The 2011 Emmy Awards have come and gone, and we’ve got judging aplenty to do.

JULIA STILES // gown by Georges Hobeika
Lumen Pierce on Dexter // Nominee, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama

Beautiful gown, and it fits her perfectly. That gray-lilac color is lovely on her skin. The jewelry she chose is lovely, but a dress like this really requires a blingtastic necklace.

AMBER RILEY
Mercedes Jones on Glee

Also an interesting and somewhat unique color, but I’m not sure how much I love it. That pinky-purple-mauve is hard to pull off. Amber Riley loves a bedazzled shoulder, so I’m happy to see her rocking that again. The dress fits her beautifully in the bus and waist, but I’m not loving all the design elements. The rouching of the bodice, plus the draping of the left side of the skirt leaves the right side of the skirt look a little limp and out of place. She was smart to minimize the jewelry since the shoulders have more than enough bling to satisfy my Sparkle-O-Meter, which is a complex and time-honored system of measurement (that I totally just made up) that judges outfits based on their use of shiny objects.

RASHIDA JONES // gown by Alberta Ferretti
Ann Perkins on Parks and Recreation

Rashida Jones never manages to get it 100% right. The dress is only okay – the bodice and belt look fine, but the skirt is so wrinkled and sad-looking. And that baby pink was not a great choice for an olive-skinned woman. As usual, the hair and makeup are a little severe for her features. She should have taken off the two gold bracelets and left only the diamonds. And when will starlets start obeying my rule that a strapless evening gown requires a necklace, particularly when the hair is worn up?

JAYMA MAYS // gown by Zuhair Murad
Emma Pillsbury on Glee

Almost the same color as Rashida’s dress, and the belt seems to be at the exact same spot. But this color looks much better on Jayma Mays, who has a pinkish complexion that looks beautiful with this color. The satin purse is too bridesmaid-y, and the overall effect might be girly to an absurd degree, but she’s a redhead rocking a pink dress, which is no mean feat. It’s just too precious to be my taste, but if you’re a girly-girl, this is the way to hit the red carpet.

ARIEL WINTER
Alex Dunphy on Modern Family

For a thirteen-year-old, Ariel Winter looks pretty damn stylish. She’d look a thousand times more elegant if her hair was down, but her makeup is beautiful and the dress is nice on her. I don’t love cleavage on a girl this young, but I admit that this dress would look far too matronly and stuffy without it. It fits her nicely and makes her look long and lean, and she seems to be jumping on the very long train of starlets wearing pink/purple/mauve lace to the Emmys.

SARAH HYLAND // gown by Christian Siriano
Haley Dunphy on Modern Family

20-year-old Sarah Hyland may claim to be a red carpet noob (she imitated one of Lea Michele’s red carpet poses, poking fun at how natural the red carpet seems to Lea, when Sarah only feels awkward), but she’s showing strong signs of promise. The color is, in a word, delish. Pink and red were everywhere, but she was the only one in this unique color, this spectacular salmon pink that looks awesome on her natural-seeming tan. This dress isn’t necessarily unique at all – I somehow find myself recalling half the dresses Mandy Moore has worn when looking at this photo – but you can tell it was tailor-made for Sarah. What the dress lacks in design, it makes up for in fit and color.

SOFIA VERGARA // gown by Vera Wang
Gloria Pritchett on Modern Family // Nominee, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy

I loved this look because it’s like Sofia Vergara is wearing the big sister version of Sarah Hyland’s dress (or, more accurately, the step-grandmother version, I suppose). The color is almost the same (but a little more orange-y than pink) and the design is much more mature, but there are a lot of similarities between the two. Anyway, yes, Sofia is always going to go for this Latin bombshell look, and I’m always going to wish she would branch out just a little bit more. But I have no real cause for complaint here, because I think this dress is delicious on her. Unlike nearly every gown she wears, it’s tight without being TOO tight. She tends to dress a size too small, but this just fits her like a glove. I love that layer of darker salmon fabric poking out from beneath the train. But the earrings, however much she loves them, push the whole thing into over-the-top territory, and the hair is weak. But from the neck down, wowza. That’s an Emmys gown, bitches.

