Going back in fashion time

THE buzzwords on the red carpet at the Emmy Awards were “festive” and “glamorous,” with many celebrities opting for sleek, 1940s-style looks, right down to the Rita Hayworth-style peekaboo hairstyle favoured by Debra Messing and Portia de Rossi.

Sarah Jessica Parker, the biggest fashion star at the Emmys for the past few years, didn’t disappoint, wearing a strapless black-lace tea-length dress with a feathered skirt and a black sash by Chanel Couture. She said it was her husband, Matthew Broderick, who had the final say on her outfit.

Jennifer Aniston wore a white Chanel strapless gown with bursts of gold. She told Star Jones, who took over fashion commentary from Joan Rivers, that the dress was a “little Bohemian, raggy thing with a little bling-bling”.

With Jones as the Fashion Police, Kim Cattrall said the red carpet “is not as scary as it usually is” when Rivers and her daughter, Melissa, were on patrol.

Jones had two outfits, which she said was only fitting for her diva persona. Her first gown was gold with a plunging neckline by Marc Bouwer that she wore with a gold tassel necklace while the second was a pale pink lingerie-style gown by Badgley Mischka that she paired with a “summer chinchilla” shrug.

The lingerie look was also popular with Kristin Davis, in a beaded Prada corset gown, and Anne Heche, who wore a Giorgio Armani black satin slip gown with a pleated bodice and tulle underskirt.

Cheryl Hines wore a sea foam green gown with pink-and-purple beaded flowers and a few feathers. Patricia Heaton was in a multicolour, wrap-top Elie Saab gown that included purple, magenta, yellow, green and black.

Kathryn Morris had a hard time keeping her draped salmon-coloured gown by Carmen Marc Valvo out of reach of Bill Rancic. “I’m trying to keep ‘The Apprentice’ from stepping on my dress. I know he’s handsome and all but ...” she trailed off with a smile.

Black always is a favourite on the red carpet and de Rossi wore it well in a long Givenchy fitted sheath that she jazzed up with a diamond-chain bracelet by Diane von Furstenberg for H. Stern, and Barbara Walters looked chic in a bare-shoulder gown by Donna Karan.

Most of the men chose traditional black-tie attire, but Dennis Haysbert showed a little originality - his was navy blue. “It’s my favourite colour,” he said. Eric Szmanda of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation said he bleached patches of his hair blond to set himself apart from “the other penguins”.