanded attention for the bigger issue at hand: acceptance for all.

With tears in her eyes, Caitlyn showed us why she deserved the award. With pure courage and a dash of charisma, she opened with a joke about how tiring it was to get ready for the event. “OK, girls, I get it!” she said, and she asked the brutally honest fashion police to “please be kind.”

The kids come out in support

Professing her love for her children and her gratitude for their support as well as her mother's — who wasn’t expected to attend due to a recent surgery — Caitlyn announced that she felt she must have gotten her courage from her loving and accepting mother and not her war veteran deceased father, as once was thought.

After expressing how her inner turmoil as a woman trapped in a man’s body had brought her to this point, the newly transitioned role model announced her new mission to the world: to be the voice that stands up for and represents the transgender community via reshaping how trans issues are viewed and how trans people are treated and to promote the simple ideology of “accepting people for who they are.”

Caitlyn also addressed how important sports had been in her life and how they helped her cope and develop. She expressed her anguish for transgender kids in the world with no support system and voiced her need to be their spokesperson. She went on to target the skeptics who questioned her motives, stating, “Go ahead because the reality is I can take it.”

Watch her powerful acceptance speech right here:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:13264446

Don’t forget to save the date for the premiere of I Am Cait, which airs Sunday, July 26 on E! Click HERE to view the promo trailer that features Caitlyn playing tennis, meeting with school teachers as part of efforts to help educate about the transgender community and sharing a heartfelt moment with her 89-year-old mother, Esther Jenner.

The eight-part series will explore what Caitlyn’s transition means for the people in her life as well as offer a better understanding of the many life challenges for the trans community. Take a look, and don't forget to tell us what you think.

^{_{Images in order of appearance:}}

Jen Rade Tweet: @stylistjenrade
behind-the-scenes: Instagram
Caitlyn's full length image courtesy of starmagazine.com
Caitlyn close-ups: eonline.com
Kids shot: facebook.com/KimKardashian
Caitlyn quote: twitter.com

Monika Bhondy

Author

Monika Bhondy (@monikabhondy) is one of the original editors at ANOKHI. She wore many hats through the developmental years including creating the first Holiday Gift Guide as The Style Editor, putting down the first building blocks of ANOKHI's global blog community, handling the video department and ...

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Caitlyn Jenner Wows At The ESPY Awards

by Monika Bhondy

Caitlyn's first major public appearance reveals that "less is more."

Monika Bhondy

COMMENTS

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