KATE WINSLET // gown by Elie Saab, purse by Roger Vivier
Mildred Pierce in Mildred Pierce // Winner, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie

Anyone who watched even ten minutes of the red carpet can tell you that RED IS IN. It was a sea of women in blood-red gowns of various levels of fabulousness, so we’re going to be tough on all of them. Kate Winslet looked beautiful, but in comparison to the other red gowns I saw, this was not my favorite. It’s too tight around her waist and it’s just a teensy bit on the boring side. If you’re one of the only women in red, you can don a boring red dress and get attention just for the color. But in a sea of red, you’re going to have to work a lot harder than this to stand out.

LEA MICHELE // gown by Marchesa
Rachel Berry on Glee

Definitely my favorite red dress of the night, and one of my favorite Lea looks in general. This dress looked amazing on TV (the pictures don’t do it justice) and stood out from the others because it still felt unique, in spite of its ubiquitous color. The shoulder embellishments, which look a little uneven in the photos, were positively stunning on TV. The dress has a bit of a low cowl neck in the back, so it’s a little revealing, but not desperately so (which Lea tends to border on when she opts for sexier looks). I think a simple diamond bracelet on her left wrist would have completed this look perfectly.

NINA DOBREV // gown by Donna Karan, purse by Judith Leiber
Elena Gilbert on The Vampire Diaries

I’m not what you would call “into” vampires (call me old-fashioned, but I’ll always be a wizard kind of girl). But I am into relatively unknown starlets who make a goddamn statement on the red carpet. I think I’ve seen this dress too many times before to really be stunned by it, but you can’t deny that Nina Dobrev looks anything less than red carpet perfection, even if it was a safe choice.

KERRY WASHINGTON // gown by Zuhair Murad, purse by Jimmy Choo
Olivia Pope on the upcoming Scandal

Kerry brought a darker red into the mix, but to little avail. I hate that rounded bodice, and there’s just a few too many things happening here – the sort of fringe-seeming skirt with the giant crinoline hemline (who thought that was a good idea?), the sparkly bodice, the way the whole dress kind of melts into itself. The hair is weak and the jewelry is nowhere to be found.

MARTHA PLIMPTON
Virginia Chance on Raising Hope // Nominee, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy

When the nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy took the stage like beauty queens, I couldn’t get over Martha Plimpton and how fucking awesome she looks. Her body is SLAMMING, and her dress was this gorgeous merlot-colored, glittering piece of work. Love the fit, the sleeves, and the slight but not excessive train. Not excited about the purse or the lack of necklace/bracelet, but bitch looked fantastic anyway.

JANE LYNCH // gown by David Meister
Sue Sylvester on Glee // Nominee, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy // Emmys Host

I had so many exciting ideas for what Jane Lynch could wear, and if this involved a necklace, it would be one of them. The color is literally perfection on her – she should wear nothing but purples and eggplants forever. But she’s such a tall woman that, in a low-cut strapless gown, she looks broad-shouldered and bare, and a necklace would have made her look softer and more put together. Half the amount of bracelets would have made twice the impact, but I love the earrings.

KELLY OBSOURNE // gown by J. Mendel
Fashion correspondent for Fashion Police on E!

I never quite understood Kelly Osbourne‘s transformation into “fashion icon,” since I find her personal style completely derivative and nearly always unflattering, boring, or both. But I’ll throw her a bone for the neck-down, because this dress is really beautiful and looks fantastic on her. Another great use of that eggplant purple color. That little side-sleeve on her right arm is completely unnecessary, but her waist looks itsy-bitsy and her figure is curvy, strong, and sexy. However, the hair needs to go. Dying your hair gray doesn’t make you interesting or daring or stylish; it just makes you look like a hundred-year-old lady in a really nice dress.

HEATHER MORRIS
Brittany Pierce on Glee

Whoa. I’ve seen Heather Morris on the red carpet before, and let’s just say it hasn’t always been pretty (even though she herself is gorgeous). So this mega-gown is a giant fucking LEAP forward for her, style-wise. I think this dress is interesting and daring for the red carpet, from the ruffles to the cut to the color. I can’t decide if the hair is kind of awesome or just plain beauty school dropout, but I’m leaning on the side of awesome. I just love this dress on her silhouette – she looks positively statuesque. And though the dress has some construction issues, I think her choice of color and style show a lot of maturity from her prior red carpet decisions. Kudos, Brittany! Now dance to more Britney songs, please.

KATIE HOLMES // gown by Calvin Klein
Jackie Kennedy in The Kennedys

Laughably terrible. I’m sorry, but if you leave the house FOR THE EMMYS in an ill-fitting tank dress and messy bun, you need immediate mental health counseling. I’m embarrassed for her.

