Every year, the first Monday of May welcomes the commencement of one of my all time favorite traditions: I tear open a bag of chips, lay on the couch and scroll through my timeline as I rip apart and dissect each and every celebrity’s Met Gala look. Who will make the top of my personal best-dressed list? Who will flop so hard that they won’t be invited back next year? My couch cushions and I eagerly look forward to this little ritual of mine.
This year, the Met Gala’s dress code was “Tailored for You,” centered around Black dandyism. Black dandyism is a style movement that utilizes fashion to challenge societal expectations and assert one’s individuality and self-worth.
The dress code was inspired by the theme of the 2025 Met Gala exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” The exhibit displayed the importance of Black identities in shaping fashion today and honors Black excellence.
Key features of Black dandyism include precise tailoring, bold colors and patterns, intentful accessorizing and global influence. At its core, the Black dandy is unafraid to make a statement, using fashion to celebrate their identity and personal style in times when the political and social climate does not celebrate them.
These are my picks for the best and worst dressed at the 2025 Met Gala. As I expected, many A-listers showed up in typical black-tie attire. (Although this is technically on theme, it’s boring.) However, some took “dandy” and ran with it, popping out in a fit simultaneously tailored to the theme and their personal aesthetic.
Best Dressed:
Jenna Ortega
I’m a big fan of this uniquely different take on this theme. Designer Olivier Rousteing constructed Ortega’s dress completely out of metallic tailoring rulers, taking “Tailored for You” to a whole new level. Beyond that, her old-hollywood hair and smokey silver makeup was sleek, stunning and complementary to both her and the dress. I’m obsessed with this look.
Janelle Monae
This one had me gagged. Every aspect of this look was deliberate and extremely intricate. The 1930s-inspired overcoat revealed a perfectly tailored sport coat, complete with a working clock-monocle. Paul Tazewell, the first Black man to win an Oscar for costume design, went extremely outside the box for Monae, and I am here for it.
Damson Idris
What can I say, I’m clearly a sucker for a good costume change. First off, I’m in love with the sparkly helmet. I love when someone stays dedicated to their theme, and Idris did just that, going so far as to pull up to the Met Gala’s blue carpet in an F1 car. Beneath his APX GP suit, this upcoming F1 movie star sported a custom Tommy Hilfiger all-red look with a gold tartan accent. Overall, Idris killed the theme on many levels and drove himself into my best dressed with his wow factor.
Worst Dressed:
Hailey Bieber
There’s not much to say here. It honestly looks like she’s wearing an H&M blazer dress and I’m just not here for it. It was extremely boring.
Cole Escola
I can understand and respect their dedication to the personal aesthetic aspect of dandyism, but this was just a miss for me. The tailoring is off, I can’t get behind the dangling suspenders and the pattern is reminiscent of this Etsy shop’s “groovy toddler birthday outfit.” I think this look would have landed better six years ago when the theme was camp.
Amelia Gray
I actually don’t know where to start with this one. Personally, this is a top contender for the worst Met Gala look I’ve ever seen. I don’t think I need to say anything about the veil-durag she’s sporting– it speaks for itself. The mismatched lacy legs and lack of pants were already bad enough. A hard no from me.
Overall, the 2025 Met Gala will go down in history as an underwhelming one for me. This theme was so cool and should have been so easy for these people, with their abundance of money and access to the latest and best of it all, to nail even the barest of minimums. I feel like I set the bar lower and lower each year, and even still, most of these out-of-touch celebrities miss the mark.
Sza? Beyoncé? Someone save us.