Emmy 2011 Recap #3: Fashion Politics

By now, word is out that red ruled the "red" carpet. However, there was a lot of blue too.

We don't mean to get all political on you but are you a red dress or a blue dress?

1) Team Sparkles
Martha Plimpton in RED
vs.
Claire Danes in BLUE

A: Martha Plimpton ALL THE WAY. She got up on stage and I was like, "WHO IS THAT?" Great dress - I love the mini sleeve and the small train. The deep color is a beautiful change-up from all of the bright cherry reds. Even the cleavage amount is perfect. Way to go Martha!

M: I'm with you, A. It's Martha, and I'm so so so excited that a) she's arrived and b) she looks this freaking good, because I love Martha Plimpton! I feel like she's always been as under-appreciated as green beans (that's a great veggie/side dish option, people!). She's talented (with the body of work to back it up), charming (you cannot resist Virginia on Raising Hope if you try), brilliantly funny, and now people are seeing that girl cleans up like a royal RC champ. She looks amazing. This dress is perfection in every aspect A mentions above. And as for good ol' Claire Danes, I'm pretty sure she wore this dress in a different color/fabric last awards season, so let's get creative. PLUS, Martha gets bonus points for hair/makeup/accessories.


2) Team Ruffles
Nina Dobrev in RED


vs.
Heather Morris in BLUE


A: Nina Dobrev. I don't watch Vampire Diaries so this was another "Who is this woman" for me. She is so beautiful. The fit of this dress could not be more perfect. The ruffles on the tail of this add great interest and I think the long sleek dark hair over one shoulder was a great stylist choice. I am not the biggest fan of the choker - I personally am more of an earring girl so I would have worn this with long earrings. Who am I kidding - I would not even dare to wear this after seeing Nina in it!

M: I am going to say that maybe this is a tie for me? I'm not totally sure. I like the red a lot, but honestly, it looks painfully uncomfortable. It looks like maybe she has some bruised ribs this week on account of that number. On the upside of that, though, Nina has some fierce posture by mandate of that dress, so there's a win. While I think overall styling might give Nina the edge (as Heather's hair is prom-tastic), I do really love this blue dress, too. It hasn't received rave reviews all around, but I love how Heather has sprung out of the Glee-Diva shadows and is proving herself a beaut on her own merits. I remember seeing this dress in passing on E!'s RC show and thinking I wish I saw more of that, it looks really pretty. And I still think it is. So I guess dress-alone, it's a tie for me. But fine, for the overall look, Nina (Red) edges out Heather (Blue). Sigh.

3) Team One Shoulder. Ooh! It's an Office matchup!
Angela Kinsey in RED


vs.
Kate Flannery in BLUE

A: I think Meredith wins this one for me, but only by a bit. The fit on Angela's dress is too sloppy - it appears very shapeless throughout the bodice and the hemming is nonexistant. I also would have worn the bracelet on the other arm to balance out the assymetry of the dress. I think the blue color looks great on Meredith and the fit is better and shows off/gives her some curves. However IRON YOUR DRESS! It's a bit wrinkly on the bottom.

M: Meredith 100%. The color blue with her skin and hair is a perfect blend of tones. I agree that she/her stylist needs to invest in a steamer, but the dress looks great. It's slimming, it's flattering from every angle, she looks like a million bucks. The fact that I don't remember her from any other red carpet makes me think, too, that this is in particular her best look ever. Angela's hair is too white-blond for the punch of that red, I feel. I agree with A's accessory comment, too. AND, it's not doing anything for her bust. The piece that's going over the one shoulder is almost too wide. Too much fabric. And same for the cummerbund bit in the middle there.

4) Team Glee
Lea Michelle in RED


vs.
Dianna Agron in BLUE

A: UGH. As much as this kills me, I think I have to give the win to Diva Lea. I did really love the back of her dress, even though I wish she would have done something different with her hair to show the back off more. From the front, it makes her seem too boxy, although I did like the shoulder detail. Dianna was just not up to par here. She is beautiful - love her hair and makeup however this dress is too frumpy and too old. The fit is terrible throughout the bodice, even though I get where she was trying to go. The deep blue color is breathtaking on her - I'll give her that. 