DIANNA AGRON // gown by Roksanda Ilincic, purse by Roger Vivier
Quinn Fabray on Glee

Another gown that looked better on television than in pictures, but I can’t say I love it. That metallic blue is a whole lot of color – it might be terrific on an accessory, but a whole gown of that is a bit much to take in. It fits her miserably, from the too-long train to the too-short hem in front to the droopy, drapey mess happening around her waist and shoulders. And the hair makes her resemble Evan Rachel Wood, which is not a compliment, as far as I’m concerned.

COBIE SMULDERS // gown by Alberta Ferretti, clutch by Rene Caovilla
Robin Scherbatsky on How I Met Your Mother

Let’s start with the good: the color is amazing. Not just because she was the only one in this fabulous teal on the entire red carpet, but because on her light skin and dark hair, it just pops so brilliantly. And from the waist down, the dress itself is lovely. Cinched at the waist for a little body-shaping, then flowing and draping to the floor in a beautiful way. However, everything above the waist is such a hot disaster! Those droopy shoulders could not be considered flattering in any way, and the bust doesn’t come close to fitting her. I know she was going for a 1920s fingercurl thing with her hair, but what she actually ended up with was mental patient hair. I wouldn’t have picked a white purse with this color dress, nor would I have chosen those earrings.

CLAIRE DANES // gown by Oscar de la Renta
Carrie Mathison on the upcoming Homeland

I bet this dress looked absolutely phenomenal on the runway, but it is so not Claire Danes‘s dress. Her makeup is awful, like, applied in the bucket seat of a tractor-trailor on the way to the show bad. The hair brings nothing to the table, and the lack of jewelry or any discernible accessories other than those heinous earrings is disturbing to me.

AMY POEHLER // gown by Peter Som
Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation // Nominee, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy

A little too snug, a little too shiny. It had the effect of looking like Amy Poehler was wrapped in plastic. Love the length of those sleeves, though.

EMILY BLUNT // gown by Elie Saab, clutch by Kelly Locke
Film actress // wife to The Office‘s John Krasinski

A perfect look, with only one flaw: that little bit of crinoline sticking out of her right boob. It should either be poking out of both tits or cut altogether. But seriously, the rest of this gown is ASTOUNDING. Quite a dramatic look for someone whose sole stake in the Emmys is accidentally stealing attention away from her charming husband John Krasinski. But good GOD, do I love every bit of this dress, from the dusty midnight blue color to the cinched waist to the way the embellishments on the fabric fade and shift from top to bottom. And I dig the gray accessories, which work better than black, nude, or white would have. The hair is effortless and beautiful, as is the natural-looking makeup. In a Democracy Diva world, this dress is what the Emmys are all about.

MINKA KELLY // gown by Christian Dior
Eve French on the upcoming Charlie’s Angels remake

I’m usually sold on lace, but there are some parts of this dress I just cannot accept. First, the sheer midriff with the black belt over it. It seems so arbitrarily placed, like she suddenly realized her tummy was showing and wanted to hide it with some ribbon she found in the backseat of the limo. And though I don’t believe in the rule that says black and navy can’t be worn together, I think these particular shades are not excellent together, certainly not on the red carpet. But the sleeves are exquisite, as is that bit of lace poking out of the neckline.

CHRISTINE BARANSKI // gown by Zac Posen
Diane Lockhart on The Good Wife // Nominee, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama

The bitch BROUGHT IT, y’all! Christine Baranski is a fucking icon, and her effortless, structured-but-sexy taste is just terrific. This dress is literally perfect for her – a hint of cleavage, for some sex appeal, but covered-up elsewhere to remain age-appropriate. And the super-structured and tailored shoulders and neckline are totally working. Love the red lipstick and the massively blinged out earrings, of course. Nix the white purse, and I’m happy as a clam.

Diva’s Best Dressed, Part 1:
1. Emily Blunt in Elie Saab
2. Lea Michele in Marchesa
3. Christine Baranski in Zac Posen

Diva’s Worst Dressed, Part 1:
1. Katie Holmes in Calvin Klein
2. Claire Danes in Oscar de la Renta
3. Dianna Agron in Roksanda Ilincic

Coming Soon: Part 2 of the 2011 Emmy Awards Red Carpet!

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© Democracy Diva, 2011.
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