Tracking: Emmys Fashion

I have to admit—I didn’t watch the Emmys last night. I collapsed into bed pretty early after walking around the MD Renaissance Festival all day and didn’t move until early this morning. But, I’m catching up on the dresses and the winners this morning (yay, Peter Dinklage!) and wanted to share a few of my favorites…and my less-than-favorites.

I know everyone will talking about Gwyneth Paltrow’s dress, which is why I think she did a good job managing to find a dress that’s risky without being head-scratchingly bad. On her, it’s just this side of pretty and I think that will save her from the scorn a lesser actor would have gotten for wearing the same thing.

Kate Winslet has been wearing lots of body-con dresses during recent press events, and I like that she continued with that. Red is a great color on her and the slim silhouette is flattering.

Since Evan Rachel Wood started trying to do Dita Von Lite over the past few years, her style has been mostly unpredictable and occasionally really, really bad. This dress has enough vintage flair to make it fitting with her personal style, but the color, fit and neckline suit her so well. She looks classy and elegant—two things not often said about her.

I have a soft spot for Maria Bello. I love her acting and I think she’s gorgeous, so I’m personally inclined to love this Jennifer Aniston-esque, California-girl look on her.

Sometimes I wonder why the twee followed Jayma Mays onto the set of Glee, or whether she stole the style from her character. Either way, it’s usually hit or miss with her. This time, I like the twee and I think it’s because she had someone do a great, great job with her hair/makeup.

Jane Lynch sometimes looks really uncomfortable in the ridiculous dresses her stylist(s) have put her in, but this strapless, deep purple gown suits her tall frame and doesn’t overwhelm her.

Katie Holmes’ hair is a hot mess, but she looks comfortable and elegant in her blue halter-neck gown. I’m always on the fence about belted evening gowns, but I think the belt works here.

Either Minka Kelly got a new stylist, or she’s trying to be a More Serious Actor now that she has her own television show. She’s dialed down the overtly sexy and realized that it is indeed possible to attend an event without showing cleavage. The hair is a little matronly (did she go too far to the other side?), but I think she looks modern and elegant and that’s a big improvement over some other things I’ve seen her in.

I think Kerry Washington is one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen. You could put her in a sack and she’d still turn heads, so I can’t imagine the effect when she walked onto the red carpet in this red strapless gown. The lipstick/bag/dress matchy-matchy thing might bother some people, but I think it’s a nice retro Hollywood touch on her.

I feel like I’ve seen Julia Stiles’ dress before. Her hair and makeup look good, and the dress is more or less good too—but when you look closely, you see the color might not have been the best choice and the bodice is doing nothing for her.

Who gets your vote for best and worst dressed?

Angela Kinsey - Looks nothing like her familiar character, and that’s a good thing. She looks gorgeous and glamourous. Her hair is doing a funky thing down that one side, but whatever. She looks great.

Vote? Best!

Christina Hendricks - This is one of those dresses that’s right on the ugly/pretty fence and depending on how you feel about, oh, lavender, that’s where you’ll come down. She has the type of intensely striking beauty that would constantly give her the “I’m wearing the dress and so no one notices the dress” problem (if you can call THAT a problem), so she sometimes overcompensates by choosing a dress that wears her, if that makes sense. This is right on the precipice of being too-too much. But, the neckline looks great and the color sets off her hair well.

Vote? Best, but not a home run.

Claire Danes - It’s a lot of gold on one person (even her hair is gold), but I’m a sucker for a sparkly dress. (The fit looks weird though.)

Vote? Best!

Dianna Agron - The look on her face here says it all. I’ve seen mixed reviews of this look so far this morning, but I have to say—this, in my opinion, is a total trainwreck. It’s so busy, ages her, does not show off her figure to its best advantage and—on top of all that—looks like a tablecloth/lace curtains. This is a stylist gone rogue, right here.

Vote? Worst.

Elisabeth Moss - This looks good on her and fits her well. Would have looked better in a color (maybe navy or green), but I like it. Her hair looks a bit matronly, though.

Vote? Best!

Emily Blunt - This may be one of my favorite gowns of the night. It’s soft and beautiful without being cloying, and the fact that you can tell—from the distance this photo was taken—that it matches her eyes perfectly is pretty awesome. Also, hair, make-up and accessories are A+.

Vote? Best!

