Emmys 2011: The men mix it up -- designer-wise

Although the men hitting the red carpet Sunday seemed to hew a lot closer to the traditional formal wear look than they did at last year's Emmys (save a few holdouts -- most notably Seal who not only showed up without a necktie of any sort, but apparently also left most of his shirt buttons at home), there was an impressive roster of labels represented.

PHOTOS: Emmys 2011 menswear photo gallery

Yes, the red-carpet regulars were well represented; among the big names were Tom Ford (Jon Hamm wore a TF double-breasted shawl lapel tuxedo, Rob Lowe turned out in single-breasted peak lapel version), Burberry (Ryan Seacrest, Rainn Wilson) Ermenegildo Zegna (including lead actor in a comedy series winner Jim Parsons, who wore a three-piece, black velvet, one-button peak lapel tuxedo from the Z Zegna label) and Hugo Boss (including one of the night's winners, Kyle Chandler, who wore a Boss Black tuxedo).

But there was something refreshing about seeing "Parks and Recreation" actor Aziz Ansari in a navy blue
weave tuxedo from the Hickey Freeman & Opening Ceremony collaboration, Michael C. Hall ("Dexter") sporting a Simon Spurr tuxedo, Jon Cryer standing out ever so subtly from the other two and a half thousand tuxedo-wearing men in the room by opting for a black leather shawl collar on his Anthony Franco tuxedo, and "Fightin' Jimmy" Fallon throwing down against Jimmy Kimmel clad in a Rag & Bone "Razor" tuxedo. 

The democracy of dapperness fit nicely with one of the night's major themes observed by Los Angeles Times fashion critic Booth Moore -- that the Emmy Awards afford slightly more opportunity for lesser-known or up-and-coming designers to be showcased -- and noticed.

The bow tie was back in vogue for the majority of the menfolk, and a few of the sharp-dressed men managed to add a rakish sartorial  signature by wearing their ties ever-so-slightly tweaked (on purpose, we'd like to think). None did this with more aplomb than Ty Burrell ("Modern Family") who took home an award for supporting actor in a comedy series, and whose black bow tie tilted nearly imperceptibly to the left -- as perfectly askew as his acceptance speech.

-- Adam Tschorn

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Photos: At top left, Jon Cryer in a black Anthony Franco tuxedo with a black leather shawl collar. (Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images) At top right, Jimmy Kimmel (left) wrestles with a  Rag & Bone- wearing Jimmy Fallon. (Credit: Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times) At bottom, Ty Burrell accepts his Emmy at the 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony on Sunday. (Credit: Mark J. Terrill/AP photo)