Actress Sofia Vergara suffered in the name of fashion at her first ever Primetime Emmy Awards because she was too scared to ask for a more breathable gown.

The Modern Family star is known for her form-fitted looks on the red carpet, but she reveals her 2010 trip to the Emmys was a style nightmare because her dress was so tight, she could barely move.

"The first Emmys that I went (to), I had such a tight dress, and you know, it was my first Emmys so I was a little bit like, nervous to tell the designer (to loosen it)," she recalled on talk show The View. "I thought, 'Maybe they take away the dress from me', so I was like, 'I'll do whatever you want, I'll wear whatever,' and then the whole time I was sitting (leaning back). I couldn't bend my (legs)...!"

Celebrity jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz took notice of Sofia's stance throughout the ceremony and at the Emmys afterparties, and initially attributed her posture to her elegance - until she discovered the Colombian beauty was actually too restricted in her gown to sit any other way.

"I was at the parties like this, I didn't know much people (sic), and Lorraine Schwartz, she comes near me and she tells me, 'You're the most elegant (celebrity)... I've been looking at you all night, the way you sit like a movie star,'" Sofia recounted. "It was so ridiculous! Now she became my friend and she always laugh at that (sic) because I literally couldn't bend (my body). I was just like a stiff loaf of French bread!"

Despite the often uncomfortable nature of red carpet outfits, Sofia insists she really does enjoy the glitz and glam of awards shows: "It's part of the fun," she added.