• See an Emmy Awards slideshow
The heat in Los Angeles was certainly a factor, with many of TV's top actresses opting for updos for their hair.
A very pregnant Heidi Klum certainly kept her cool in a black, formfitting strapless Marchesa gown with a mermaid hemline.
"I wanted something simple because I'm so big," she said.
Her jewelry was anything but, though: oversized dangling earrings and a huge cocktail ring.
Marchesa actually had a trifecta of successes. Other than Klum, escorted by husband Seal, the label put Sandra Oh in a gleaming gold strapless gown with rope belt, and Olivia Wilde in a ripped-from-the-runway, embroidered tulle gown that created the illusion of being a one-shoulder number, but it was just one of several strategically placed sheer panels.
Others wearing one-shoulder gowns included Elisabeth Moss in a bronze design with a heavily embellished neckline and Sigourney Weaver in a red David Meister. Hayden Panettiere was a retro glamour girl in a red draped J. Mendel and matched her bright red lips.
Ricky Gervais joked that he wished he was wearing a toga, but instead turned up wearing a retro Rat-packer suit by Ted Baker with oversized black lapels.
Leighton Meester contrasted her red lips with a white V-neck gown with knotted fabric on the shoulder. It was a more high-fashion look likely to cause some "do or don't" debate than the usual sparkly or sexy gowns armchair critics are used to.
Blake Lively, however, surely left more than a few watchers speechless - and smiling - with her bright-red, plunging-V Versace gown.
"She was a total goddess," said her makeup artist Kristofer Buckle. He explained that he went with all honey colors for her face so it would not compete with the traffic-stopping dress.
