Metropolitan Costume Institute's 2011 Gala Red Carpet, part 2

Here are the rest of the outfits from this event. It's just as well that I split the post into two because there are so many outfits to consider. Many of them are beautiful and there are some amazing outfits but there are still plenty of WTF? moments to come in this post.

We'll continue with our outfit evaluation after the jump.

Dylan Lauren in Ralph Lauren Collection

I love this dress. There's something about the play of light and shadow on the fabric that I particularly like. Of course the silhouette is gorgeous, as is the draping, and it really suits her. Love the belt with the crystal buckle that matches the clutch.

Maggie Q in Tadashi Shoji

This dress may be light beige but it looks a lot like a wedding dress to me. I like the texture play between the belt and the rest of the dress, and it appears to fit her, but she looks a bit under-accessorized. A hair accessory would have been perfect.

Caroline Trentini in Michael Kors

This is another fully-textured skin-coloured dress with a belt, only this belt is matte instead of shiny. It's pretty, if a bit colourless; the colour washes her out with her blonde hair so that she looks like a flesh-coloured column. A pop of colour somewhere - in her hair, jewelry, or bags - would have made this outfit perfect.

Lily Aldridge in Ralph Lauren Collection

Oh I love love love love this dress! It's a beautiful, bias-cut, 30s-style dress that fits her like a glove. I love the back with the embellished straps, the chain, and the chiffon tail things. Even though this dress is a peachy-pink and close to skin colour, it works on her. Those earrings are perfect with the embellishments on the back.

Kate Hudson in Stella McCartney

She is radiant here. This dress is just a bit too long for her which I sort of understand because no one knows what size her belly will be until the day of the event. And I know that she can't wear a lot of tight undergarments but considering that we can clearly see her hip bone, this dress might not have been the best choice. Slinky is nice but a slightly stiffer underlayer would be better. Also, the dress colour is too close to her skin colour and this, together with her blonde hair, washes her out.

Renee Zellweger in Carolina Herrera

She always looks so dour, doesn't she? She gives this simpering, sweet sort of smile but she never looks really happy. Anyways. Here's another column of flesh-colour that washes the wearer out. If her hair was darker it would be better or if the colour was farther away from her actual skin colour. The dress is delicate and gorgeous. I'm not sure about the embellishment on the side, which looks a liitle oddly-placed.

Salma Hayek in Alexander McQueen

Here's a woman who is never afraid to show the world that she has huge boobs. Fortunately they're fully-contained in this dress and are in no danger of falling out. Actually, this dress is quite slimming; that center panel brings the waist in and the ruching on each side slims her even more. The rosette at her hip balances the asymmetric neckline and shoulder. I also love the soft, ethereal look of the fabric layers (I'm a sucker for most things ethereal). She looks amaxing.

La La Vasquez in Vera Wang

Oh look - it's another bridal dress! It's pretty, in a bridal or prom way. It's just too bad that this isn't a prom or a wedding. Maybe all of these women wearing bridal-type dresses because they mistook this gala for a costume party since it was given by the costume Institute? I think that joke is going to get old.

Jessica Stam in Tommy Hilfiger

Let's see, what do we have here? It's a pinky-peach dress washing the colour out of a woman with blonde hair and pinky-peach skin. It's also a mullet dress that's at an awkward length in front and full length in back. The shoes have ankle straps that cut the visible amount of her long leg in half. I do like that the skirt is so full and made of so many layers of tulle.

Hailee Steinfeld in Stella McCartney

This is a true mullet dress: knee-length in front with a train in the back. If the dress were just knee-length, it would be lovely (even though she's wearing ankle-strapped shoes). It's age-appropriate and suits her.

Alicia Keys in Givenchy

If her goal was to make herself look boxy, she succeeded. I know she's a curvy woman but that empire waistline together with that bolero is all kinds of wrong for someone with her figure. A full-busted woman like her needs to define her waist because otherwise she looks like a rectangle. Like she does here.