M: Ditto. I really dislike everything besides the color on lady Dianna. And she's such.a.pretty.girl. It's a shame, really. I agree it was too old a look for her - from the dress itself to the hair and pose. Not fun at all! That dress on Lea got a lot of press and hype, and while I don't think it's knocking me over with it's amazing-ness, it is a beautiful dress, and it fits her like a glove. I, too, wish she'd worn her hair up, and maybe side-swept the bangs and shown off some long sparkly earrings. Plus a sparkly cuff would have worked, too. Her hair seems too casual and "square" (is that an okay hair descriptor?) for such a classic Hollywood Glam silhouette. The back was beautiful, but we've seen open backs before. The shoulders were kind of rad, and I wish the styling had been there to make them shine more.

5) Team Tight T-shirt
Kate Winslet in RED

vs.
Amy Poehler in BLUE

A: The win goes to Kate in my book. I thought this was a boring choice for Kate - a safe play. I thought it made her boobs look great, but I am finding that I just do not love red dresses on blondes. However, I really did not like Amy's dress. I wanted to like it but it seemed too shiny tight - like she was wearing a spandex tube. 

M: Ooh, we're finally deviating! I pick Amy Poehler! And here's why. Kate looks too boring for Kate Winslet. She has become such a RC powerhouse that this is just sort of half-assing it, if you ask me. Her hair and makeup and accessories are a MAJOR win (especially her hair - I love it), but this dress is bo-ring and totally uninspired. On the other hand, I like -- no, I love -- that Amy is letting herself be a sexy mamma. I think the color and sheen are unique, and I like that it's belted. Her body looks bangin', frankly. This dress was different enough to win me over. Plus, she gets bonus points for starting that Miss America thing with her category. I've not gut-laughed like that in way too long for my own good.

6) Team Lace-it-up!
Kerry Washington in RED

vs.
Minka Kelly in BLUE


A: Minka wins it for me. This was a dress that grew on me. I thought it was dowdy at first but I appreciated seeing something different than red strapless. The deep navy was a pretty color but the lace made it not so safe. I like that her hair and makeup were kept fairly simple and elegant so as not to compete with all of the dress detail. I'm not even sure what the bottom of Kerry's dress is made out of but I hated every bit of it.

M: Different strokes for different folks again. I pick Kerry. I think Minka's dress is pretty, but it's too wintery for the Emmy's. I also think the styling is poor, and she looks MISERABLE. For such a gorgeous lady, this dress feels too mumsy-lace to me, rather than sexy-lace. And I'm a huge lace fan. As for Kerry, I think the shape of that bodice is amazing. I think the red tone on her skin is insane-good. Her makeup looks great. I don't loooove the bottom of that dress, but I think the overall effect is a good one. On second glance, I think maybe the top and bottom of that dress don't actually go together, but I still like it better big-picture than Minka's look.

7) Team HOT MESS
Kathy Griffin in RED


vs.
Katie Holmes in BLUE

A: Who wins the hot mess award? Katie takes it HOLMES for me. OK. TERRIBLE joke. But that is what you get when you wear a dress that looks like a dress I wore to my Freshman year homecoming...in 1995. Piled with that terrible frizzy hair...{shudder}.

M: I'm glad we're ending in agreement. Though I pretty much hate Katie's look, it's mostly her apparent lack of effort/caring that makes me feel that way. Her hair looks terrible, like maybe she was swimming in a pool earlier and it frizz-dried and she left it like that. And while the dress is simple and a little casual (would have worked for the Independent Spirit Awards better, I say), the color is rich, and it's Calvin Klein... CK is often simple, clean lines and smooth fabrics. Kathy is in a prom dress, her lips are way too dark, and she looks a little alien-esque for my liking, in addition to chasing her lost high school acceptance. So Katie wins, Kathy loses. Red over blue for Hot Mess Victory.

In summary: we actually finish overall in agreement. We both pick Red as the winner, with each scoring 5 wins for red to 2 wins for blue, though we split on two different looks. Not sure what that means about our fashion politics, though... Where do you land?