Every year when the Met Gala rolls around, fans eagerly await the moment Blake Lively steps onto the red carpet. And when she’s a no-show, the actress still somehow dominates the conversation.
Lively has been a fashion icon since her breakthrough role in The CW’s Gossip Girl where her character Serena had a boho chic closet of dreams. As a result, she’s been a Met Gala regular from the early days of her career, and although some of her first looks feel very distinctively 2000s, she’s gradually perfected her Met fashion, culminating in back-to-back show-stoppers in 2018 and 2022 (yes, we’re spoiling the top two spots on this list, but let’s be honest, you already knew those two dresses were going to be up there anyway.)
10. American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity (2010)
While we definitely love Blake in a short dress, this Marchesa piece she wore at the Met Gala in 2010 wasn’t exactly the chicest she’s ever looked. The cobalt blue color and the silhouette are both beautiful on her, but there’s simply too much going on.
Yes, the Met Gala is the place to go all out, and the actress was somewhat in-theme by mixing dramatic detailing reminiscent of the 1800s with a modern super short length, but pairing a vibrant color with copious ruffles, sequins, flowers, and bold patterns feels a bit too busy. Instead of nicely complimenting the overall look, the heels and bracelet feel mismatched. Somehow, Blake still looks amazing, though.
9. Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between (2017)
We fear this will be an unpopular opinion, but we didn’t love Blake’s 2017 Met Gala Atelier Versace gown. Although the craft of this dress is striking, draped in thin gold chains that gradually turn into gold feathers, which in turn evolve into various shades of increasingly darker blue, the combination of colors and materials isn’t particularly attractive as a whole.
As for the theme, while this piece exhibits some of the playfulness of Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons’ brand, the Japanese designer is a lot more radical in her work, and Blake’s dress is, despite it all, quite conventional.
8. Manus X Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology (2016)
We don’t know if Blake does this on purpose, but just like her above look, her dress from the year prior also matched the Met carpet — that’s how inseparable she and the event have become. What it didn’t match, however, was the evening’s theme. The technology-inspired motif was nowhere to be seen in the actress’s flowy floral Burberry dress.
This look, just like Blake’s beauty, is ethereal and gorgeous, to be sure (we’re big fans of the flower details in the cleavage and the way they trail down to the extensive tail), but it’s the Met! You have got to stick to the theme at least a little bit!
7. Punk: Chaos to Couture (2013)
Feathers are definitely Blake Lively’s thing and this strapless Gucci Première gown she wore at the 2013 Met Gala is not the last you will see of the actress’s favorite ornament.
For this edition’s theme, the then 25-year-old actress opted for a cooler color palette, pairing a soft grey-ish blue bodice with a silky tiered black skirt and tail, topped off with some metallic and, of course, feathery details. The statement earrings pair really nicely with the edgier feel of this look, and the ensemble fits the theme as perfectly as it fits her. We’re big fans!
6. The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion (2009)
It might be another unpopular opinion to rank this look this highly because of how simple it is, but Blake looked ravishing in this lapis lazuli blue Versace gown.
We know the “model as muse” theme isn’t meant to be taken literally, but the way this dress flows and hugs the actress’ figure with so much movement makes Blake look like she’s just jumped out of a Renaissance painting. The metallic chain details and the plunging neckline reminiscent of Ancient Rome fashion add to the outfit’s general aesthetic.
5. Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy (2008)
Blake made her Met Gala debut in 2008, looking absolutely stunning in a black strapless Ralph Lauren tule gown. While the actress skirted around the theme a little bit for this outing, looking perhaps more like a sophisticated supervillain than a superhero, we can’t help but adore the classic, old Hollywood feeling of this outfit.
The feathers on the trumpet skirt, the black gloves, the messy updo, and the shimmering jewelry all gel really well, creating a cohesive, elegant, and timeless look.
4. Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (2011)
We’re back to ancient civilization-inspired silhouettes for this Chanel Haute Couture number Blake donned at the 2011 Met Gala, but instead of patrician, she leaned more toward Hellenic with this dress.
The sheer, figure-hugging bodice, embroidered with beautiful silver designs, and the flowy draped fabric from her right shoulder down to her hip and cascading down her lower body landed Blake in most, if not all of the evening’s best-dressed lists. The actress opted for letting her freshly dyed strawberry blonde hair down and completed the look with a shiny bangle and thin strap sandals.
3. Charles James: Beyond Fashion (2014)
Charles James was all about refined glamour and it doesn’t get a lot more glamorous or refined than the rose gold Gucci Première gown Blake Lively wore at the 2014 Met Gala. You can never go wrong with a dress that is this chic, flattering, and sophisticated.
The neckline, cinched waist, and long train provide the perfect combination of sexy and elegant and we love the way Blake chose to style her hair for this look, too.
2. In America: An Anthology of Fashion (2022)
Apart from 2018, 2022 was the year Blake Lively truly became creative and playful with the Met Gala theme. Channeling the most American symbol of all, the Statue of Liberty, with this Atelier Versace show-stopper the actress chose to bring a moment of transformation to the Met that year.
Blake’s imponent turquoise train was initially bundled up in a puffy-looking copper shape when she arrived at the red carpet that evening. Then, as she climbed up the stairs, she revealed the dress’s final form which saw the metallic shade transform into a bright greenish blue, mimicking the oxidization process of the famous American monument; a stroke of genius that became one of the most legendary Met moments of all time.
1. Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination (2018)
Now, for this writer, there is not a single Blake Lively Met look (or most anyone’s for that matter) that is more memorable, more on-theme, and more gorgeous than the custom Versace gown she wore in 2018 to celebrate the museum’s Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination exhibition. That’s how you do it.
Not only is this dress perfectly crafted, with an intricately bedazzled square-neckline corset that is to die for and a mix of velvet, silk, and sheer fabric for the figure-hugging skirt and dramatic cape/train, but it is also so accurately evocative of the opulence and excess of the Catholic church that it just makes me giddy. And if that wasn’t excellent enough, Blake optimized the look with a saintly custom-made halo by Lorraine Schwartz and gorgeous gold jewelry (including a bulky chain bracelet that I love). In this instance, more really is more and we fear this moment will secure Blake Lively the title of Queen of the Met Gala for years to come.