2012 Emmys Red Carpet Fashion – The night’s biggest trends + the good, bad and unimpressive

Hayden Panettiere is draped in Grecian style Marchesa at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Hayden Panettiere was draped in Grecian style Marchesa

Awards show season officially kicked into full gear tonight with some of the biggest names on the small screen and big screen for that matter descending upon the Kodak Theater in Hollywood to celebrate this past year’s in television programming. As always, the first stop for nominees like Claire Danes, Julianne Moore, Julie Bowen, Sofia Vergara and many more was the red carpet. This year’s carpet was filled with out of the box and shocking colors, gorgeous silhouettes as well as surprising hits and misses. Yellow was the color of the night and apparently carried a bit of luck as well since both Claire Danes and Julie Bowen sported this hue and took home the statues in their categories.

Other trends included feminine, frothy looks courtesy of the New Girl’s Zooey Deschanel and Amanda Peet who embraced their girly sides. The most popular cut and draping of the night went to the Grecian/Goddess look — Two Broke Girl’s Kat Dennings, Modern Family’s Sarah Hyland, Nashville’s Hayden Panettiere and Revenge’s Emily VanCamp were just a few of those sporting this trend. A spill-over from  the summer season, the high-low hemline continues to prove it’s staying power on the red carpet. Modern Family’s Ariel Winter and Mad Men’s January Jones and Elizabeth Moss all sported this look. Now that you’re caught up on what to expect, here’s a breakdown of the night’s biggest trends plus the hits and unfortunate misses. 

The art of color…

Julie Bowen in a lemon yellow number at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Julie Bowen in a lemon yellow number

Claire Danes draped in yellow Lanvin and husband Hugh Dancy at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Claire Danes draped in yellow Lanvin and husband Hugh Dancy

Leslie Mann also opts for a shot of yellow at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Leslie Mann also opts for a shot of yellow

Julianne Moore attends the 2012 Emmy Awards in a yellow pleated long-sleeved dress

Julianne Moore in a yellow pleated long-sleeved dress

Padma Lakshmi attends the 2012 Emmy Awards in gorgeous orange

Padma Lakshmi looks gorgeous in orange

Julia Louis Dreyfus looks stunning in a fitted burgundy gown at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Julia Louis Dreyfus looks stunning in a fitted burgundy gown

Tina Fey arrives at the 2012 Emmy Awards and hits a fashion high note in a curve hugging Vivienne Westwood number

Tina Fey hits a fashion high note in a curve hugging Vivienne Westwood number

Jennifer Westfeld in a shocking cobalt blue column gown

Suburgatory’s Jane Levy also went shocking in cobalt blue

Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery in navy blue at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery in navy blue

Sarah Paulson belts her embellished dark blue number at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Sarah Paulson belts her embellished dark blue number

On a not so impressive colorful note…

Worst Dressed: Gretchen Mol attends the 2012 Emmy Awards in an ill fitting column gown

Gretchen Mol hit a sour note in this ill fitting red dress with matching accessories. The bow adorned clear heels are also more reminiscent of Christmas than they’re appropriate for the red carpet.

Worst Dressed: Lena Dunham's navy lace dress overwhelmed the triple nominee

Lena Dunham’s navy lace dress overwhelmed the triple nominee. Although Dunham looked positively chic with a new haircut, the high waist cut of her lace dress as well as the volume of the skirt did the actress’ figure no favors.

Pastel hued…

Zooey Deschanel looked beautiful and light in powder blue Reem Acra at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Zooey Deschanel looked beautiful and light in powder blue Reem Acra and Forevermark Diamonds

Amanda Peet is a blush beauty in pale lace at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Amanda Peet is a blush beauty in pale lace

Heidi Klum shows off some serious leg in seafoam Alexandre Vauthier at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Heidi Klum shows off some serious leg in seafoam Alexandre Vauthier

Morena Baccarin sports a deep v neck courtesy of her dove gray number

Kate Mara in a gorgeous embellished gown at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Kate Mara in a gorgeous embellished gown

Not so impressive…

Julianne Hough arrives at the Emmy Awards sporting an OC Prom Queen look in a sequin aqua Georges Hobeika Couture gown

Julianne Hough sports an OC Prom Queen look in a sequin aqua Georges Hobeika Couture gown. Her cuffed bustier looks out of place and the too tan makeup didn’t quite help the situation.

Worst Dresses: Kritin Wiig at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Kristin Wiig also made a fashion misstep in her uneven hemmed halter. The dress looked more appropriate for a beach wedding than the Emmy Awards.

