Fashion stars celebrate Emmys

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 Sunday, 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 on E! 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; the second was a pale pink lingerie-style gown by Badgley Mischka that she paired with a “summer chinchilla” shrug.

The lingerie look also was 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. New mother Messing was in a pink strapless dress with subtle floral embroidery by Michael Kors that hugged her again fit-and-trim figure, and Janel Moloney wore a bright yellow strapless gown by Vera Wang that was equally body-conscious.

Wang put Mariska Hargitay in a bright green goddess gown and the actress added fresh yellow flowers in her hair. Also in green were Lorraine Bracco, in a custom-made green embroidered gown by Douglas Hannant and Chopard diamond chandelier earrings featuring 276 gemstones, and Allison Janney, who wore a green silk chiffon halter gown with a knotted bodice by Monique Lhuillier.

The rest of the rainbow was there, too. Cheryl Hines wore a sea foam green gown with pink-and-purple beaded flowers and a few feathers, and Stockard Channing chose a teal dress with satin strips. Patricia Heaton was in a multicolor, wrap-top Elie Saab gown that included purple, magenta, yellow, green and black.

“It’s a fun year for colors so I went with periwinkle,” said Bonnie Hunt, wearing a simple off-the-shoulder gown with a gathered bust.

Kathryn Morris had a hard time keeping her draped salmon-colored 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 favorite 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. Edie Falco’s strapless gown by Randolph Duke was nude-colored with an overlay of black beads and tulle.

Laura Linney’s black Prada dress had black beads dripping from the front. “I always try on a lot of things, and I always end up in Prada,” she said. This particular dress met her two requirements _ it was fun and short.