LOS ANGELES — Leather met lace at Sunday night's Emmy Awards as the stars of "Sex and the City" once again led the fashion parade on the red carpet.
Sarah Jessica Parker's pale pink tulle and white lace Chanel dress took 250 hours to make. Parker's husband, Matthew Broderick, wore a complementing pink tie with his black tuxedo.
"It reminded me of cotton candy. I just thought it was the most lovely thing," the star told Joan Rivers on the E! pre-show. "I can't believe I got to wear it."
Also from "Sex and the City," Kim Cattrall wore a silver leather and beaded gown with cutout sides by Giorgio Armani, and Cynthia Nixon was dressed in a pumpkin-colored Halston dress with a leather bustier top, an oversized leather belt and a tea-length pleated skirt. Kristin Davis wore a floor-length, strapless purple gown.
Celebrities discreetly dabbed sweaty brows as they tried to beat the 90-degree heat — maybe that's why they mostly stayed away from black and opted for lighter colors such as pink, red, metallic colors and different shades of purple.
Rivers, known for her harsh fashion critiques, was on the receiving end this time when several celebrities targeted the exploding black-and-gold feather top to her off-the-shoulder gown. Robin Williams compared it to Bjork's infamous swan dress at the 2001 Oscars — then handed Rivers an egg.
"Will & Grace" co-star Debra Messing, another favorite fashionista, wore a strapless, draped dress in pink copper silk brocade by Elie Saab Couture. A pink satin Jimmy Choo handbag with a brushed-gold, chain-link handle completed the look.
The must-have accessory, though, seemed to be long, dangling — and shimmering, of course — chandelier earrings.
Elisha Cuthbert ("24") was going for a low-key look in a vintage Emanuel Ungaro strapless dress in purple with a handkerchief hem. "I try not to do anything on the red carpet that I don't do in my real life," she said.
Nine-year-old Dakota Fanning ("Steven Spielberg Presents Taken") picked up her pink jeweled purse at the mall to match her Joan Calabrese-designed, pink-and-black tea-length dress. Catherine Dent ("The Shield" and "Steven Spielberg Presents Taken"), wearing a red strapless column dress, bought her red satin purse for $9.99 and her dyed-to-match shoes for $99 on eBay. "The Manolos are $900," she said.
Sarah Wynter ("24"), fresh from attending several runway shows during New York Fashion Week, chose a cream-colored, V-neck, spaghetti strap gown by Australian designer Lisa Ho. The sparkling neckline was created by a vintage necklace sewn into the gown, she explained.
Janel Maloney ("The West Wing") was in a metallic beaded slip dress by Valentino, while co-star Allison Janney wore the raspberry color that designers are counting on to be very hot next season.
"Friends" co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox Arquette both were in blue. Aniston had on a short and simple navy cocktail dress, and Arquette was in an ice blue, full-length gown with plunging Vs in the front and back adorned with black mesh trim.
The zipper on Poppy Montgomery's ("Without a Trace") strapless teal dress broke at the last minute and had to be tied with grosgrain ribbon.
But Montgomery said wearing the Richard Tyler dress with a fitted bodice and ballerina skirt was a dream come true. "It's a fairy princess dress with a twist. It's the only one of its kind," she said.
Husband and wife team Bradley Whitford ("The West Wing") and Jane Kaczmarek ("Malcolm in the Middle") planned to donate their outfits — a red-and-white tie for him and a black strapless gown for her — to the "Clothes Off Our Back" fund-raiser, which they created to benefit the Cure Autism Now Foundation and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Prada, Vera Wang, Reem Acra and Hugo Boss are among the designers who have been generous in signing off on the stars' donations, they said.
The most popular look for men was a traditional tuxedo with a colorful tie, leaving Joe Pantoliano ("The Sopranos") to stand out from the crowd in his custom-made Italian blue silk suit and his trademark backward Kangol hat.
Why the break from tradition?
"I hate black and sapphire is my birthstone," he said.