Fashion Desk: 2013 Met Gala
She Said: Met Gala 2013
I love the Met Gala! It’s such a wonderful night for fashion. Everyone is usually very informed in their fashion choices by the theme set to honor the opening of the new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. This year’s theme of ‘PUNK: Chaos to Couture’ was sure to inspire some extreme fashion. While I may not have enjoyed theme as much as I did for last year’s Met Gala, I was still very excited. Celebrities rolled out some amazing and shocking looks that ran the gamut from too conservative to way too risqué. Let’s focus our attention on the fabulous or at least the note worthy that are worth reprinting.
Best Dresses
image from people.com
Emilia Clarke in Ralph Lauren
While this dress isn’t punk at all, it’s beautiful. The shade of red, the fit and the ruching are all lovely. The train is especially lovely being full, but not too over the top dramatic.
Taylor Swift in J. Mendel
This dress is very dramatic and really does a good job of carrying out the theme for the evening. The beading on the shoulders and neckline is so beautiful. The sheer fabric combined with the geometric elements of the gown create drama, but in a more modest fashion than some of the more extreme gowns. Her hair and makeup are elegant and lovely.
image from people.com
Lilly Collins in Moschino
I don’t really like the lower half of the coat and I think the gown would have looked better with a shorter jacket. The dress is really pretty and her layered styling, hair and makeup ad some great punk elements.
Ashley Olsen in vintage Dior Couture
This beautiful dress with its diaphanous overlay and embroidered flowers is just lovely!
Hailee Steinfeld in Donna Karan Atelier
This dress is very pretty and sweet. I love that the print is comprised of safety pins! How fun, that such a pretty dress could pay homage to how integral the safety pin is to punk style.
Kate Becksinsale in Alberta Ferreti
This dress is festive, fun and cute. The color and draping are great. Her hair and makeup are great. I love her earrings and shoes, especially how they add some punk edge to her ensemble.
image from people.com
Leslie Mann in J. Mendel
The paint splatter print of this gown is so cool. I love how it’s such a lovely blend of colors. Pairing an arty, edgy print with a classic shape gown and a gorgeous necklace are a wonderful way to achieve a blend of punk and glamour.
Julianne Hough in Topshop
This dress manages to be both sweet and edgy. I love the color and the skirt is beautiful. Julianne’s hair and makeup, as well as her cute shoes really enhance the outfit.
image from people.com
Christina Ricci in Vivienne Westwood Couture
I love plaid. I love Vienne Westwood. This look is fabulous.
image from people.com
Carey Mulligan in Balenciaga
This dress has some definite edge thanks to the cutouts, but they aren’t too extreme. This little black dress, complimented with a large gold safety pin, is very chic.
Cameron Diaz in Stella McCartney
The color of this dress is beautiful and the cape is so dramatic!
Gwyneth Paltrow in Valentino
I love the beautiful pink of this gown! The cutouts and seaming detail make this ball gown special and funky. In my mind, Gwyneth is tied for best dressed for the night!
Jennifer Lawrence in Christian Dior
I love this dress! Jennifer is my best-dressed woman of the night. Her dress is lovely, modest; sparkly- it’s got it all! Her hair and makeup are elegant and the veil tops of the look perfectly!
Dress Messes
image from people.com
Coco Rocha in Emanuel Ungaro
Full length cheetah print gown, topped with large appliquéd gold butterflies= too much
Elle Fanning in Rodarte
This dress is terrible! It looks like two dinner napkins were stapled on top of a bad tie-dye dress. Her makeup is interesting, but the dress is neither punk nor attractive.
Miley Cyrus in Marc Jacobs
The dress is thankfully lined, but it’s still too bare to be anything other than an attempt at sensational. Miley continues to assert her “independence” by wearing clothes that are just provocative, not even stylish or dramatic, just provocative. Her hair is also very unattractively styled here.
Gwen Stefani in Maison Martin Margiela
Seriously, this is all Gwen Stefani could come up with? She’s usually great at mixing couture and punk elements. This dress looks clumsy, poorly made and isn’t figure flattering.
image from people.com
Kate Upton in Diane Von Furstenberg
The color of this dress is fine. But, the cut and fit of this dress add a lot of bulk. I actually thought this was a maternity dress, albeit a nice one, when I first saw it. It also has nothing to do with punk or couture. I wouldn’t mind if it was at least pretty. But, this dress loses on every score.
Ivanka Trump in Juan Carlos Obando
This outfit conflicts with itself. Her top looks like a blouse for work, the skirt looks like a swimsuit sarong and the jewelry says wealthy person playing at being punk. Her hair even conflicts with itself due to the perfect blowout and strategically placed “punk” highlights.
