The Color Purple Rules at the SAG Awards

Sorina Diaconescu Mon Jan 30, 1:56 PM ET

Fashion Wire Daily - Los Angeles - A purple haze seemed to descend over the red carpet as the 12th annual

Screen Actors Guild Awards unfolded yesterday evening at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium - and we don't mean the thick blanket of smog that hung over the city. Violet was the one hue that held its own at the SAGs amidst acres of monochromatic black and white, also glimpsed aplenty in the bi-tonal combo of black-and-white. Much like the Golden Globes a couple of weeks prior, this was another rather safe and tame affair from a sartorial point of view, and as such any dames cruisin' for a bruisin' in purplish frocks stood out like sore thumbs.
Legitimizing this colorful spring trend, no less than three "Desperate Housewives" opted for purple:

Marcia Cross looked stunning in a statuesque lavender number, draped with a clever, architectural elegance that brought to mind New York's Chrysler Building.

Felicity Huffman donned a strapless, pale purple mermaid dress with a fitted bodice, and

Eva Longoria (who at one point during the televised ceremony could be glimpsed nestled in Huffman's lap), sprang for a lilac-trimmed beaded frock. Contrarian Nicolette Sheridan went for striped yellow-and-green taffeta in a va-va-voom number that fit the bold, bodacious bombshell persona we've come to expect from her.
You can tell a trend is catching on when even Ludacris (a winner last night in the best movie ensemble performance category alongside his "Crash" cast mates), rocked a purple display handkerchief and tie - as did Longoria's boyfriend, San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker! Even Morgan Freedman, not someone you'd normally accuse of being a trend follower, made a point of contrasting his plum shirt with a royal blue tie.

Brenda Strong of "Desperate Housewives" in an edgy couture-meets-Golden Era Hollywood knockout made for her by "Project Runway"'s Nick Verreos. Strong may have been afflicted with the stomach flu, but her stunning, bias-cut dress in vibrant violet satin charmeuse was positively palliative. Accessorized with a Martin Katz brooch worn casually in her hair and Martin Katz baubles, hers was one of the most noteworthy outfits of the evening. We gather purple must be the Housewives' lucky color, because they all carted home statuettes for their collective win as the best ensemble in a comedy series.