Blake Lively in Chanel

Toga! Toga! Toga! I had to show you both pics so that we could see what both sides look like. It looks like she's wearing a flesh-coloured boyshort bodysuit with an irregular silver pattern on it and then she's covered it with a length of beautiful chiffon. She's gorgeous and would look good in almost anything so she looks great in this, too, but is an upscale toga the right outfit for this occasion?

Milla Jovovich in Marni

This dress looks a little more casual than I might expect for such a formal occasion. It's a nice enough dress but she looks like she's going clubbing instead of to a formal event. 

Gwyneth Paltrow in Stella McCartney

How is it that every other blonde who wears a flesh-coloured dress looks washed out, but not our Gwyneth? maybe it's because the dress is paler and less pink than her skin tone. I love this simple, clean, sequinned dress on her. She looks gorgeous.

Claire Danes in Calvin Klein

She looks amazing in this dress. The dress colour is dark enough that it doesn't wash her out and the dress itself fits her like a glove (aside from the fact that we can see panty lines up at the waist there)

Elizabeth Banks in Tommy Hilfiger

When a person is blonde, like her, and fair-skinned, like her, and wears a dress that's the same colour as her hair, like her, then the person is gong to look like a big golden blonde. Like her. 

Angela Lindwall (L)and Karlie Kloss, both in Christian Dior

I don't normally like to have pictures of two people to critique but these dresses were so similar that one note will be enough for both of them. I love these dresses and not just because I love shiny things (I'm like a crow that way). The draping and pleating work with the fabirc to make it even more interesting. Also note that each of them is wearing a dress that doesn't match her hair colour, and so both dresses look great. If they had switched dresses they wouldn't look so amazing.

Iman in Stella McCartney

Did I mention that jumpsuits and rompers for adults are back? There's another picture in part one of this red carpet posts where she's standing behind someone and the red carpet is reflecting off of her bum. The back fits her well but the front... not so much. Light colours come towards to the viewer and dark colours recede. There's extra pouf between the waist and hips that are reflecting light, making that part of her look HUGE and her head look kind of small. I don't think this was the look she was trying to get.

Bar Rafaeli in Reem Acra

I want to reach into the screen and hike the dress up so that the diamond design at her hips and the design on her legs was higher. I don't think it would look any better if it were higher but the design elements as they are draw the eye right to the floor. I think she tried to counter this effect with the bright turquoise earrings but they're too small to make a difference.

Thalia

Apparently she's pregnant which explains why the dress is a bit loose on her and perhaps why she's showing off her leg. I love the colour of the dress and the easy style. However, her shoes don't add anything to this look. If she wanted to go with a nude shoe, she would look better if they were a slightly darker colour or in a satin like the clutch instead of the matte colour. I could also see a satin lavender shoe to pick up the light sequin colour or possibly a gold shoe, which would add a bit of colour and intreest.

Demi Moore in Prabal Gurung and Phillip Treacy hat

There's a whole lot of texture there. What's not to love about a feathered skirt and textured top? What makes this outfit is the hat because it gives her a complete look. Sure, she could go without the hat, but it's gorgeous and balances the heaviness of the skirt.

Leighton Meester in Louis Vuitton

I bet she picked those shoes because they echo the lines of the dress. The problem is that between the dress and shoes, her legs look freakishly short. The problem is less the shoes and moe the dress, which looks too long for her. The hem is cutting off her calf at its widest point and that's just not flattering.

Jessica Szohr in Topshop Unique

Here's another Topshop dress and of the three we've seen so far, I like this one the best. It's short but has a lot of texture and interest and it appears to fit her well enough. The spiky ends of her hair echo the texture on the dress (and the tassels on her shoes) a bit too much; something softer would have made the overall look more balanced.

Jessica Chastain in Emilio Pucci

I was watching a Project Runway challenge where the designers got to design their own fabric. Anthony, one of the designers, created a basic sheath dress with a strange shrug. This look reminds me of that one. That may not be a detachable shrug with sleeves but it doesn't matter - it creates a weird line on the bodice in combination with the dress curve. I do like the collar and her hair.

Elle Fanning in Valentino

Isn't this cute - she's wearing a French Maid costume. She seems to have misinterpreted the invitation like some others did: just because this event was thrown by the Costume Institute doesn't mean that it's a costume party. 

