Pretty Girls at the Met including Eileen Gu, EJAE, Amanda Seyfried, and others

When the theme and the dress code are as broad as they were this year at the Met Gala (similar to what it was in 2024 when it was something something the garden of time and sleeping beauty), the resulting fashion is basically what we would see at the Oscars, or any award show: pretty but not all that thrilling, because of course at this point we come to the Met Gala with a different set of expectations. Yes, sure, we want to be slayed… but sometimes, let’s be honest, we also want to be appalled. Or to laugh.

Year after year, though, a large majority of the guests show up to look good, which is fine, even understandable. But that also means they don’t get, at this event, to have their own post. Here is a collection of the pretty girlies who look very pretty, starting with the best of the pretties… EJAE.

She is stunning – and after months and months of non-stop carpets, and winning Oscars and Grammys, this for me is actually EJAE’s standout fashion moment. She’s Venus and also 기녀, a courtesan during the Joseon dynasty in Korea. The dress, Swarowski, is great. But the standout for me is her hair, styled with binyeos, elevating the entire look from a metallic moment that isn’t entirely new by giving it a deeply personal spin. And her makeup is exquisite – the nude lip is exactly the right call.

Amanda Seyfried wore Prada and Tiffany and this really isn’t a swing. I personally don’t think Prada is ever really exciting on the red carpet and the shade of pink here always evokes Gwyneth Paltrow, Oscars, Ralph Lauren, nobody needs that to be the “art” that inspired the look (I’m not saying it was, I’m just saying evoking it doesn’t make it special). But I do like her hair, just wish it was brushed out more so that the pieces are separated.

Still, I love her. Because during her interview she kept it all the way real when she was complimented and answered by revealing that she’s on meds for acne. 

Perhaps there’s another common denominator with all these pretty girls and pretty dresses – almost all of them have great hair. And hair was, for me, the best feature of Ayo Edebiri’s look.

She’s in Chanel, she’s an ambassador, and honestly it might have been the most underwhelming Chanel of the night because we know what Ayo can do on a red carpet but this was flat for me, just another goddess among all the goddesses at the Met Gala. But the loose long braid was excellent.

Three out of the four members of BLACKPINK are now Met Gala regulars, and Jisoo this year made her debut. Jisoo was always going to be in Dior, she’s been a longtime ambassador, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting a lot since she usually, for big occasions, keeps it pretty classic.

So this sparkly piece, custom Jonathan Anderson for Dior, was for her, by her usual standards, actually a departure. It’s a painting, it’s ornate, it is very, very, VERY pretty, just like her face. Look at this face.

She’s feeling herself right? And she should. This dress was made for her, it suits her, both physically and personally in that she understands how the look should be performed. And all the little details, exquisite, delicate, feminine – so Jisoo.

Both Jisoo and Jennie make my point earlier at the start of this post about dresses that would hit different were they at any award show. Imagine if they showed up at the Oscars in these looks and not the Met Gala. We’d be gagged, right? Jennie’s metallic blue Chanel is stunning, truly stunning. It’s an unusual combination of sequins creating a sequin shade that we don’t see a lot. The fit is precise and perfect. Were it the Oscars, she’d be a contender for best dressed. On this night it’s undeniably pretty but not unusual; pretty but not landing with the same impact.

And finally, the Olympians, starting with Alysa Liu at her first Met Gala in custom Louis Vuitton that is completely, full marks across the board, HER. Literally. Because it was inspired by her body, the “vascularity, cell structure, and muscle tissue” that is the “art” she needs to compete. All of that is represented in the swirls of the skirt which are also meant to “emulate how ice is carved when figure skating”. At the Met Gala, if you can tell a story with your dress, you will always win.

You know who can tell a story as well as she can snatch a gold medal off a mountain on skis? Eileen Gu. That bubble dress was pure science princess from a tech fairy tale come to life and the art she brought to it was also her articulation. Put a microphone in front of Eileen Gu and you will always get a masterpiece. She showed it to us time and again at the Olympics and she showed us at the Met Gala who she is: world class athlete and brainiac and beauty queen, HOW THE F-CK IS THIS GIRL POSSIBLE? She has an answer for this too. Neuroplasticity. IYKYK.