A Review of the Fashion for American Night on "Dancing With the Stars"

Forget about the dancing. What were those crazy stars wearing for American Week on "Dancing with the Stars?"

Kendra Wilkinson and Louie Van Amstel and Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff had the most American costumes. Uncle Sam, move over. The stars and stripes theme of Kendra and Louie's outfits have yours beat by a mile. Louie even donned a fake beard for the occasion; a nod to America's favorite uncle. It worked. The fashion was every bit as fun as the dance itself.

Ralph and Karina went a slightly different route but it was still all-American. Decked out in full cowboy garb, complete with boots, the couple never looked cuter. Karina's red prairie style dress had a voluminous skirt that she worked during the dance. Ralph's Stetson set him head and shoulders above the rest. He looked every bit the cowboy. Yeehaw!

Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas didn't quite make the cut. Their costumes didn't seem to go together. Chelsea went for stars and stripes too, with lots of fringe for those hip rotating samba moves. It worked for her. Mark; however, just chose denim jeans and a cut off chambray shirt. Don't get me wrong, he looked hotter than a firecracker. He just didn't seem to match his partner.

The least successful costumes of the night have to go to Kirstie Alley and Maxim Chmerkovskiy. Maxsim's white t-shirt didn't stay on for long and I admit I enjoyed the fake tattoos. But what was with those weird leather pants? Kirstie's getup was even stranger. It almost looked like a bad version of a genie costume done in purple. It didn't work and detracted attention away from the dance.

Not far behind them were Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin. I get the gold dress for Las Vegas but it was American week so red, white, or blue would have been preferable. Still, there is no denying the dress fit every curve of Petra's incredible body. The skirt flowed beautifully. It was worthy of Ginger Rogers herself. Dmitry, of course, always looks luscious in a black tux. They were definitely a stunning couple, if a slightly offbeat one.

I loved the uniform like costumes chosen by sporting celebrities Chris Jericho and Hines Ward. ChrisJericho looked utterly dashing in his navy blue. His partner Cheryl Burke looked stunning in a red sequin gown. Together, they were sheer perfection.

I adored Hines Ward in his white uniform, reminiscent of that worn by Richard Gere in "An Officer and a Gentleman." The star never looked more handsome. His partner, Kym Johnson, didn't fare quite as well in a white fringe number that left little to the imagination. Some more romantic and a lot less sleazy might have worked better.

Chelsie Hightower could have shown Kym how to do it right. She chose a white satin gown that could have walked right out of the 40's. It suitably matched the costume of her partner Romeo. He donned formal black tails. Talk about an elegant looking couple!

For the most part, the stars and pros did it up right with makeup and hairstyles that suited their costumes well. All in all, the fashion parade of DWTS was successful. Still, I must ask: "Kirstie, what were you thinking?"