Cassie in Rag & Bone

My teen years are coming back to haunt me, it seems, because she appears to have been transplanted directly from the 80s to this event. Everything from her hair and makeup to the dress to the shoes is straight from that era making the whole outfit look dated. It's ok to wear clothes from other eras but it's best to just wear one piece from another era instead of going with a head-to-toe look like this.

Julianne Hough in Burberry Prorsum

There were more prints than we usually see on a red carpet which I like. I particularly like this print because it has an ocean-like quality that works really well with this fabric although in this silhouette it's a little bit casual to my eyes. More jewelry would have helped make this outfit look a bit more formal.

Ciara in Prabal Gurung

I love the ombre and the colours against her skin but the texture looks kind of like a bunch of those plastic garlands strung together.

Dakota Fanning in Valentino

The tulle is the same colour as her skin and the embellishments pick up the colour of her hair.  The dress is lovely, and I like the way the embellishment on the bodice is scattered throughout the skirt, but the whole look is just too pale. She looks washed out, and by "washed out" I mean nearly dead.

Janelle Monae in Chanel

She's such a tiny woman but wow can she sing and dance! This is definitely her standard "look" but it's been upscaled a bit for the event. Love the top hat and attached veil.

Anna della Russo in Alexander McQueen

Most people wouldn't have the confidence to wear an egg on their head. However, she's the director for Vogue Japan and the egg somehow works with the whole outfit. The pants and jacket (which I love) are so dramatic that they cry out for something to balance them, and that egg works. 

Anna Wintour in Chanel Haute Couture

I am completely, utterly in love with this dress. I love the ombre chevrons, the black sleeves and hem, the silver center strip, and the overall sequins. It's simple and beautiful... I could look at it for hours. It's sort of funny that she's wearing her trademark bob with bangs but then this dress doesn't need fancy hair.

Sandra Lee

If you're going to wear gloves to an event, here's a tip: make sure they fit. These gloves look like they come from a hazmat suit because they're so big on her arms and fingers.

Katie Lee

We've seen a couple of variations on this goddess theme at this event. I like the embellished neck and belt although it would look better if there was less volume at the waist. 

Lara Spencer in Marchesa

Another short bridal dress by Marchesa. Am I the only one that's a little tired of Marchesa bridal-type dresses? The shoes are a strange colour with the dress; she'd have been better off wearing shoes that had actual colour. I'm thinking pink but that might be because she kind of looks like a Barbie.

Bee Shaffer in Balenciaga

Apparently she's Anna Wintour's daughter. She looks amazing in this dress; the colour is perfect against her skin and the silhouette is flattering. She's wearing a lot of eye makeup and lipstick and it would look better if she had less of one or the other. It also looks like she didn't have time to do her hair so she's just wearing it the way she did that day.

Margherita Missoni in Missoni

When I think of Missoni designs I rarely think of pastel colours so the effect is a bit jarring. There's something that isn't quite working here. Is it the necklace with those spaghetti straps? The wide silver belt? The bodice that looks like a knit tanktop (because that's what it is)? The non-silver cuffs on both wrists which, together with the necklace, send out a bondage message? Yes to all of those.

Sarah Burton in Alexander McQueen

Note to self: a dress where the sleeves are all-in-one with the bodice and are continuous outside the waist belt (like we see here) makes ones hips look super-wide. Also, a silver-toned necklace and gold-toned embroidery that match one's hair clashes.

Livia Giuggioli in Stella McCartney (with Colin Firth)

Isn't he handsome, even though his hair looks too long? I do love her dress with its textured bodice and matte skirt. And pockets! Notice also how amazing those green shoes look with this dress. They add just a small bit of welcome colour. When one is wearing neutral colours, adding a brighter colour through shoes or a bag or accessories adds a welcome contrast.

Tara Subkoff in her own design (with Tom Hooper)

I love shiny silver fabric like this but I don't usually wear it because the shin emphasizes every lump and bump. Here she looks thick-waisted because of the way the light is reflecting. There's a 30s-glam feel about this dress but the neckline looks weird.

