For the record: We could have shown (and gushed about) dozens more looks from Washington. And we have a feeling that PEOPLE’s Best Dressed Woman will further prove she’s worthy of her new title when she hits the Emmys red carpet this Sunday.
So, how does the nominee go about choosing the perfect dress for an event like the Emmys? She collaborates with her stylist of two years, Erin Walsh. “Erin and I really work hand in hand,” Washington tells PEOPLE. “We’re always sending each other ideas and pictures.”
She adds, “For me the goal is to feel comfortable, event-appropriate and to be an elevated, more special version of myself or to feel like the best version of myself in that context and just be in the moment.”
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why Washington was a shoe-in for Best Dressed Woman of the Year.
The star of the hit show Scandal is in very good company. She follows in the fashionable footsteps of Gwyneth Paltrow, who won the honor last year, as well as previous years’ winners including Blake Lively, Zoë Saldana and Kate Winslet.
