In with the Old
Editor’s Note: Fashion Walk-Off is one in a series of articles written in collaboration by the image staff. Fashion reporter Xazmin Garza and image editor Susan Stapleton take a look at the fashions worn by celebrities and offer their opinions.
Hollywood returned to its glamorous roots of the ’40s during the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards last weekend. Red lips, siren outfits, vintage couture and pin-curl waves rolled down the red carpet on starlet after starlet.
But unlike most awards shows, the Emmys surprised fashion critics. It seemed nearly every television star who walked the red carpet hired a reputable stylist and took a good, hard look in the mirror before stepping into the limo. But when Hollywood looks this good it only makes the missteps that much more obvious. Take a look at both the crème de la crème and the less fashion fortunate from last weekend’s Emmys.
STAPLETON’S BEST
I thought most of the celebrities looked incredible at the Emmys, which made selecting the worst of the bunch even that much more difficult. Here, see how two former models, two "Heroes" stars and two comediennes got it right, and wrong, on the red carpet.
• Heidi Klum: Klum had the best accessory in the house, husband Seal, on her arm. Once you looked past him, you saw her Dior by John Galliano wine-colored gown with a slit up to here. Klum certainly learned a lot from her years of walking on the runway, and she put her knowledge to work on the red carpet.
• Ali Larter: This superhero pulled off a feat worthy of her "Heroes" character when she styled her own hair and makeup for the Emmys. This "sliver of a dress" from Reem Acra, a Larter favorite designer, shows her seductive, and best, personality.
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus: The former "Seinfeld" sidekick proves that you can be funny and sexy at the same time. Louis-Dreyfus, who normally wears Carolina Herrera, went with Narciso Rodriguez’s purple gown with pintucks on the bodice. Perhaps Seinfeld, a regular at Rodriguez’s runway shows, is still rubbing off on Louis-Dreyfus.
STAPLETON’S WORST
• Rebecca Romijn: The former model-turned-actress is taking her "Ugly Betty" role too far. She doesn’t have to hide all of her curves behind that vintage Guy Laroche gown just because she plays a transvestite on television.
• Hayden Panettiere: The 18-year-old needs to take some lessons from Larter on the red carpet. Hopefully Panettiere is just hiding the rest of the cheerleading squad under her Marc Bouwer gown.
• Debra Messing: Funny girl Messing must have been pulling our leg when she donned this Ralph Lauren gown. Had the black and white flip-flopped, she would have looked much more stunning instead of like a rundown "Starter Wife."
GARZA’S BEST
• Sara Ramirez: Just what the doctor ordered. The pale violet, raven coif and silver afterthoughts make for a delicious prescription.
• Eva Longoria: When the show’s host (Ryan Seacrest) gives your Christian Louboutin pumps a shout out five minutes into the show, you know you’re doing something right. Eva, and her Kaufman Franco dress, sparkled brighter than the Emmy itself.
• Queen Latifah: The sexy scarlet dress, lips to match and half up ‘do deserve a royal curtsy.
GARZA’S WORST
• Jenna Fischer: Um, where do I start? Clearly your stylist despises you worse than any other human she’s known. Enough said.
• Jamie Pressley: Helen Mirren’s mother would find this St. John Couture gown too conservative. So what’s a 30-year-old with a smoking body and an Emmy nomination doing wearing it?
• Vanessa Williams: The light seafoam works wonders against your beautiful skin tone. The cut of this Kevan Hall gown complements your impossibly toned figure. The feathers, however, need more plucking than Betty Juarez’s hideous brows. Too much.