With the lowest viewing audience ever tuning in to the scaled down award show telecast this past weekend, it only goes to prove what Little Black Dress Wines already knew – award season really is all about the fashion!

“The Official Wine of Awards Season ”¹ has the inside scoop on what women really care about most when watching their favorite red carpet event. According to a national survey of 609 legal drinking-aged women conducted by Kelton Research² for Little Black Dress Wines, more than a quarter (27%) of the women surveyed could truly care less about who wins or loses – they are totally focused on what the stars are wearing on the red carpet!

Women also admit that get a little aggressive when it comes to award show watching with more than a quarter (26%) of women admitting they outwardly cheer, boo, and even throw things at the TV during the telecast! Another 14% of women with significant others demand their men actually leave the room when the show begins!

The survey also found that nearly two in five (39%) say watching the red carpet coverage before and after the big award shows is their equivalent to watching the Super Bowl ®! And, after the “big game, ” some women admit to having their own post-game rituals. Almost half (44%) of women polled said they often do their own “play by play ” of the red carpet ’s best and worst dressed stars by gossiping with friends and co-workers. So, it ’s no surprise that women are feeling the sting of the recent elimination of red carpet coverage!

Hollywood ’ s Hottest Women Team Up to Give Back

One of Hollywood ’s most respected and well-known charities for its support of children ’s causes – The Clothes Off Our Back Foundation ® – has been seriously impacted by cancellation of red carpet festivities. The charity, which solicits and secures clothing donations from the industry ’s biggest stars during major Hollywood events, estimates that it will lose significant revenue from a reduction in clothing donations this “scaled back ” awards season. In its continued support of the charity, Little Black Dress Wines will kick off on Wednesday, January 23, 2008, an auction of 16 “little black dresses ” from some of the most well-known closets in America including America Ferrara, Jaime Pressly, Julianne Moore, Felicity Huffman, Edie Falco, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Angie Harmon and Nicollette Sheridan among others. From January 23, 2008 – March 13, 2008, fans worldwide can log on to www.lbdwines.com or www.clothesoffourback.org to bid to on the stars ’ dresses and other signed items.

“All of Hollywood has been affected by the recent turn of events including The Clothes Off Our Back Foundation who relies heavily on red carpet festivities and stars donating their red carpet couture, ” said Kim Charney, Little Black Dress Wines Brand Manager. “We ’re thrilled that since the beginning of the award season in September 2007, more than 40 stars have joined our efforts to support this great charity. You don ’t have to be a fashionista to know that every woman needs a little black dress in their closet and we ’re excited to feature dresses worn by so many famous ladies. Now women who are missing the fashions of the red carpet right now can still get a little piece of Hollywood through supporting the Little Black Dress Wines auction. ”

During the 2007 Emmy ® Awards, Little Black Dress Wines helped raise nearly $10,000 during its Emmy-themed auction featuring “little black dresses ” from Carmen Electra, Lauren Conrad, Jenna Fischer, Teri Hatcher, Laura Linney, Patricia Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, Jane Seymour, Angela Kinsey, Tichina Arnold, Giuliana Rancic and Supermodel Niki Taylor.

The Thrill of the Game

The Little Black Dress Wines Award Season survey confirmed one fact is for certain – women are passionate about their red carpet watching rituals! On average, women start planning their award show watching festivities about five days before their “big game ” and almost a third (32%) turn to the post-show news analysis to find out who scored (and missed) in the name of fashion.

And the Winner Is …

Which celebrity red carpet affair is the favorite among gals? While the Oscars ® remain the gold standard in award shows for a quarter (25%) of women, almost one in five (16%), would prefer to watch the People ’s Choice Awards and one in ten (10%) choose to tune in to the Emmys ®. More mature women (over age 65) bestow the highest honor to the Oscars ® – with over a third of this group (34%) preferring to tune in to this big show above all others. And music is the future for fashionable chicks in their twenties – more than a third (34%) prefer to rock out watching the Grammys ®.

Girls Win!

There ’s no debating that women need some company when tuning in for their favorite award show broadcast. Almost two-thirds (65%) of the women surveyed prefer to watch the award show telecast with at least one other buddy – and it ’s often not their boyfriend or husband! In fact, award show watching is such valued time that almost two in five (38%) women with significant others would let their guy host friends over every Sunday for a month to watch football if they could have only their girlfriends over for every award show of the season. What a trade off!

¹⁾ Little Black Dress Wines is not an official sponsor of the awards shows mentioned herein.

⁽²⁾ The Little Black Dress Survey was conducted by Kelton Research between July 31-August 6 2007 using an e-mail invitation and an online survey. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total U.S. female population age 21 and above. Results are subject to sampling variation. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 4 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.