Best and Worst Dressed: the 2019 Met Gala

The Met Gala is one of the annual highlights of fashion. This year's theme was "Camp: Notes on Fashion." This is probably why there so are so many looks I didn't like: camp isn't really my thing. Dictionary.com defines camp to mean "something that provides sophisticated, knowing amusement, as by virtue of its being artlessly mannered or stylized, self-consciously artificial and extravagant, or teasingly ingenuous and sentimental." It's like trying to make high fashion out of something that is clearly horrible and ridiculous. Why would you want to do that!

I've started out this blog with the Worst Dressed, because when I first started looking at photos, I didn't like ANY of the looks! Eventually I found several to make the Best Dressed list, but the first dozen or so photos I found were horrendous.

Worst Dressed

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Lady Gaga's dress is just too much. I'm not against exorbitant displays of extra fabric: Rihanna looked amazing in yellow in 2015. But this fuchsia monstrosity looks like something for a drag Barbie doll. And the entourage of men with umbrellas is so over-the-top.

Her looks didn't get better throughout the night. I also didn't know she had an armpit tattoo. Image found here. 

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I'm all for emphasizing the female form, but this quilt of a dress is such an obvious homage to boobs and vagina. Even though Cardi B is completely covered, I still feel like nothing is left to the imagination!

Janelle Monae's look made a similar statement. We get that people are looking at your boobs. You don't need to add an eye (lashes and all) to your boob to make a feminist statement. Image found here.

"But I don't want to be a pirate!" Image found here.

"Be our guest, be our guest, be our guest!" Image found here.

Continuing with the fairy tale theme, Zendaya as Cinderella is so on-point that there's nothing special about the look. Image found here.

I love Lupita, so I'm sorry to put her in this category. But I feel like I'm looking an the lovechild of Rio's Carnival and the movie The Birdcage. Image found here.

Going back to Disney: maybe Zoe Kravitz is Maleficent if she liked cleavage? Image found here.

Cinderella meets ballerina meets...well, Nicki Minaj. It's too much and not enough all at the same time. Image found here.

I'm not at all surprised that RuPaul would wear something like this. I also don't think I'd ever put RuPaul on a Best Dressed list. Image found here.

Ack! Julianne Moore's dress is horrendous. The only positive for her is that anyone would look terrible in that. Image found here.

Snow Miser, Heat Miser much? Image found here.

At these kinds of events, you want your look to say something. But it shouldn't literally say something. Image found here.

Alicia Vikander looks like she should be at a yodeling contest or a country music event, not the Met Gala. Image found here.

I love Gal Gadot, so this understated number really disappointed me. Image found here.

Another disappointment. I think Michael Kors and Gigi Hadid are really talented stars, but these looks do nothing for me. Image found here.

Okay, I referenced Barbie in some of the other looks in this blog, but Kacey Musgraves totally takes that title. Her bag is a blow dryer! Image found here.

Elle Fanning: uh, what? Image found here.

Celine Dion's outfit is the worst version of the JLo and Gemma Chan outfits (also in this blog). They did it better. Image found here.

Carey Mulligan's dress just makes me sad. There's nothing good or happy or pretty about this look. Image found here.

Did Emily Blunt go shopping with Julianne Moore to get matching metallic-overload dresses? Image found here.

Last year Jared Leto attended the Met Gala with a twin. I guess this year he only could find a head to be his date. Image found here.

Billy Porter: "I am The Oprah." (quote from an SNL skit that I couldn't find a link to!) Image found here.

This is such a "nothing" look from Karlie Kloss. Blah. Image found here.

Mindy Kaling was right there with Emily Blunt and Julianne Moore shopping for their matching, ugly, sparkly dresses. Image found here.

There are no words for what Hamish Bowles is wearing. Image found here.

Meh

I don't hate this look on JLo, but it's a little too Tina Turner for me. (also, where is ARod?) Image found here.

Again, not horrible. I just don't love Solange's look. Image found here.

Bella Hadid would have made by Best Dressed list except for those horrible cut-outs. WHY would you emphasize love handles?! Image found here.

I've never liked Cara Delevingne, but this ensemble makes me nostalgic for Fruit Stripe gum. Image found here.

Miley's look is SO understated compared to what we expect from her! She looks great, but I was expecting bigger and more! Image found here.

And on the other hand, the Olsen twins look exactly how we all expected. No creativity or imagination. Image found here.

I don't love this look, but the jumpsuit is classy and age-appropriate for Kris Jenner. Image found here.

I don't really have a reaction to Ashley Graham's look as a whole, but the tights with words on them are really cool. Image found here.

I think I would have liked Serena Williams' dress more if it had been in a different color. But the flowers are romantic, and you can't see them here, but her sneakers match the dress, which is cool. Image found here.

Best Dressed

Finally, a classy look I'd expect to see on a red carpet! Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen look amazing (as usual). Image found here.

Penelope Cruz looks adorable! Such a fun dress. Image found here.

Now THIS look is cool! Clearly a work of art. Jourdan Dunn's dress is probably my favorite! Image found here.

Katie Holmes looks phenomenal! As does Zac Posen in the background. But the woman scratching her nose? Image found here.

Kim Kardashian West is rocking this female Aquaman look. She's like a mermaid!  Image found here.

While Gwen Stefani's cape is a little too similar to the yellow one Rihanna wore in 2015, I still love it. Image found here.

I'm not sure what this gown is trying to say, but Emily Ratajkowski looks like a total Egyptian goddess. Image found here.

Jennifer Connelly's Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan look is chic and sophisticated. Image found here.

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner look a little bit like they stepped out of the 1970's, but the pair isn't bad compared to the previous train wrecks. Image found here.

These costumes make me think of exotic royalty, like a mix between Alice in Wonderland and A Little Princess. Bravo! Image found here.

Normally this kind of look would not make my Best Dressed list, but we had slim pickin's this year. Plus, I do think Kerby Jean-Raymond's and Lena Waithe's take on androgyny is interesting. Image found here.

Ciara looks like a Carnival beauty who came to this event straight from Rio. She looks amazing! Image found here.

These looks worn by Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade remind me of Black Panther royalty. Image found here.

Gemma Chan's headpiece is everything. She's like a Far-East, fashion-forward Statue of Liberty. Image found here.

I want to wear Alicia Keys' dress in my bedroom. It looks like a divine, sparkly robe made for a boudoir. Image found here.

Danai Gurira is killing this look. So strong! Image found here.

Constance Wu looks like she stepped out of The Great Gatsby. Anything art deco gets an A+ from me! Image found here.

This is exactly what I would imagine Florence Welch to look like at the Met Gala. Gorgeous! Image found here.

The woman of the hour, Vogue's Anna Wintour, looks fantastic in this floral textured gown. Image found here.

WOAH

This look on Ezra Miller deserves its own category. This is insane! I want to know more... Image found here.

Zazie Beetz' look gives a whole new meaning to the term "bride groom." I love the combination of the traditional male and female wedding-wear. Image found here.

What will the 2020 Met Gala bring?