Met Ball 2014 Best Dressed

The most fashionable time of the year has arrived once again in the form of the fashion world's Oscars: the annual Met Ball. Last night saw the world's most famous and beautiful don their finery to celebrate the exhibition dedicated to couturier Charles James at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The dress code was strictly formal and elegant, with attendees expected to adhere to Anna Wintour's pre-determined theme of 'White Tie and Decorations'. This meant gowns and gloves for the women and top hats and tails for the men: Hollywood glamour at its absolute finest.

In a striking contrast to the previous year - where the red carpet was overflowing with studs, leather and deep smokey eyes - this year saw sophistication and elegance in abundance with flowing romantic ballgowns taking centre stage and I, for one, couldn't be more pleased. As much as I like to pretend to be edgy I'm a complete sucker for classic, feminine designs (as my Elie Saab post might have given away…) and so this was the perfect theme for me. I know rules are made to be broken, but sometimes sticking to them can be exactly what the doctor ordered: those that veered away from the dress code quite frankly didn't hold a candle to those who stuck within its constraints.

Before I get started on a Best Dressed list, when talking about the Met Ball it's impossible not to mention this adorable four-year-old. What started out merely as a mother-daughter project where they made intricate dresses out of gift bags and all forms of paper has become a viral sensation, and in the run up to the ball Vogue asked Cincinnati photographer Annie Kaiser and her daughter to try their hand at recreating iconic dresses worn to the gala. You can see them all here, but they've been made into a handy gif below. How amazing?!

(GIF SOURCED FROM www.whatdoiwear.tumblr.com)

As ever there were a ridiculous number of incredibly dressed people walking the red carpet, so grab a cup of tea and sit back to pursue this mammoth round up of the very best on show. You've earned that revision break, so what better way to spend it than by looking at beautiful clothes?!

BEST DRESSED: ARIZONA MUSE

Ralph & Russo ballgown, with De Beers jewellery and a Smythson clutch

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.time.com)

NOTABLE MENTION: SUKI WATERHOUSE

Burberry

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.harpersbazaar.co.uk)

NOTABLE MENTION: RACHEL McADAMS

Ralph Lauren

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.harpersbazaar.co.uk)

BLAKE LIVELY

Gucci Première

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.vogue.co.uk)

DIANE KRUGER

BOSS

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.vogue.co.uk)

FRANK OCEAN

Givenchy

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.gq-magazine.co.uk)

SARAH GREENE
Thakoon gown with Wilfredo Rosado jewellery

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.azcentral.com)

AMY ADAMS

Oscar de la Renta

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.vogue.co.uk)

LILY ALDRIDGE

Michael Kors gown with a Salvator Ferragamo clutch

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.harpersbazaar.co.uk)

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH

Ralph Lauren

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.huffingtonpost.ca)

CHARLIZE THERON

Dior couture gown and tuxedo jacket, Jimmy Choo shoes and Fred Leighton jewellery

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.vogue.co.uk)

NAOMI WATTS

Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.vogue.co.uk)

ROBIN DEARDEN & BRYAN CRANSTON

Calvin Klein Collection

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.time.com)

HAILEE STEINFIELD

Prabal Gurung gown with Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.harpersbazaar.co.uk)

ANNA KENDRICK

J. Mendel with a Rauwolf clutch, Graff diamonds and Brian Atwood heels

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.elleuk.com)

KRISTEN WIIG

Balenciaga

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.time.com)

MARY-KATE & ASHLEY OLSEN

Vintage - Ferre // Chanel

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.vogue.co.uk)

KARLIE KLOSS

Oscar de la Renta

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.hollywoodlife.com)

LAUREN BUSH LAUREN & DAVID LAUREN

Ralph Lauren

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.harpersbazaar.co.uk)

MARION COTILLARD

Dior couture

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.vogue.co.uk)

MARGOT ROBBIE

Prada

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.elleuk.com)

ADÈLE EXARCHOPOULOS

Prada

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.vogue.com)

REESE WITHERSPOON

Stella McCartney

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.vogue.co.uk)

LILY ALLEN

Chanel

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.harpersbazaar.co.uk)

CLAIRE DANES

Oscar de la Renta

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.hollywoodlife.com)

EMMA STONE

Thakoon with Miu Miu heels and a Tod's clutch

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.elleuk.com)

ANDREW GARFIELD

Band of Outsiders suit with Christian Louboutin shoes

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.time.com)

RYAN REYNOLDS

Gucci

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.popsugar.com)

KAROLINA KURKOVA

Marchesa gown with $1million Harry Winston diamonds (!!)

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.harpersbazaar.co.uk)

LIU WEN

Zac Posen

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.harpersbazaar.co.uk)

MATT BOMER

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.elle.com)

JOHNNY DEPP & AMBER HEARD

Ralph Lauren Purple Label tuxedo // Giambattista gown with Fred Leighton jewellery

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.vogue.co.uk)

BEST DRESSED COUPLE: DAVID & VICTORIA BECKHAM

Ralph Lauren Black Label tuxedo with Christian Louboutin shoes // Victoria Beckham

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.harpersbazaar.co.uk)

All in all, once again a display of excellent fashion! This was the perfect excuse to go all out with classic ballgowns and Hollywood glamour, so I majorly applaud the likes of Arizona Muse, Karolina Kurkova and Liu Wen who really stuck to the theme by the book. It's just a shame that the ball gowns were largely left to professional models. Following on from the standard set at the Oscars, I'm loving the white dinner jackets on men, with Bryan Cranston and Frank Ocean working them brilliantly. Has the navy blue tuxedo been passed over for crisp white tailoring? I certainly hope so.

There were many utter fails that I haven't highlighted, most notably Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka and Rita Ora. The most disappointing for me though was Lupita Nyong'o, who well and truly broke her record of outstanding red carpet looks with a disastrously tacky piece from Prada. She looks like she was born to wear ballgowns, so how she got this so, so wrong I have no idea! I'm also confused as to why two Kardashians were invited to the gala, but luckily they were lost in a sea of class and sophistication.

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.vogue.co.uk)

Comprehensive lists of other looks can be found here: Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, GQ, and ELLE.

Overall it was a good evening, I just feel more people either rebelled against the theme - see for example Cara Delevingne - or were just a little tame, than those who adhered to it and shone. I know they'd get more press from an outlandish and controversial look than something classic and sensible, but this year I couldn't understand the logic behind quite a few sartorial decisions. For some it seemed like any other red carpet, instead of embracing it as a chance to push fashion to the limits and experiment, celebrating the fashion industry in its own right.

Which was your favourite look of the evening? Who stood out for all the right/wrong reasons? Have I missed someone off the list that simply MUST be there? Let me know in the comments or drop me a tweet!

And now, to stop dreaming of ballgowns and dinner jackets and back to revision...