I stared morosely at my TV as I watched the stars arrive at the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.  Despite the sameness we’ve seen over the past few award seasons, I’ve remained optimistic.  But as I saw the sea of sweetheart necklines, washes of white and the sorry looking boat-neck gowns make their way down the red carpet, I couldn’t help but cringe.  For me, this was by far the most boring red carpet I have seen in years! What was with the abundance of all things non-interesting?!?!

A major problem with Hollywood is that all the stars go running to their stylists.  What happened to good old fashioned dressing – wearing something that shows your personality? I tried to fish out the more unique looking gowns for some of the better trends we saw from the night.

Mega-wattage embellishments

It was really all about what was on the dresses! Opting for minimal or no jewellery, stars chose eye-catching, glitzy gowns that were heavily embellished with crystals, paillettes, beading and sequins.

Manic for Midnight

We saw a huge variety of gowns in this beautiful midnight blue.  The navy was a great option to bring some drama to the daytime arrivals and worked as a great alternative for the usual go-to colour, black.

Spanish Affair

Adding a bit of dramatic flair, we saw these flamenco-inspired ruffles at the last awards as well.  It’s a great way to jazz up a simple silhouette.

From Periwinkle to Purple

Whether it was a bright pop of purple or a more muted pastel version of the colour, this hue was plentiful and a popular choice amongst the crowd.

Baring One Arm

One-shoulder dresses are still a big hit on the red carpet.  The simple shapes are always a chic and classic look but it’s also nice to see interesting draping, gathers, and shoulder details – it adds an element of surprise.

Black with a Twist

Black is a great go-to colour but can sometimes result in safe and boring pieces.  These stars took it up a notch playing with contrasting fabric and adding texture to give their gowns a more three-dimensional look.

Greek Goddess

Playing up the summer heat, celebrities took to soft draping and twisting in their modern takes on the Grecian trend.

Red on Red

It’s interesting to have seen so much of this shade as it’s not quite common, given the colour of the carpet but at the Emmys, we saw an array of actors in sultry shades of red.

Luscious Lace

Taking this trend directly from the runways, this favourite fabric was a hit amongst the stars of Hollywood.

Lace was used as an all over fabric adding a light shimmer to some gowns or as a peekaboo detail giving some gowns an interesting layer.

Of course, there are always the risk-taking stars who aren’t afraid to express themselves (in an appropriate way of course!) These darers added an element of fun and intrigue to the red carpet.

This interesting shape, unusual texture and attention-grabbing shade of blue gives January Jones a fashion-forward edge.  She somehow always manages to do something interesting on the red carpet!

This is not the first time Anna Paquin has gone gladiator on us.  The young belle looked powerful in sharp shoulders and completed her look with strong, statement cuffs and bangles.  She seems to be a loyal fan of this silhouette from McQueen.

Everything from the sweet, different colour (it’s not easy to wear this bubblegum pink) to the soft silhouette, to the loose hair, I loved Keri Russell’s “I-don’t-need-to-try-too-hard” mindset.  Her easy going, minimalistic attitude just stands out.

I’m always a fan of prints on the red carpet and I always feel like I never see enough of them.  It is risky to go with a print because you can end up looking like you’re wearing a tablecloth or curtain.  It’s just important to be smart about it and not let the print overpower the design and shape of the garment, like Toni Collette did and her gown, keeping the prints to the bottom.

Image Source: InStyle.com, JustJared.com, Style.com

Categories: Entertainment, Fashion, Television