Emily Deschanel - Thought this was Zooey at first glance (must be the bangs), but I kinda like this. It’s different and has an interesting neckline. On someone else, this might have looked cheap, but on Emily it just looks unique.

Vote? Middle of the road.

Jane Lynch - I think she looks awesome from the waist-up, but wish that skirt had been more fitted. The color also photographed poorly—it looked much better on TV.

Vote? Pretty good!

January Jones - I hate this. Not the dress so much, because it IS an amazing dress—but her IN it. With casual hair and no-makeup. Like she just rolled out of bed. Yes, you’re gorgeous January Jones and we all know it, but come on. This could have been amazing if she had put more effort into the overall look.

Vote? Try harder.

Jayma Mays - Hair looks awesome, love the navy/gold scheme—but that dress? I’ve seen like 500 versions of that dress over the past 5 years. Yawn.

Vote? Kinda boring.

Jewel - Once I saw the bow, it was all over. You don’t get a second chance when you wear a bow like that. Also, I’m over the lace trend.

Vote? Worst.

Kelly Osbourne - I think people are fawning all over this look because she hasn’t really pulled herself together like this in quite some time and, well, that IS commendable, but on anyone else—I wouldn’t like this. Hair and earrings are great for the dress, though, and I like where the waistline hits on her. It’s tailored well for her. 

Vote? Pretty good!

Lea Michele - Someone needs to feed her. I can almost see her gasping for breath between pictures. Good god. She’s corseted to within an inch of her life in that thing. Also, hate the dress. Once again, I’ve seen a million versions of this same dress all over the red carpet for the past decade. Did she and Jayma Mays go dress shopping together?

Vote? Not this time, buttercup.

Mindy Kaling - What. Is. This.

Vote? Worst.

Stephanie Pratt - You are not at the MTV Music Awards.

Vote? I can’t even.

Tina Fey - I love this silhouette on her, but it’s a lot of print going on. Almost…cast-iron fence-ish from far off. But, she still looks great.

Vote? Best!

Who are your picks for best and worst dressed at the Emmys?

2009 Emmys - Best of Fashion

• Alyson Hannigan in Vera Wang - She’s come a long way since the dorky redhead on Buffy! This dress fits her so well, and I love that she did very casual, sexy hair with such a formal gown.
• Mila Kunis in Monique Lhuillier - Mila could probably wear a sackcloth and still look amazing, but she pulled this one off perfectly. The dress is risky for a petite woman, as that length can sometimes make a short woman look even shorter, but Mila made it work with the sky-high heels. I actually prefer the look of this dress in the side-on photos taken of Mila, as you can better see the underlay details.
• Chloe Sevigny in Isaac Mizrahi - I think Chloe tied with January Jones for best dressed of the night. Both women took a risk and it paid off.
• January Jones in Versace - This art deco-detailed dress is absolute perfection. The styling looks great, too.
• Drew Barrymore in Monique Lhuillier - She’s worn this same silhouette before, but it looks great on her.
• Mary Louise Parker - I love when women go short on a typically full-length formal red carpet. This color is so rich and gorgeous, and those shoes! Stunning!
• Sandra Oh in Marchesa - Sandra Oh has a great body and this dress fits her like a glove.
• Neil Patrick Harris in Dolce & Gabbana - Excellent fitting tux and double points for being a wonderful host.

2009 Emmys - Oops!

I have to admit: on the whole, I was slightly underwhelmed by the Emmys fashion choices this year. I know that lots of designers are producing less evening wear due to budgetary constraints and consumer purchasing power, which definitely limits the choices for red carpet events like this. But, I thought that there was an 80’s, satiny, prom-vibe to a lot of the dresses. Not a fan!

Here are three beautiful women in dresses I thought were not so fantastic:

• Hayden Panettiere in J. Mendel - Hayden is such a gorgeous girl, but this dress, hair and make-up aged her in an unflattering way. She’s young and beautiful: she should wear something a bit more youthful and fun. This seemed overly serious.
• Leighton Meester in Bottega Veneta - I usually love that Leighton takes fashion risks, but this is one serious case of the dress wearing her and not the other way around. It overwhelms her small frame, but could have been improved with small tweaks to the shoulder treatments.
• Kyra Sedgwick in L’Wren Scott - This dress has a nice vintage vibe to it, but I would have had the leg slit removed for a more classic look. I don’t like blonds in light pinks or nudes either, and thought she would have looked more vibrant in a jewel tone.