It made some people think of eggs and pizza (get a snack), and others of the Chinese empire “waaaaaaay back in the day.” That’s imperial yellow (not to be confused with “Minion Yellow”), a shade that has plenty of representation inside the exhibit, including the last emperor of China, Pu Yi’s, embroidered robe, which is way smaller than Rihanna’s.

(Kristen Wiig looked beautiful in yellow too.)

Sarah Jessica Parker looked like a Beijing Olympics mascot

How do you think she fit in the car?
How do you think she fit in the car?
Image: Invision/AP/Charles Sykes

Sarah Jessica Parker has deftly donned an absurd headpiece before, and tonight she did not disappoint in a Philip Treacy-designed tasseled topper that recalled the flame-headed fuwa mascot of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Refinery29 reports that Weibo approves.

Beyoncé’s naked body stole the spotlight from Kim Kardashian and J.Lo’s butts

This has absolutely nothing to do with the evening’s theme, as far as I can tell, but it must be mentioned.

Zzzzzzz.
Zzzzzzz.
Image: Invision/AP/Charles Sykes

Kim Kardashian’s Roberto Cavalli dress was frankly boring—we’ve seen so much of her now, and her dress’ curve-hugging, floor-pooling, sheer skirt with strategically placed appliqués looked startlingly like the Givenchy gown Beyoncé wore in 2012. (I didn’t even know I remembered that dress until I saw Kim tonight.) Next.

They couldn’t have timed this.
They couldn’t have timed this.
Image: Getty Images/Dimitrios Kambouris

J.Lo, you may remember, is the reason that Google Image search exists, and the way she looked tonight will be the reason that “J.Lo, met gala, sidebutt” search exists. I was about to tweet about this when Beyoncé—who has made a thing of arriving last to the gala—appeared, and the collective scream on the carpet echoed across social media.

If J.Lo’s game is baring her superhuman body and aging backwards, Beyoncé went ahead and beat her at it, in this barely-existent bejeweled body stocking of a Givenchy dress.

The photographers can all go home now.
The photographers can all go home now.
Image: Invision/AP/Evan Agostini

And then she gloated about it on Instagram, which one can hardly blame her for.

Solange Knowles went as “the looking glass” of the exhibit’s theme

What is this made of?
What is this made of?
Image: Invision/AP/Charles Sykes

Really I have no idea if that was her intention, but that’s sort of what this looks like, no? I love Solange, and think she is beautiful and fashion-forward every time I see her. I just haven’t caught up with this Giles dress yet, and don’t understand how she’ll dance in it.

Show us some more angles please, Solange.

Statuesque bronze abounded

Fan Bingbing, Anne Hathaway, Feifei Sun, and Kate Hudson all went for gold-ish gowns that worked to varying degrees. I wonder if Hathaway’s hood ever came off.

Golden Girls: Fan Bingbing, Anne Hathaway, Feifei Sun, and Kate Hudson.
Golden Girls: Fan Bingbing, Anne Hathaway, Feifei Sun, and Kate Hudson.
Image: Invision/AP/Evan Agostini, Invision/AP/Charles Sykes, Getty Images/Larry Busacca, Invision/AP/Charles Sykes.

Anna Wintour’s dress had wonderfully weird sleeves, but no one looked happier than Grace Coddington

Flower power: Anna Wintour and her daughter, Bee Shaffer.
Flower power: Anna Wintour and her daughter, Bee Shaffer.
Image: Invision/AP/Evan Agostini

The Vogue editor-in-chief’s fashion choices are tasteful and predictable most of the time, so it’s nice to see her wear something just the tiniest bit wacky here, even if it is Chanel Couture.

Just one thing: the flowers on Wintour’s dress resemble poppies, a symbol of China’s suffering during the Opium Wars. (Part of the Met’s exhibit is devoted to Yves Saint Laurent’s similarly problematic “Opium” fragrance from the 1970s.) It seems unlikely Wintour would be unaware of the symbolism; hopefully she simply never attributed a species to her gown’s sequined flowers—Chanel usually references camellias—and this was the rarest of honest missteps. (Unlike Poppy Delevingne, who maybe gets a pass because of her name?)

In any case, the Vogue editor’s outfit we most envied at the evening’s end belonged to Grace Coddington, the magazine’s creative director. She wore pajamas.

Resplendent in silk pajamas.
Resplendent in silk pajamas.
Image: Getty Images/Dimitrios Kambouris

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