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The big winner at the Golden Globes? Sex appeal

“Smash” star Katharine McPhee.JORDAN STRAUSS/INVISION/AP

There was something missing at the 2013 Golden Globes: Necklines that stopped at the clavicle. The red carpet is always about selling sexiness — along with television shows and movies — but this year’s Golden Globes offered a full buffet of flesh. The most popular red carpet accessory of the night? Decolletage — and the occasional bare back.

Comedian Kristen Wiig’s precipitously plunging neckline stopped only briefly, and then opened again to reveal a bit of midriff. It was almost as shocking as Sally Field’s deep-cut gown. Helen Mirren, you’ve got some competition. “The Good Wife” star Julianna Margulies combined sex with danger in her purple lace Emilio Pucci dress. Kate Hudson was squeezed into a keyhole neckline Alexander McQueen gown, while Nicole Kidman’s fitted McQueen gown showed a swath of midriff. But “Smash” star Katharine McPhee (right) was the least shy of the batch. She showed equal parts skin and dress. Emily Blunt was a close second in her cut-out Michael Kors.

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Even when actresses covered up, they did so in form-fitting columns of fabric. Julianne Moore, who arrived in a custom Tom Ford gown with shoulders covered, still showed curves. “Downton Abbey” star Michelle Dockery was covered enough to please the dowager of “Downton Abbey,” but slinky enough to make TV husband Matthew happy.Christopher Muther

Make it stop

While some actresses successfully offered a glimpse of their decolletage, others made us cringe (Jennifer Lawrence, we’re still baffled). Jessica Chastain’s seafoam Calvin Klein gown (left) puckered and bunched in all the wrong places. “Girls” writer and star Lena Dunham somehow found a dress with both a horrific color and silhouette, and Halle Berry’s “Mad Max”-style gown showed us that even Hollywood’s most beautiful can have an off night.