Silver seemed to be the precious metal of choice for those seeking Emmy gold at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday night. Among the most head-turning takes on the metallic trend were Sarah Paulson’s fresh-off-the-New-York-Fashion-Week-runway Carolina Herrera dress for spring and summer 2018 and Tracee Ellis Ross’ Chanel haute couture number that was a sea of silver crystals up top and white feathers down below.
Other notable silver stunners included Laverne Cox in Naeem Khan, Regina King in a fall 2017 Galia Lahav haute couture gown and Anna Chlumsky in a form-fitting liquid silver gown custom made for her by Sachin & Babi. “I asked them for something in the precious-metal-that-could-be-mined-from-the-earth vein,” she said on the red carpet, and the label delivered to great effect.
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Nicole Kidman’s red Calvin Kein by Appointment grenadine silk gazar pleated bodice dress puts the “Big Little Lies” actress on our best-dressed list.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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We loved Zoe Kravitz’s rainbow dress from Dior. She is on our best-dressed list.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Lakeith Stanfield is dressed to impress in a green printed brocade, single-button, shawl collar tuxedo by Ermenegildo Zegna Couture.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Citron yellow is a tough color to pull off, but Angela Sarafyan does it flawlessly in this resort 2018 crepe off-the-shoulder Elizabeth Kennedy gown.
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
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Felicity Huffman is on trend and on our best-dressed list with this blue lace dress at the Emmy Awards.
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
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Leslie Jones’ Christian Siriano gown made her a standout on the red carpet.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Donald Glover stands out from the crowd -- in a good way -- in a Gucci DIY made-to-order purple one-button black grosgrain peak lapel Heritage tuxedo with a white covered placket plissé evening shirt with round collar, yellow printed pocket square and black grosgrain bow tie.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Millie Bobbie Brown’s ivory silk crepe and tulle dress with ivory bandana tie from Calvin Klein by Appoinment earned her an an appointment with this year’s best-dressed list.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Anna Chlumsky’s form-fitting liquid silver gown custom-made for her by Sachin & Babi gets our vote for “most improved” since last year’s Emmys.
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
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Finn Wolfhard (in Prada), left, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo (in Ted Baker) and Caleb McLaughlin arrive in style at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards and make our best-dressed list.
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
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Chris Sullivan (“This Is Us”) is looking dapper at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards in a blue plaid dinner jacket by Brooks Brothers and flourishes of flair that included a top hat, walking stick and purple bow tie.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Samantha Bee is bea-utiful (see what we did there?) in a custom, emerald green, longsleeve paneled Rubin Singer gown with a plunging neckline, a look that earns her a spot on this year’s best-dressed list.
(Jordan Strauss / Invision/AP)
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We like Debra Messing and the Romona Keveza Collection, but here, two hits -- and this liquid satin dress -- are a miss.
(Left: Richard Shotwell/Invision/Associated Press; center: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images)
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Reese Witherspoon’s red carpet look was among our least favorite of the evening.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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There’s standing out and there’s standing too far out. With this bold plaid, Michael Mando is standing so far out that he might as well be in another time zone.
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
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Rashida Jones is not posing much in her Emmys look. Could it be that she wasn’t too crazy about it either? She makes our worst-dressed list.
(Richard Shotwell/Invision/Associated Press)
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Do we really need to explain why Mackenzie Davis makes our worst-dressed list? If the shade of green in front of her dress doesn’t give you a clue, maybe the fucshia pumps will.
(Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images)
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There is a hotel room missing curtains, and we think Vanessa Bayer made it into a dress. She’s on our worst-dressed list.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Mandy Moore wearing a black and white dress that resembles a broom or a duster sweeps into our worst-dressed list.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Ariel Winter makes our worst-dressed list.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Rachel Bloom bought this Gucci gown herself. So she only has herself to blame for being on the worst-dressed list.
(llen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Another rainbow dress at the 2017 Emmy Awards. This one however, worn by Tessa Thompson, did not wow us.
Perennial best-dressed lister Priyanka Chopra wore a curve-hugging white Balmain gown with silver embroidered embellishments and a mermaid-tail hem, making her a trend two-fer because that dress silhouette seemed to be having a moment. Of course, Sofia Vergara — wearing Mark Zunino — hardly hits a red carpet in anything but a mermaid hem. But others in the swim this year included Felicity Huffman, Padma Lakshmi, Ruby Modine and Samantha Bee in a custom emerald Rubin Singer gown with a plunging neckline.
Another attendee hitting the red carpet in an emerald-green gown with a plunging neckline was Shailene Woodley in a custom green velvet gown from Ralph Lauren Collection. Deep décolletage wasn’t as prevalent as it has been in past seasons, though there was a noticeable trendlet of red gowns with plunging necklines. Among the ladies in red were Nicole Kidman in a grenadine silk gazar pleated bodice Calvin Klein by Appointment dress, Yvonne Strahovski and Heidi Klum.
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The ACLU blue ribbon
Two other things stood out on Sunday night’s red carpet. One was the folded blue ribbon that appeared on the lapels of attendees Lakshmi, Riz Ahmed, Judith Light, Matt Walsh, Kathryn Hahn and Kumail Nanjiani among others, worn as a symbol of support for the American Civil Liberties Union.
The other was the serious style being rocked by the younger attendees. It was almost a given that “Stranger Things” Millie Bobby Brown would hit a red-carpet home run in Calvin Klein — she was seen front row at the label’s recent New York Fashion Week show. She wore an ivory silk crepe and tulle dress with ivory bandanna tie that made her look every inch a princess.
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But it was her co-stars who really rose to the occasion. Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin hit the red carpet as fashion tour de force: Wolfhard in a black Prada tuxedo; Schnapp in a blue velvet double-breasted shawl collar tuxedo jacket with gold braid detail; Matarazzo in a three-piece suit, purple tie and pocket-square flair; and McLaughlin in a purple floral jacquard shawl collar tuxedo jacket. Of course, this made the kids of “Stranger Things” some of our favorite fashionable things from this year’s Emmy Awards red carpet.
Senior features writer Adam Tschorn is a former small-town newspaper editor, game-show question-and-answer man and fashion scribe who joined the Los Angeles Times in 2007. He currently covers a wide range of pop-culture topics with a focus on cannabis culture. Holding a B.A. in philosophy and an M.A. in journalism, he feels perfectly suited to looking at things, asking “why?” and writing down the answers.