Not to point out the obvious, but entertainment award shows are hardly soley about the artistic merits of the many actors, directors, writers and musicians who find themselves nominated. No, they’re also about the pomp and circumstances associated with the paparazzi parade that is the red carpet. From air kisses, to misguided soundbites, to on-camera snubs, the thing that gets the most attention from the press and public is who-is-wearing-what (and why?).

We here at ICPlaces.com would certainly be remiss if we didn’t cover the good, the bad and the ugly that is the red carpet fashion at Sunday’s Emmy Award’s ceremony. And now that the tallies are in, let’s take a peek at Hollywood’s chic (and sometimes shriek) starlets.

WHAT’S TRENDING:

While no one committed the faux pas of wearing the exact same dress as someone else, more than a few starlets came pretty darn close. Such comely creatures as: Kate Winslet (Mildred Pierce,) Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries,) Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights,) Kerry Washington (Scandal,) Angela Kinsey (The Office,) and Lea Michele (Glee) – all decided to sport bold, monochromatic red, full-length gowns. And while the cuts all differed from one another to varying degrees, the hues were so close in shade to one another that you could have lined these gals up for a perfectly paired bridal party line-up. Crimson kudo’s to Kerry Washington, for the shimmering geometric see-through embellishments on her red gown, and an honorable mention goes out to Kate Winslet… just for being Kate Winslet. (Kate Winslet, I heart you.)

Another trend orbiting Hollywood’s Emmy fashion zeitgeist seems to have been the metallic silvery-gold sparkle that spun itself around the curves of such starlets as Christina Hendricks (Mad Men,) Taraji P. Henson (Person of Interest,) Maria Bello (Prime Suspect,) Elizabeth Moss (Mad Men,) Rachael Taylor (Charlie’s Angels) and Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter.) There’s simply no way to hate on the old-school glamour that this red-carpet trend call’s to mind, but some ladies seemed to do it better than others, like Rachael Taylor in Armani Prive’s corseted strapless silver beaded column dress with iridescent pink sequins and silver beaded fringes – a look that screamed star power – and Christina Hendricks, who’s coveted curves would probably look equally as amazing in a potato sack, was simply stunning in a jewel-encrusted Johanna Johnson gown. 

Outside of red-carpet red and glittering gowns, a few other stand out’s emerged, most notably the gorgeous glamour of a bevy blues. From eggshell to electric, to turquoise, to navy, to slate – nearly every shade of blue made its appearance on the red and most to great aplomb (at least in this writer’s humble estimation.) A favorite was Cobie Smulder’s (How I Met Your Mother,) Alberta Ferreti dress, and a stunning Minka Kelley in a vintage-tinged Christian Dior navy lace gown with a tiered skirt.

All in all the 2011 Emmy Awards was a fashionable affair, and despite a few FAIL’s most of the stunning starlets showed up with great aplomb. So yes, yes… it really is an honor to just be nominated – if not for the distinction, at least for the accolades on a ‘dress’ well done.