All Dressed Up for the Emmys : Nominees Shine for Best Costume

The television series that borrows its name and ZIP code wasn’t represented. But that didn’t stop Beverly Hills from honoring this year’s Emmy nominees for best costume design.

About half of the 15 nominees showed off their work Monday night to a gathering of mostly city officials and retailers in the courtyard of City Hall. The clothes had previously appeared in TV series, miniseries, specials, or variety or music programs.

Beverly Hills retailers may know fashion, but they don’t all watch television. “There are so many different periods, including some things I don’t understand,” Jeffrey Lehman of Somper Furs said of the costume lineup.

“You just go for the wackiest,” said Michelle Cole, a nominee for her work on “In Living Color” (variety or music program), explaining a pair of sequined overalls whose backside resembled a furry dog.

Indeed, the event provided startling juxtapositions, such as Jane Robinson’s ‘50s party dresses for “Mrs. Arris Goes to Paris” (miniseries or special), Brienne Glyttov’s buckskin tunic for “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” (series), and Shelley Komarov’s soigne gown-cum-boa for “Sinatra--Part I” (miniseries or special).

Only ardent followers of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” would have recognized the two Victorian dresses from the futuristic series. Robert Blackman, who won an Emmy last year, opted to show them in lieu of “the spacey stuff.”

Several Beverly Hills stores, including I. Magnin and Saks Fifth Avenue, will display a sampling of the costumes in their windows.