Katy Perry Style Breakdown – What’s Right, What’s Wrong, and How to Fix It

Katy Perry (and her twins) get a lot of attention for how they dress. She's known for her candy-coated, confectionary costumes, but we're narrowing our focus to Perry's red carpet and casual attire since it's more indicative of her personal style.

While it's true that some elements of her stage wear creep into her ensembles, in her off-hours she's much more subdued and far less cartoonish.

The well-endowed singer's red carpet dresses, like this black Elie Saab she donned at the 2012 MTV VMAs, always have an element of quirk. In this case, it's the splash of color sprinkled along the front, the sheer skirt and capped sleeves.

Sometimes Perry goes a little too far, like with this hideous Christmas sweater dress, the irony of which we have failed to grasp. A holiday sweater is never stylish, especially in full dress form or on one of the top pop stars working today. It's time to put coal under her stocking for this affront to fashion.

What's Right:

Her pale blue encrusted Elie Saab Grammys dress in 2012 was powdery in hue, as was her hair (Perry clearly couldn't resist adding an "out there" component to her look). On other celebs, the matchy matchy hair-dress combo would be an epic fail. On her, it gets a pass, since we're used to her look being part of the "show."

Mixing a champagne beaded Marchesa gown with black goddess-like waves in late 2012 was the most normal we've seen from her in a while, but we loved it. Less can be more in cases like this, and she earned a bazillion extra style points for the gold ball clutch on a string.

Once again the, uh, carpet matched the drapes. In this ensemble, Perry's hair color (and vampy lipstick) coordinated with her gown. She's rocking that lavender and white Blumarine dress at the 2012 Billboard Awards, pairing it with purple hair. Oh. So. Regal.

She fired on all cylinders here, with a hot pink Oscar de la Renta dress in a cut that gripped her curves and had ladylike accents. But the details weren't too femme -- she still had an edge. More of this, please.

Perry does not avoid color -- and this citrusy, clingy Alexander McQueen, worn to a pre-Grammy party in 2013, was a high watermark for her. Doesn't she look like Courteney Cox's little sis?

Now that's an LBD. Her aqua hair looks best when paired with a muted or basic color. But this Alexander McQueen party dress has life.

What's Wrong:

The color-blocking trend was big in 2012 when Perry wore this outfit. We loved the aqua blue angled bob, but when paired with this bright outfit, she resembled a box of Crayolas.

Perry's homage to flapper girl chic is well-intentioned, but she stumbled when trying to make it too punk rock. There's a lot of disconnect here. The color of the dress and her hair don't mesh with the overall '20s energy she was trying to convey.

Hmm, this is another questionable ensemble. It's see-through, messy, and sloppy. A girl can mix sheer fabrics, combat boots and a leather topper and come out the other side a chic rock chick. Not so here ...

With a D-cup rack, Perry can't wear a dress like this Temperley London frock sans support. It's lovely, but it's not right for her body. This is a wardrobe malfunction in the making.

This Valentino, worn to the 2013 People's Choice Awards, felt a little frumpy, thanks to the milkmaid hair.

How to Fix It:

Perry's love of color and fabric is best evidenced by this Dolce & Gabbana cocktail dress.

The same can be said for this lemon yellow number, with a daring cascade of strategically placed cutouts accenting those famous boobies. When paired with her black bob, it's chic and elegant with an edge -- a look Katy aims at and hits about 75 percent of the time.

Oh, and those ruby red pumps? Aw, hell yeah.

We never want her to stop wearing outrageous and sexy shoes like these McQueens. This not footwear. This is art.

We also adore her when she's sassy in designer duds, like this Versace mini. The opaque tights keep the look wintry and wearable. Ditch 'em and its sexy and springy. That's the versatile Katy Perry we like to see a lot of, style-wise.

She should always show her fashion flair and her curves, like she did in this white and gold tulle frock.

While this mint green Gucci gown isn't ugly -- it's actually vintage-y chic -- the fact that it cannot contain the girls made it a big ol' mistake. Support, Katy! Who cares if your bra looks like a sack required to transport boulders? Defying gravity is a more critical issue and makes or breaks a dress.