Purple reigns

AMONG the instant messages surely flying around during the Emmy telecast: Did you see Simon Cowell? Was Paula Abdul auditioning for a married to the mob role in that floral print? And brides-to-be group IMing their bridesmaids, announcing purple as their color.

Cowell, a man many love to hate no matter what he wears, deserved a round of boos for not looking in the mirror before leaving the house. He might have noticed that he’d stood too long under the mousse tree. And his white shirt, unbuttoned to south of the esophagus, revealed forests of chest hair -- a look that should have stayed in Vegas.

Two actors fans love to love -- or, in some cases, love to hate -- Denis Leary and winner Jeremy Piven, exhibited other examples of men dressing badly. Leary paired a bright red tie with a black shirt (ouch). Piven, typically adorable and happy, struck an ill-conceived blow for individuality with a polka-dotted silk ascot.

Even though some of the boys goofed, beautiful women redeemed the style show.

Once in a while, there is evidence on the red carpet that Hollywood is in sync with developments elsewhere in the fashion world. Sandra Oh, wearing a gorgeous shirred and ruffled periwinkle Vera Wang ball gown, accessorized it with layers of Indian-inspired necklaces by Los Angeles jewelry designer Loree Rodkin. The idiosyncratic baubles, with their Gothic, rock goddess vibe, had the kind of moxie stylists often neglect. Oh looked hip!

She’d picked a lighter variation of the color of the evening. (Someone will surely say that purple is the new black, so we won’t.) Evangeline Lilly and Leah Remini chose purple Versace column gowns. Ellen Pompeo’s purple velvet strapless bustier dress by John Galliano for Dior and Jaime Pressly’s purple Badgley Mishka beaded dress were as dark as grape juice. Blythe Danner and Virginia Madsen wore turquoise and black, respectively, but added a touch of purple at the waist.

Other smoky colors -- slate gray, charcoal, grayish lavender -- replaced brights this year. Jean Smart got the memo, as did Alfre Woodard, a knockout in an ombre chiffon gown by Pamella Roland, Portia de Rossi in charcoal Zac Posen jersey and Kyra Sedgwick, stunning in a Giorgio Armani Prive organza strapless with a long train and a huge, poufy pinwheel of fabric at the hip.

There were lovely exceptions to the night’s muted palette, of course, such as Jane Kaczmarek, having a very good hair day in a red halter-necked empire dress. Heidi Klum, large with child, covered up in a red toga and Edie Falco looked slinkier than Carmela ever would in rich ruby.

The women of “Grey’s Anatomy” replaced the “Desperate Housewives” as the most glamorous ensemble of actresses. They normally spend so much time wearing scrubs on camera (except for that stupid prom episode), that it was nice to see them looking pretty. Katherine Heigl’s vintage Escada beaded champagne gown, paired with her marcelled hair, pale lips and dark-rimmed eyes, brought classic Hollywood to mind. Kate Walsh did justice to a short-sleeved sequined gown by British designer Jenny Packham, and carried off some gigantic amber and pearl chandelier earrings by Neil Lane. Chandelier earrings are one of those red carpet standbys. They come, they go. They come back again.

The heat threatened to make hairdos droop, so Portia de Rossi, Heidi Klum, Debra Messing, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jenna Fischer smartly went for deliberately messy buns. Now if the bride sold on purple can just persuade her friends to go the soft bun route....