Keri Hilson in Atelier Versace

It's a wannabe mullet dress! The side tulle panniers are aching to join together in front to remove that center front tulle section, I can tell. Sadly, I think that if those panniers had had their way this dress would look better. Take a note: when applying self-tanner, ensure that all areas are the same colour and that the chest doesn't get more than, say, the face or arms.

Madonna in Stella McCartney

I loooove this dress, too. It's got that bias-cut 30s feel to it that is so gorgeous and she's played that up with her lightly finger-waved hair. Everything works on this dress - even the embroidery.  

Lily Donaldson in Erdem

I love a lace dress over a bandeau bra and hiphuggers or granny panties because for this look to work, the undergarments need to not look like undergarments. She's got the granny panties but the regular bra makes it look like she forgot to wear a slip. 

Eva Mendes in Stella McCartney

The 70s are back, at least in this outfit. The full sleeve looks a bit too full so it's like she's got an elephant arm instead of a regular on. Maybe the problem is that she needs to learn to pose. 

Isla Fisher in Tory Burch

The colour is good for her but the dress is too long and I think she's about to have a wardrobe malfunction. That wrinkly bodice looks as though it's sagging down. Some jewelry or a clutch would have been a good thing to make her naked arms more interesting.

Nancy Shevall in Stella McCartney(with Paul McCartney)

Apparently these two are engaged. I love this colour on her and the top and bottom of the dress looks great. It's the middle part with the poochy stuff around the waist, that looks weird. I'm also not a fan of those pointy shoes.

Maggie Gyllenhaal in Stella McCartney

I think this dress is actually symmetrical on her even though those straps look weird and unflattering. Actually I think those straps are just plain unflattering whether or not they're symmetrical. She must have been running late when she left because her hair looks unfinished and she's wearing no accessories. Accessories are important because they help create a whole look.

Emma Stone in Lanvin

I can barely see what she's wearing because I'm blinded by her fuchsia lipstick. If I cover up her head I see she's wearing a print, which I like She's a little pale in it and I think the print is just a bit too big for her, but the dress fits and she looks happy.

L'Wren Scott in her own design (with Mick Jagger)

I don't know how I feel about this look. I like that the print changes and gets larger towards the bottom of the skirt. I like that it's the right length for her, and that she's wearing that cuff which sets off the whole design. I like the silhouette, too. I think my problem is with the print, which reminds me of a very 80s wallpaper.

Nicole Miller

Presumably she's wearing her own design. The dress fits her well enough, is the right length, and the colours work for her. The pring is definitely interesting as well. There's something about this print that's a bit casual for the event. A few beads or sequins or making one colour more shiny would have helped. Some more jewelry might have done the trick, too.

Kristen Stewart in Proenza Schouler

There she is, the non-smiling, bitchy-looking, teenaged actress. She doesn't dress especially well most of the time but this dress was a particularly bad choice. Yes, the red is a good colour for her, but she looks bottom-heavy and like she's trying to play a curtain in her next movie.

Rashida Jones in Stella McCartney

Satin can be an unfortunate choice is you have any lumps and bumps. Look at this lovely actress, who can't possibly have a belly of any size, who looks as though she was supporting her belly on her thighs on her way to the event. This wouldn't have been so bad if she hadn't widened her hips with the embellishments or if the bodice didn't look like it was sliding down. The fact that the colour is lovely on her and that she's wearing an interesting headpiece doesn't make up for the dress issues.

Constance Jablonski in Alexander McQueen

I like this. The print is sort of smoky and has that kind of soft ethereal look that I like, and it works especially well in this silhouette. That high-necked collar and belt make this dress beautiful, and the hair updo is the perfect choice.

Solange Knowles in Dries van Noten

Oh, dear. Her face, bodice, and skirt look so rectangular, especially since she's wearing a big printed donut around her hips. I'm fairly sure that she knows how unflattering this dress is on her by the unhappy expression on her face. 

