Always in fashion: The Young and the Restless star Michelle Stafford looks back at her best Daytime Emmy gowns

Inspired by this year's Met Gala in New York City, Michelle Stafford, who plays Phyllis Summers on The Young and the Restless, took a look back at her most memorable gowns and fashions from Daytime Emmy and Y&R red carpets.

Michelle Stafford of The Young and the Restless is a red carpet winner

"In honor of the Met Gala today, I'm gonna take you down a little path of my own personal hits and misses," Stafford began an Instagram reel. The actress's commentary was a mix of fashion sense and self-effacing humor.

"OK, someone needs to tell that girl, 'Hey, you're on TV. You're on TV,'" Stafford quipped. "'Invest in someone to do your hair when you're going to a red carpet.'" The backdrop, featuring The Young and the Restless logo, indicates that this particular event was strictly for the show and not necessarily a Daytime Emmy-related event. "But the dress is awesome," Stafford added. I'm going to say, 'hit' except for the 'do your hair.'"

Moving onto the next image, Stafford appears in a champagne gown designed by Monique Lhuillier from the 2010 or 2011 Daytime Emmys. "This girl right here, and only I can say this, 'You need to eat a cheese sandwich,'" Stafford deadpanned. "I like the dress."

Presenting with pal Finola Hughes from General Hospital

"This is a hit," continued Stafford, moving on to her next gown, which was orange. "You know why it's a hit? Because at the last minute, the dress I was actually supposed to wear the zipper ripped, and I was on my way out. [I was] a little late and I was presenting with Finola Hughes [Anna, General Hospital], the great Finola Hughes, so I just pulled this out of my closet at the last minute." Stafford doesn't recall the designer, but she says the gown she wore to the 45th Annual Daytime Emmys was a hit!

"I say 'hit,'" the actress said of the gown she wore in 2004 when she won her second Daytime Emmy for playing Phyllis on The Young and the Restless, her first in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category. It looked better in person, and the back was really awesome," she adds. "It was totally open, but yeah, that's a hit."

"Oh, you know, listen, it's a mess because it could have been a hit," the actress said of her next gown, which was black and white. "Look how fantastic [a] look, but it was a really hot day and that was all wool. That girl spent a lot of money for that dress. It was a great dress, but...not for the summer."

The Young and the Restless red carpet

"Kind of a hit. Not a miss. Not totally a hit, but it was okay," Stafford said of her next look, which she wore for the 40th annual Daytime Emmys. "It was vintage. I think it's a wedding dress and I was going for a Black Swan eye thing. I don't know if it worked. But I tried."

Onto her next look, a shorter red dress, Stafford offered, "That, again, looks better in person. Not a hit, not a miss, but that right there, that woman has a 6-month-old at home, that was a very tired woman right there."

Celebrating 50 years of the Daytime Emmys and The Young and the Restless

"Oh, my goodness, put on some clothes, put on some clothes," Stafford said of a black dress that had a see-through element to it that she wore to the 50th Annual Daytime Emmys in 2023. "This is a very good example of a good dress gone bad. When you're gonna wear a dress like this, invest in the appropriate undergarments, not just something that you find the night before. I tried. Don't judge me. I tried. I don't care. That evening I was rocking it. I mean, it felt like I was."

Presenting with two co-stars from The Young and the Restless

"This was a planned thing like weeks before," she recalled of a blue dress she wore as the 29th Annual Daytime Emmys that had a lot of lace to it. "This woman doesn't have children, not as busy and she doesn't have a business that she's running as well."

"No comment," the actress said of a green dress she was wearing one year. "But the dress is great." Her next dress was by Dolce & Gabbana, which she says, is "always a hit. Always. And those shoes are spectacular, and the little short bag. I did this good. That was a good one. Hit."

Stafford describes her next dress, a red one, was "circa Sex and the City. So, that dress was super-cheap. It's a great example of how it doesn't need to be expensive to look good. I was killing during that time period."

The actress says her next dress, designed by Richard Tyler, was a "hit." She notes that there was one thing on her leg that she would have fixed, but it was still a hit.

What Michelle Stafford wore when she won her third Daytime Emmy for The Young and the Restless

Stafford moved on to a red dress she wore at the 51st Annual Daytime Emmys when she won her third Daytime Emmy. "You know, not a hit, not a miss, but, again, [I was] super busy and thought that this dress worked," she said. "It's fine. It's very simple."

The actress's pals from The Young and the Restless and other daytime shows weighed in with supportive comments on her post. "You always look spectacular!" raved Tracey Bregman (Lauren). Added Nadia Bjorlin (ex-Chloe, Days of our Lives): "YOU’RE ALWAYS A HIT! Your beauty shines from the inside and out! Love you sis!" Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea) wrote, "All gorgeous!!"

"That's all," Stafford said as she concluded her fashion commentary. "I hope you enjoyed this installment of 'keep Michelle humble.'"

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