text: Despite the highly publicized elevator extravaganza at last year’s Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala, Solange Knowles is definitely not shying away from attention this year. Arriving in a printed Giles mini-dress with teensy pleats, Beyoncé’s newlywed kid sister wrote on Instagram, “When @cartier is your date, and Giles is your dress.” 
   
   Larry Busacca/Getty 
   
   Without a regal cape or a bold, monochrome look, we almost didn’t recognize the R&B singer. But then again, who else could pull off a dress this statement-making? 
   
   RELATED PHOTOS: Everything you need to know about the Met Gala! 
   
   The effect looks like two paper fans on top of each other, which isn’t a bad thing—but definitely fits with Solange’s trademark eccentricity. The whole appearance spurs so many questions: Will she upstage her sister, who usually arrives at the eleventh hour? Does she have to hold her arms out like that all night? We’ll have to wait and see. 
   
   What do you think of Solange’s 3-D dress? 
   
   –Isabella Biedenharn ||||| We’re having a hard time with this. 
   
   Because. 
   
   Well. 
   
   Tonight, Beyonce had a misstep. A fashion fail. A … Kardashian-like moment. And it was at the Met Ball. She was two hours late. Her dress could have been a strong contestant in the Kim K/JLo Met Gala Bare Derriere Face-Off. And we are just … depressed. Spare us, Beyhive. ||||| Yes, Sarah Jessica Parker turned heads by donning a flaming headdress at this year’s Met Gala. Heck, her red head burned brighter than the actual red carpet. 
   
   Parker, 50, doesn’t shy away from haute couture and daring looks, and the Met Gala is the place to go big. 
   
   How did the internet react to her Philip Treacy headpiece, though? Well, she was hardly off the carpet before those watching this year’s event had transformed her into a meme. 
   
   It’s actually interesting to find out what different people perceive when they look at SJP’s magnificently otherworldly get-up. It’s like a pop culture Rorschach test. 
   
   People have suggested she reminds them of 
   
   a flame emoji. 
   
   Sarah Jessica Parker wore the fire emoji to the #MetGala. 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/n3ST4GI0ho — Funny Or Die (@funnyordie) May 5, 2015 
   
   Aku, the villain of the cult cartoon series Samurai Jack. 
   
   Aku!! That's what SJP's outfit reminds me of!! Thank you internet. pic.twitter.com/a16mOx167z — SuperSaiyanSam (@THE_SamLao) May 5, 2015 
   
   the Heat Miser from A Year Without Santa Claus. 
   
   SJP over here tryna look like the heat miser #MetGala2015 pic.twitter.com/e3JH7WVU1s — Raquel (@RaquellRosee) May 5, 2015 
   
   Aladdin villain Jafar. 
   
   Darth Maul from Star Wars. 
   
   Clearly SJP takes number one slot: pic.twitter.com/X3S3gJ5vfa — lauren (@laurensaidwhaat) May 5, 2015 
   
   Nintendo character Kirby. 
   
   WWE wrestler Stardust. 
   
   Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers villain Rita Repulsa. 
   
   a representative of the Fire Nation from Avatar: the Last Airbender. 
   
   Sarah Jessica Parker representado a la nación del fuego pic.twitter.com/4BtecyuL3s — Martín (@N0t_Get) May 5, 2015 
   
   Fantastic Four’s Human Torch. 
   
   @MVivant Sarah Jessica Parker en el Casting para los 4 Fantásticos pic.twitter.com/5dSozqclOl — Alejandro Rosas (@arr1910) May 5, 2015 
   
   a Dragon Ball Z character. 
   
   Sarah Jessica Parker think she Super Saiyan God. #MetGala pic.twitter.com/jVspiXBSQ3 — Andrew T. Bondlow (@BondlowPhoto) May 5, 2015 
   
   and, finally, a different emoji. 
   
   https://twitter.com/JoseRodari/status/595371969131974658 
   
   Not that any of these observations would bother Parker in the least. After all, the woman who wears this headdress is absolutely fearless. 
   
   Sarah Jessica Parker: Her Changing Looks ||||| Oof. 
   
   A lot of stars shined at the Met Gala, but others just missed the mark. 
   
   Among the fashion casualties were Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jennifer Connelly, who were going for wonders in white, but instead just fell flat. 
   
   Sorry, ladies, but it's true. 
   
   Jennifer Connelly donned a lace Louis Vuitton sheath dress on this year's red carpet. 
   
   While we appreciate the effort, that leg-of-mutton sleeve made the ensemble look far too big for her tiny frame. And as if that wasn't enough, her hands were practically swallowed up in that dress. 
   
   The Blood Diamond actress ended up looking like a little girl trying on mommy's clothes. 
   
   And poor Maggie! 
   
   She tried in that floor-length Roland Mouret number, we just aren't exactly sure what it was she was trying for. 
   
   From the different-sized straps, to the world's weirdest waist accent, we have no other word's to describe Maggie's red carpet outfit than a hot mess. 
   
   But Jake Gyllenhaal's big sis did succeed at something: reminding us why wearing black and brown together was a fashion faux pas to begin with! 
   
   [Images via Getty Images.] 
   