Jessica Igoe in Christian Cota (with Christian Cota)

The bodice is lovely because the solid blue chiffon over with the print really works there. But then something goes weird in the skirt with long bits and short bits and different blues. It looks like the designer wanted to create a natural slit in front through fabric draping and needed to edit something out. It almost works. Darker shoes that fit properly (these are too big) would have also helped the dress work for her.

Kirsten Dunst in Chanel Haute Couture

I've said it before and I'll say it again: ballet-length (and ankle-length) skirts paired with ankle-strap shoes make one's legs look stumpy and as though the dress is the wrong length. Had this dress been floor length, it would have worked. Had it been knee-length, it would have worked. The print is lovely on her although she's a bit washed out in the photo.

Aimee Mullins in Theory (with Olivier Theyskens, Theory designer)

Apparently he's the designer behind Theory so of course he wants to be seen with his creation. I do love this dress. the tweedy plaids work together to create something unusual and interesting. Her hair really tops off this look (so to speak). This dress would work a bit better for a fall event than a spring event, but if I could wear it I'd do that anytime during the year.

Amy Adams in L'Wren Scott

The swirly pattern calls to me as it's one of the doodles that I draw. I don't think the colour works all that well on her even though the dress looks amazing on her. A black headpiece would have made this outfit look so much better.

L-R: Giovanna Battaglia in Marni, Mila Jovovich,  Consuelo Castiglioni in Marni, and Paul Anderson

We saw the dress on the left earlier and I loved it so much that I just had to include a picture of it. She used to be a model and now she's a fashion editor and I have to say that she has an eye for creating a head-to-toe look. The whole outfit from the beehive hairdo to the gown with its 60s-70s hostess dress feel is gorgeous and elegant.

The green dress is pretty if shapeless. I don't love it but it's definitely preferable to some of the other outfits worn at this event.

Cindy Sherman (L) and Anouk Lepere, both in Marni

I saved the crazy prints for near the end :) The outfit on the left is actually a jumpsuit. I'm sure it's comfortable and everything but it looks quite casual for this event, especially since her hair and makeup aren't really formal. I could see this jumpsuit with its 70s-print at a get-together with friends, but a formal event? Not so much.

The dress on the right is a bit more formal in comparison to the jumpsuit. The high-low hem looks strange in the horizontal print. I think she might have cut it herself to show off her skeletal legs because it appears to be uneven. She may be one of the few people out there who can wear an ankle-strap shoe because her legs are the same width all over and they're long so cutting them off doesnt' shorten her too much.

L-R: Kate Mulleavy, Saoirse Ronan, Laura Mulleavy

The Mulleavy sisters are the creators behind Rodarte and I assume that they're both wearing their own designs. I love the dress on the left that Kate is wearing . Those sleeves are gorgeous and I am swooning over the black accents on the bodice and coming down in the center front. I'm not completely wild about the black accent on the side and around the back hem but they're definitely interesting.

I love Laura's look, too, on the right. I like that she's wearing pants because sometimes when a person is really full-figured, they can look like a big rectangle in a skirt. That embellishment at the inner elbow is interesting and unusual and I like that. It also works to draw the eye upward, as does the embellishment at the neckline. Her hair and makeup suit her as well although I wish her bangs were just a bit shorter. Still, they give her an edgy style that I like. She would look even more amazing if she stood up straight but I suspect that she can't because of the group photo dynamic.

L-R: Kenneth Cole, Maria Cuomo Cole in Alexander McQueen, Emily Cole

The tiger-striped, sequinned mullet dress is so Alexander McQueen. I rather like the sequinned bodice paired with the unsequinned skirt with the larger print. The play between shiny and matte and small and large creates balance and manages to unify the dress.I can live with the mullet-like effect because it works with the pattern and the dress is actually longer in center front than on the sides. however, those shoes are all kind of wrong. I can see boots or gold versions of those shoes working with this dress.

Emily's dress on the right is much more understated but lovely. The flutter sleeves and ruching are slimming and the dress looks comfortable to wear. I think she's wearing flat shoes, too, which actually work best with a dress of this length. her accessories and hairstyle work with the dress for this event.

photo credits: zimbio.com, fashion.telegraph.co.uk, tomandlorenzo.com, style.com, accessatlanta.com