The year of the goddess…

Hayden Panettiere was draped to perfection in Grecian style Marchesa at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Hayden Panettiere was draped to perfection in Grecian style Marchesa

Sarah Hyland also went for goddess style Marchesa which she helped co-design at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Sarah Hyland also went for goddess style Marchesa which she helped co-design

Emily VanCamp attends the 2012 Emmy Awards in a dove gray J. Mendel gown

Emily VanCamp in a dove gray J. Mendel gown

Mad Men's Jessica Pare attends the 2012 Emmy Awards in a Grecian inspired white dress cinched with a black ribbon

Mad Men’s Jessica Pare in a Grecian inspired white dress cinched with a black ribbon

Jena Malone stepped out in a deep burgundy goddess style dress at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Jena Malone stepped out in a deep burgundy goddess style dress

Kat Dennings in a crimson goddess style J. Mendel gown at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Kat Dennings in a crimson goddess style J. Mendel gown

True Blood's Lindsay Pulsipher attends the 2012 Emmy Awards in a blood orange Grecian inspired number

True Blood’s Lindsay Pulsipher in a blood orange Grecian inspired number

Going high-low…

January Jones channels elegance with an edge in a black Zac Posen at the 2012 Emmy Awards

January Jones channels elegance with an edge in a black Zac Posen number with a high-low hem

Elizabeth Moss also sports the high-low look in floral print Dolce and Gabbana at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Elizabeth Moss also sports the high-low look in floral print Dolce and Gabbana

Ariel Winter in a printed gown with a high-low hem at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Modern Family’s Ariel Winter in a printed gown with a high-low hem

Not so impressive…

2012 Emmy Awards Worst Dressed - Ginnifer Goodwin in Moniqur Lhuillier

Ginnifer Goodwin in a dramatically embellished Monique Lhuillier gown. As much as we wanted to love this gown, it didn’t quite work on risk taker Ginnifer Goodwin’s petite frame. The heavy embroidery combined with the awkward placement of the hemline seems to be weighing the actress down. We could have also done without the leather belt, opting for a silk one instead.

A hint of shine…

Sofia Vergara attended the 2012 Emmy Awards in a stunning beaded Zuhair Murad number

Sofia Vergara looked stunning in a beaded Zuhair Murad number

Kerry Washington glitters in a lowcut rose gold gown at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Kerry Washington glitters in a lowcut rose gold gown

The Good Wife's Christine Baranski showed off some leg and went for a gold sequin mini at the 2012 Emmy Awards

While the other ladies opted for long gowns, The Good Wife’s Christine Baranski showed off some leg and went for a gold sequin mini

Not so impressive…

2012 Emmy Awards Worst Dressed - Nicole Kidman's embellished Antonio Berardi column down was a departure from her usually impeccable Couture

Sequins done wrong. Nicole Kidman’s embellished Antonio Berardi column gown was a departure from her usually impeccable Couture

Emmy 2012 Worst Dressed - Connie Britton's Andrew Gn sequin gown could have done without the high waisted belt

Connie Britton’s Andrew Gn sequin gown could have done without the high waisted belt

Basic black…

Edie Falco stunned in a black and white column gown cinched with a bold gold belt at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Edie Falco stunned in a black and white column gown cinched with a bold gold belt

Game of Thrones' Michelle Fairely looked beautiful draped in a black silk gown at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Game of Thrones’ Michelle Fairely looked beautiful, draped in a black silk gown

Anna Chlumsky attends the 2012 Emmy Awards in a black tiered lace gown

Anna Chlumsky in a black tiered lace gown

Amy Poehler attends the 2012 Emmy Awards in a black sequin Stella McCartney gown

Amy Poehler in a black sequin Stella McCartney gown

You can go wrong in black…

2012 Emmy Awards Worst Dressed - Zosia Mamet in a Bibhu Montripatra dress

Zosia Mamet in a Bibhu Montripatra dress

2012 Emmy Awards Worst Dressed - Lena Heady

As much as we absolutely adore her, Lena Heady’s sheer sequin dress with an equally sheer overlay was an absolute flop

The boys weren’t so bad either…

Game of Throne's Richard Madden looks dapper in his tux at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Game of Thrones’ Richard Madden looks dapper in his tux

Game of Thrones' Peter Dinklage opted for a suit and tie instead of the traditional tux look of the evening

Game of Thrones’ Peter Dinklage opted for a suit and tie instead of the traditional tux look of the evening

Zachary Quinto went for gray and a light blue shirt at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Zachary Quinto went for gray suit

Johnny Galecki went for a velvet jacket at the 2012 Emmy Awards

Johnny Galecki opted for a velvet jacket