Emmy fashions lean toward bright colours, simple lines

Playing up one of the most popular colours of the fall season, the red carpet was awash in a variety of crimson and scarlet dresses at the Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday.

"One of fall's hottest trend colours is crimson, and the stars didn't miss a beat on the Emmy's red carpet this year," said style expert Sam Saboura, citing Lea Michele, Kate Winslet, Nina Dobrev, Kerry Washington and Adrianne Palicki among the many stars wearing the bold colour.

Even actor Allan Cumming opted for the hue, wearing red pants with his tuxedo jacket.

Additionally, bright blues and aquas -- showcased during this past week's Fashion Week as colours to wear next spring -- showed up on stars like Cobie Smulders, Claire Danes and Amy Poehler.

"Sleeves were everywhere," observed fashion watcher Shara Koplowitz. "Actresses wore sleeves that best accentuated their arms."

That meant short sleeves on Michele, Poehler and Gwyneth Paltrow, capped sleeves on Winslet and Christine Baranski, and long sleeves on Laura Linney, Melissa McCarthy, Loretta Devine, Jayma Mays and Mayim Bialik.

For Bialik, wearing long sleeves was not a fashion choice, but a religious one.

"I'm a Jewish person, and for me, my goal was to try and cover up at least to the elbows, and (a hem that goes) all the way to the ground," said the Big Bang Theory actress. "I'm a modest dresser, so I was looking for something that wasn't strapless."

With the inordinate amount of sleeves came less jewelry. "The more dress you have on, the less jewelry you wear," said Koplowitz. "You can't go for flash. It has to be understated."

Of course, there are always some exceptions. Koplowitz felt Christina Hendricks' "va-va-voom" dress was "a bit out of place" at the Emmys, and the jury is still out on how appropriate Paltrow's sheer-midriff gown fared with fashionistas.

"Too much sparkle and shine is overkill for the Emmys," said Saboura. "That should be saved for bigger award shows. Big looks don't translate to the TV world. Simple-silhouetted dresses without any fuss are more appropriate."

Other stars dressed for reasons beyond the fashion impact. Melissa Leo, a nominee for her supporting performance in Mildred Pierce, wore a black Renato Balestra dress emblazoned with roses, which she picked out from the designer's fall collection. Her son also wore Balestra."

"I'm so deeply delighted to be here on this television night," Leo said. "TV supported me and my son most of the years of his upbringing. I wanted to represent in an elegant way. The dress with the rose on it said it -- and said it quite personally."

Meanwhile, Cara Buono, of Mad Men, chose to promote a cause with the Fonderie 47 earrings she wore with her custom-made Donna Karan gown.

"These earrings are made from AK-47 gun metal in Africa," said the actress, adding that money from sale of the jewelry goes to fund weapon destruction in countries like Congo.

"Each pair of earrings will destroy up to 800 weapons," Buono said.