The Best and Worst Dressed List: the Emmy Awards 2008
September 21, 200
Brightly colored, simply shaped sheaths and columns some with tweaking like ruching, a ruffle or a bit of beading here and there were mostly the order of the day.
When the dress is essentially very simple in construction, the color you chose to wear must be spot on flattering. For the most part, the women got that right. I'm not so sure they got the hair and makeup right. Mary Louise Parker, for instance, looked stunning in her dress but the hair, not so stunning. The danger of wearing a simply constructed dress is that with the wrong hair and makeup you can look like you are wearing a nightgown, a leotard or hospital gown (yes, Cynthia Nixon I am talking about you.)
Actresses that chose to wear dresses at or above the knee (Eva Langoria, Kyra Sedgwick) or what used to be called tea length (America Ferrera, Marcia Cross) missed the mark, not because the length was wrong but because they chose such unflattering dresses.
For the men, the shawl collar tux made a huge ( and long overdue) comeback, but the relative newness of the collar to a younger generation would explain why so many of the first timers got it so wrong.
THE BEST DRESSED WOMEN
Christina Applegate
Felicity Huffman
Evangeline Lilly
The dresses were distinctly different on the surface, but I defy you to name a decade from the 30's on in which each of those dresses could not have been worn by the chicest of women.
Sandra Oh. Oh my God, she's never looked this good! Oh please keep it up, Sandra. Pretty please?
Terry Hatcher. Just plain pretty. How can you argue with that?
Julia Louis Dreyfus. I wasn't a great fan of the dress itself ( an uncharacteristically awkward effort by Narciso Rodriguez), but she just looked drop dead gorgeous. Great hair and makeup and the color of that dress was stunning on her.
Vanessa Williams. The only risk of the night (a large scale print) that paid off!
Jean Smart. Perfect 40's movie glamour and perfectly age appropriate.
THE BEST DRESSED MEN
Patrick Dempsey. This guy can do no wrong in a tuxedo no matter what style he wears. This time it was a shawl collar version worn with a bow tie.
Neil Patrick Harris. He's never looked better. Actually, he looked kinda….. hot. Doogie Howser who?
David Boreanaz. How to look impecable in a peak lapel tuxedo.
Stephen Colbert. Turning into a perennial on most people's best list.
Sean Combs. Very dapper.
And now unfortunately, THE WORST DRESSED:
THE WOMEN
1. Eva Langoria Parker. Why? All I have to say is why? And what's with the Kathy Bates "Misery" hairstyle? And did a raccoon do her makeup?
2. Kathy Griffin. A perennial fashion victim. Proof positive that surrounding yourself with gay men is absolutely no guarantee that you will get good fashion advice. ( I wonder what random thoughts Shlomi Rabi may have about this?)
3. Heidi Klum. Project Run amok. She managed to look ordinary in every gown, with the possible exception of the last one. Auf Wiedersehen!
4. Cynthia Nixon. Is it just me or did she look like an anorexic Pat Nixon?
5. Marcia Cross. Great hair, great makeup, great color for a dress. Ugly Dress. All she was missing were the ice skates for this "Disney on Ice" costume.
THE MEN
1. The guys who decided to wear a shawl collar tux with a long tie, Howie Mandell, Ryan Seacrest, Christian Slater, et al. Unless you or your stylist understand proportion exceptionally well, it's the sartorial equivalent of running with scissors. STOP IT. (Compare how odd these guys look compared to Partick Dempsey.)
2. The guys who wore a long tie with their notch and peak lapel tux. There was a moment when this was counterculturally cool and hip. Moment over.
3. The guys in all black. Johnny Cash is dead. Let the man rest in peace.
4. Lawrence Fishburn. Was I the only one seeing (some shade of) red?
5. Tim Gunn. Tim, oh Tim, you of all people couldn't find a jacket that fit properly?