Kristen Stewart in Stella McCartney
Shiny, maroon and jumpsuit- yikes! Not a good look. Don’t even get me started on the lace inserts.
Sarah Jessica Parker in Giles dress
I love Sarah Jessica Parker. But, this is so over the top, it’s almost comical. The dress is ugly and the proportion doesn’t seem balanced. I love Phillip Treacy’s beautiful hats and headpieces, but this one is just ugly! It looks like a bad military helmet, not a punk headpiece.
Katy Perry in Dolce & Gabanna
I don’t really like iconography as a fashion choice. I don’t think it’s respectful. I don’t believe in its significance, but I think it’s disrespectful to use it as a clothing print.
Anna Wintour in Chanel Couture
I’m really disappointed. I hoped Anna would shine as much as she did last year. This dress certainly isn’t punk at all. It’s not even very pretty or flattering. It looks like a beach dress.
image from people.com
Kim Kardashian in Givenchy by Ricardo Tisci
I really appreciate that Kim looks modest and is covered up. But, this dress is awful! I’m all for modesty, but attached gloves are just ugly and too much! This pattern is atrocious, like a bad, old couch. This dress really makes Kim seem so much larger. I understand if she’s uncomfortable during pregnancy and covering up to a degree is always a good thing. But, this look doesn’t work in any way, shape or form.
Almost Successes
Katie Holmes in Calvin Klein
The fabric is lovely, as are her hair and makeup. While the shredding on the train is beautiful, the dress is too loose in the waste and just makes her appear wider.
Nicole Richie in Topshop
This dress is really cute. It’s modest and the floral beading is fun and lovely. But, her hair and makeup really ruin this look. With different hair and makeup this dress would have been a winner. The color of her hair actually dulls the lovely color of the dress.
image from people.com
Zooey Deshancel in Tommy Hilfiger
I hate to have Zooey on a maybe list. While this dress is modest and I do love stripes, something about it doesn’t exactly work. The bow of peplum in the back, feels heavy and the waistline seems crooked. With tweaking and better styling this dress would be really cute.
image from people.com
Joely Richardson
I love the Marie Antoinette drama of the skirt and I don’t mind it paired with such a vibrant yellow. I just think the bodice is too plain and throws another contrast into the look that the dress doesn’t need. Her jewelry and makeup also don’t pair well with such a strong dress.
Blake Lively in Gucci Premiere
The bodice of the dress is a very pretty color. I love the black silk ruffles and beaded appliqué of the skirt. But, the bodice is too low; even just another inch of fabric would have been more flattering.
He Said: Met Gala 2013
The Met Gala is normally very disappointing for me, because it’s one of those big glitzy events where women wear crazy outlandish outfits and men wear black tuxes and black bowties. This year the theme was punk and that brought out a lot of inventive, and still classy menswear. A lot of attendants might not have referenced the theme at all, but most of them still took risks!
Best
Tom Sturridge- This is a great look for this event and theme. The safety pins look well placed and make sense. I like the nod to plaid in his handkerchief as well.
image from people.com
Tommy Hilfiger- I love his plaid! Plaid did great at this event. Gavin Rossdale wore a great plaid jacket as well. The loafers look good too, and I normally don’t like loafers.
image from instyle.com
Joshua Jackson- This Dior Homme suit plays well with the idea of British schoolboys involved in punk. The red socks and tie add a little subversion to the prep school uniform that is very punk.
image from people.com
Amare Stoudemire- Amare is dressed loud and crazy and perfect for this event. The print on the lapel, and the leather tie are both great touches!
Worst
David Lauren- Here’s a risk that didn’t work. The belt buckle and beading on the side would look more at home in a mariachi band, than a red carpet event.
image from people.com
Psy- I like the attempt here, but the check coat doesn’t even look like it fits.
image from people.com
Jason Sudekis- Just adding sneakers does not make something punk.
Maybe
image from instyle.com
Peter Sarsgaard- This suit looked fine except that there was nothing punk or otherwise interesting about it.
image from people.com
Kanye West- How did the normally adventurous Kanye decide that leaving the house without a tie, but still buttoning the top button of his shirt?
Matthew Mosshart- I like this look except for the tie. I can’t tell what it is supposed to be. The jacket and pants work well. If he had even gone without a tie this would have worked much better.
image from instyle.com
Jamie Campbell- The collar and cummerbund are going in the right direction, but it doesn’t feel enough to me
All images unless otherwise noted are from wonderwall.com.
