Met Costume Institute Gala 2012 - "Shiaperelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations"

Yesterdat was The Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Costume Institute Gala. This year's theme was Shiaperelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations, which spotlighted designers Elsa Shiaperelli and Miuccia Prada. According to The Met's website, the goal of pairing these two designers together was to highlight the similarities between their work despite the fact that they lived and worked in different periods in time and thus never corresponded or worked together. The term 'Impossible Conversations' is taken from a popular 1930s column published in Vanity Fair magazine that was titled 'Impossible Interviews'. In the 'Impossible Interviews' column, the author would compose the dialogue for a fictional conversation; what he imagined two illustrious people would have talked about had they ever actual met.
The exhibition - which contains eight themed sections - will be open to the public from May 10 - August 19, 2012. 

Some of the past Costume Institute Gala themes have included 2011's Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, 2010's American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity, 2009's The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion, 2008's Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy, 2007's Poiret: King of Fashion and more. 

I excitedly ticked off the days leading up to this year's Met Gala because I couldn't wait to scroll through the photos of each celebrity's gown or tuxedo as they entered into the exhibition.  I am completely fine "oohing and aahing" and sometimes even "eewing" by myself over who's wearing what. At one point I hit the refresh button on my Twitter feed three times in a row to see the latest updates before I realized I was spazzing out.

Here are the looks that I felt were worn/styled to perfection. Sometimes at these illustrious events there are standout gowns that shine of their own merit; the celebrity simply acts as a model to better portray the gown's loveliness (like this Valentino gown from 2010). Other times it's not so much that I'm a fan of the outfit that a celebrity wore, but rather that I dig the confidence with which they carried it off (such as Florence Welch rocking Alexander McQueen). And yet still, at other times there can be a couple (either a romantic couple, or a designer-muse duo) that looked so great together that they could have been wearing paper bags and still have made it work (Gisele and Tom Brady at this year's Gala).

Some of my favorite looks from past Met Galas include Ashley Olsen wearing a tufted-sleeve Christian Dior dress in 2011, Camilla Belle wearing a vibrant red Jason Wu number in 2010, Christina Ricci's Ricardi Tisci Haute Couture Wonderwoman-esque gown from 2008 and Cameron Diaz's brilliant pairing of turquoise jewels with her magenta Dior by John Galliano multi-tiered gown in 2007.

Top four looks:

January Jones' bright yellow Versace gown and light blue jewels (photo c/o popsugar.com)

Karolina Kurkova's glittering gold Rachel Zoe dress and turban (photo c/o ibtimes.com)

I love the dress, but it does look quite a bit like the gold lame dress and turban combo that Kate Moss wore when she went as Marc Jacobs' date in 2009. But I've got to give Kurkova credit as she owned this look. It takes serious glamour to pose like this and not only get away with it, but make everyone else look silly for not doing the same.

Amy Adams' Giambattista Valli Haute Couture one-shouldered gold bow-cinched gown (photo c/o usweekly.com)

Diane Kruger's purple, feather-bedecked Prada gown (pohot c/o popsugar.com)

Other notable looks included Emma Stone looking adorable in a pleated, flower-covered Lanvin dress and Dianna Agron in a teal green Carolina Herrera gown.

In this Issue No. 6 - Kate Moss

No. 6 - Please, please don't throw rocks at me (metaphorically) because I'm the 104,567,343rd person to say (write) that he or she really like Kate Moss's style.

That being said (written)...

I really like Kate Moss's style.

True, the woman can pull off the most avant-garde fashions, such as when she is styled in an editorial or walking down a runway, hell, even while walking down a sidewalk. However, I'm most taken in by the way in which she wears classic pieces in her day-to-day goings on.

Take these four photographs of Ms. Moss that I've ripped from magazines and collaged together. The outfits  in these pictures aren't flashy. I noticed Kate instead of her clothes because of how well tailored, proportionate and flattering all of the pieces are. Kate has a coy smile on her face as though she is privy to a funny secret that she's keeping mum about, plus her posture is erect, which exudes confidence. She always seems like she is in a bit of a hurry to get somewhere (somewhere fabulous, no doubt) but never looks as though she is bogged down or stressed en route to her destination. Similar to how one notices the man, not the suit, when said suit is expertly tailored to said man's frame, Kate makes sure to own her look every time she is photographed,  thereby ensuring that she takes center stage - never her clothes. The fact that she makes every style choice seem completely effortless is the icing on the cake of sartorial stardom.

The pieces that I can pair with everything and think WWKMD? are as follows:

Because they will never go out of style and can be worn with almost any other items from my closet.

Though I am a "classic-wear Kate" fan, I'll admit that some of her more vibrant clothing choices appeal to my creative aesthetic, such as:

 The gold star makeup for her 34th birthday party celebration

(photo c/o popsugar.com)

 Turban + winged metallic smoky eye at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala in 2009

(How I wanted a turban after I saw this look!)