What is happening that all the looks last night were kind of amazingly on point? Everything was hitting - good fits, good takes on the classics… almost like everyone knew the show was going to be good, and so they had to bring their stylists’ A-Game too? 

 

The basic black dresses are – well look, to some, it could be considered playing on easy mode. But every black (or almost black) dress was memorable… 

Viola Davis has a long history of a column dress that is absolutely commanding, and this black and white custom Zuhair Murad is a worthy entry in her catalog. 

Viola Davis arrives for the 76th Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theatre at L.A. Live in Los Angeles on September 15, 2024

Selena Gomez, apparently a recent billionaire?! (I do really like the primer if I’m honest) absolutely knocked it out of the park in another custom gown – this is silk and velvet Ralph Lauren, and while I’m not enough of an encyclopedia to know whether this is an unusual designer choice for her, there’s nothing bad that can be said about this gown or the 600+ crystals on the neckline, and she looks like she knows how boss this is.

(I know I just brought it up, but I’m very curious about why red carpet press releases always indicate the number of crystals/sequins. Like… is 600 a lot? Would we notice if there were only 450? Is 600 crystals substantial or like… really offensive?)

 

Jessica Gunning’s dress is getting more than a little positive attention for how the colour of her flower appliques on the black velvet draping play off her makeup and her earrings:

Again, a black dress is the thing to do, in certain situations (maybe, in certain only-recently-nominated unlike-your-septuagenarian-costars’ cases, because you want to look amazing even though you have not a chance of winning), but these are really at the height of their craft. 

 

Similarly, the neutral dresses are all about doing what is classic well, and making the dress not be the story. In Dakota Fanning’s case, the (possibly vintage) Armani Privé beaded column should wash her out entirely but somehow doesn’t – and still lets her look this chill. 

Or in the case of Maya Erskine, you wear a beautiful Rodarte dress that is flattering and easy but that may as well scream “Not tonight, because I’ll be back.” Which I feel fairly confident about, in one project or another – but if you want to overanalyze, please enjoy these four seconds about the fate of Jane in Mr. and Mrs Smith.

And finally, there is Maya Rudolph. 

 

Now, I know. I know Maya Rudolph’s dress was somewhere between an intense dusty rose and a muted cranberry, and no matter what, those aren’t neutrals. I get it! 

But what if they were, though? Not in colour, but like in… style? 

Here is Maya Rudolph last night – a relatively quick clip, but you can still spot the snake necklace biting its own abdomen around her neck there: 

You remember! And like, maybe not my best dress of the night, but it suits Maya, who often goes long and flowy at these things, right? 

 

Well you bet your ass it does because look what she wore to the Creative Arts Emmys last week, where she won an Emmy for playing Connie on Big Mouth:

Different colour, sure, but same structure, same style, same NECKLACE: 

Maya Rudolph last night and at day 1 of the 76th Creative Arts Emmy Awards held at the Peacock Theater on September 7, 2024 in Los Angeles, California

What do we want to bet that this is the same dress in two different colours? Like she found them on sale at Reiss or something? Would it not tickle the hell out of you? 

 

As it turns out, they’re not the same dress, but they’re the same designer – Chemena Kamali for Chloé – which in my book is close enough to wearing the same dress twice. She described the vibe she was going for (or her stylist did) as “Stevie Nicks adjacent”, so that combined with her necklace pal Snakey tells me that for her, this is a neutral, something she can put on and forget. While I wish she would really come out to play, I suspect she’s saving all her “look at me” energy for her Kamala run on SNL this fall… she just miiight get a little attention for it.