   Tags: fashion smashion, jennifer connelly, louis vuitton, maggie gyllenhaal, met gala, red carpet, roland mouret ||||| Today is a momentous day for many reasons: It's Audrey Hepburn's birthday, Star Wars Day (because "May the Fourth," geddit?), and, of course, Met Gala day. Thanks to heroes and honorary Jedis Solange Knowles and Anne Hathaway, those last two occasions have been combined in an unexpectedly elegant way, sure to quicken the heart of any mouth-breathing nerd who knows that "Wookiee" has two e's and that Han Solo shot first.Anne Hathaway's Ralph Lauren gown could be mistaken for a luxe take on the Jawas' uniform of choice (albeit in this case, accessorized with a Repossi ear cuff). But, since Hathaway is probably not trying to align herself with a race of Tattoine-dwelling scavenger-demons, we're going to hazard a guess that the iconic Jedi robes are the inspiration instead. ||||| 
   
   Jay Z and Beyonce at the 2014 Met Gala. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 
   
   The Met Gala has always been a very elite, very New York City affair, but it sure took a leap into the mainstream last year: Post-gala, security cameras captured singer Solange attacking her brother-in-law, Jay Z, in a hotel elevator while Beyoncé calmly adjusted her dress in the background. 
   
   The annual fashion benefit takes place Monday night, so we’ve got your primer on what to expect, including if anything can possibly top last year’s drama. 
   
   [Beyoncé, Jay Z and Solange speak out about elevator video: ‘Families have problems and we’re no different] 
   
   What exactly is the Met Gala? 
   
   Also known as the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala, the extremely fancy, exclusive event is held every year to raise money for the institute and kick off the new spring exhibit. According to the New York Times, it “has become, over the last decade, the undisputed party of the year on the New York social schedule” and costs roughly $25,000 a ticket. 
   
   What’s this year’s exhibit? 
   
   The 2015 exhibition — also the costume theme for the evening — is called “China: Through the Looking Glass.” According to the museum’s announcement, it “will explore the impact of Chinese aesthetics on Western fashion and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries.” 
   
   Anna Wintour (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) 
   
   Who’s hosting? 
   
   Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who regularly runs the show, and whom the Times credited as “the driving force behind the gala’s transformation from a well-attended dinner for museum donors and patrons into one of the biggest fund-raising events staged by any of the city’s cultural institutions.” Her co-hosts include actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Gong Li; Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer and executive Wendi Murdoch. 
   
   [From Jay Z and Solange to Rep. Vance McAllister, how does security footage get leaked?] 
   
   Who’s invited this year? 
   
   In addition to all the top designers, the full list of celebrities is as overwhelming as ever, including Anne Hathaway; Claire Danes; Colin Firth; Bradley Cooper; Jessica Chastain; Spike Jonze; Julianne Moore; Sarah Jessica Parker; Rita Ora; Reese Witherspoon; Neil Patrick Harris; Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively; and of course, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West? 
   
   Why “of course” Kim and Kanye? 
   
   Because who wouldn’t invite those two back after this fashion statement during the year of the “punk” theme? 
   
   
   
   Kim and Kanye (Justin Lane/EPA) 
   
   So what was all the drama last year? 
   
   Solange and Jay Z had some sort of family feud that led to the fight footage seen around the world, thanks to TMZ. They later released an apology statement (“At the end of the day families have problems and we’re no different. We love each other and above all we are family. We’ve put this behind us and hope everyone else will do the same.”) and never really explained what happened, though rumors were rampant. 
   
   [Solange predictably plays down Jay Z elevator fight in new interview] 
   
   Wasn’t there something else that happened in an elevator? 
   
   Well, supermodel Cara Delevingne posted a Instagram video that pictured a group of models and starlets goofing off in an elevator, something mere mortals usually never get to see. The highlight: Reese Witherspoon dispensing baby name advice in a Southern drawl. “The most important thing in a name for a girl? That a man can whisper it in his pillow.” It was unfiltered and hilarious — and obviously pulled from Instagram immediately. 
   
   Can we expect more madness? 
   
   You never know, but probably nothing like last year — security everywhere will likely be under lots of pressure not to let any incriminating footage leak, though it’s hard to control such things. Plus, filmmaker Andrew Rossi will be there filming for a documentary, so stars will be on their best behavior. Though Delevingne is attending again, so maybe she’ll film more entertaining scenes and not cave to peer pressure to delete them. 
   
   READ MORE: 
   
   That Reese Witherspoon Instagram video has already been deleted. Why are stars so afraid to show off their real personalities? 
   
   The Met Gala: One designer’s gowns steal the show 
   
   At the Met Gala, a red carpet like no other
target: – The Met Gala was last night, meaning celebrities had a chance to dress up in totally crazy outfits and vie for headlines the next day. Six of the most talked-about costumes: Beyonce showed up—two hours late—in a mostly see-through (with the exception of some well-placed ... confetti?) dress, prompting USA Today to declare, "Beyonce has a rare (but epic) fashion fail," even referring to it as a "Kardashian-like moment." Sarah Jessica Parker wore a headdress that was supposed to look like flames, and People notes that it's already a meme—people are comparing it to a flame emoji, the Human Torch, the hair of the Heat Miser from classic cartoon The Year Without a Santa Claus, and even the hat Jafar wears in Aladdin, among other things. Bey's sister, Solange Knowles, wore her own bizarre dress. It's difficult to describe, but People notes that the printed dress with mini-pleats "looks like two paper fans on top of each other." Vanity Fair declares that Rihanna "won" the red carpet with her insane yellow dress, complete with fur cape dragging an enormous train behind it. "I can’t really walk in it without any help," Rihanna explained. "But it’s so worth it. I love this dress so much!" Jennifer Connelly wore a Louis Vuitton sheath dress with puffy sleeves, and Perez Hilton complained that "that leg-of-mutton sleeve made the ensemble look far too big for her tiny frame. And as if that wasn't enough, her hands were practically swallowed up in that dress," making her look like "a little girl trying on mommy's clothes." As for Anne Hathaway, she looked vaguely like a Star Wars character in her gold, hooded ensemble, a not-uncommon observation. E! also notes that it "somewhat resembles a metallic boxing robe a pro athlete might wear." If you don't fully understand the Met Gala, the Washington Post's amusing FAQ may help. It reminds us, for one thing, that this happened after last year's event.