Like the queens of "RuPaul's Drag Race," celebrities attending the Met Gala have turned a dramatic fashion reveal from a delightful surprise to an almost-expected component of any performance. The Gold Standard for this, of course, remains Lady Gaga's 2019 Brandon Maxwell moment, featuring a whopping four custom looks piled onto her body like a designer Matryoshka doll; Lil Nas X did an admirable job himself with a suite of Versace ensembles in 2021. The Race to the First Reveal of the 2022 Met Gala was officially on, then, and leave it to co-host Blake Lively to beat everyone to the finish line.

When it first hit the red carpet, Lively's Atelier Versace dress was a bronze-swathed strapless dress covered in Klimt-worthy beading. Matching opera-length gloves and a Lorraine Schwartz tiara (with seven spikes, just like the Statue of Liberty!) complimented the large bustle for a Gilded Age-redux gown. But wait! What's that?

It wasn't a bustle at all, but in fact, more panels of fabric, this time in a shade of blue to match the ceilings at Grand Central Station, complete with miniature versions of its constellations scattered across the fabric. Each unfurled from her waist like a flower in blossom, creating even longer train behind her. Blake! You scamp! 

Through the Magic of Fashion™, even her gloves changed colors! Lively looked so delighted after — and really, who could blame her?

I very rarely say this myself, as I find its often overused, but: How very Serena van der Woodsen of you, B. 

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