Met Gala

A Look Back At All Of Sarah Jessica Parker’s Met Gala Outfits

She’s the queen of the ball.

by Jessica Willingham and Alyssa Lapid
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Sarah Jessica Parker always understands the assignment, especially when it comes to Met Gala dressing. She once told Vogue, “All I ever think about is the theme and influence. Whenever I go to the Met [Gala], I don’t understand how everyone else didn’t spend seven to 10 months working on it.”

And it shows. A stickler for the theme, all of Parker’s ‘fits to the annual soirée have been well-thought-out and, in turn, highly anticipated by spectators. After all, Parker herself is synonymous with fashion and New York City.

Since her very first Met Gala in 1995, where she wore a thrifted dress, Parker has rightfully earned the reputation of a perpetually best-dressed attendee. She even works closely with designers to concoct her decadent gowns. The And Just Like That... star has even developed a signature look for her red carpet appearance: intricate headpieces. From her tasseled headdress for 2012’s “China: Through The Looking Glass” theme to bows and beyond, Parker has rocked some unforgettable headgear.

With the 2023 shindig, themed “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” fashion girls are crossing their fingers that SJP will be rocking the Met steps once again. For now, here’s a trip down memory lane to see all of her incredible Met Gala looks.

1995: “Haute Couture”

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Before she was a muse of some of the biggest designers, Parker wore a thrifted dress that she had tailored for her first-ever Met Gala. She even did her own hair and makeup.

2006: “Anglomania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion”

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A decade later, Parker stunned in an asymmetrical Alexander McQueen number with a tulle skirt and his signature tartan.

2010: “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity”

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In 2010, Parker channeled her on-screen alter-ego, donning Carrie Bradshaw’s favorite trend: rosettes.

2011: “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty”

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Years later, Parker wore McQueen again for the gala, which honored the late designer that year. This time, she donned an ornate, crystal-encrusted gown with a high neck.

2012: “Schiaparelli And Prada: Impossible Conversations”

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Parker was the belle of the ball in a floral number by Valentino at 2012’s bash.

2013: “Punk: Chaos To Couture”

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A faux mohawk-inspired headpiece was perfect for the year’s theme, “Punk: Chaos to Couture” — not to mention the thigh-high plaid boots that peered out from under her voluminous gown.

2014: “Charles James: Beyond Fashion”

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Sweet and sophisticated, this dramatic Oscar de la Renta dress deserved a stylish updo.

2015: “China: Through The Looking Glass”

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For “China: Through The Looking Glass,” Parker came through. This headpiece was the talk of the night, and she rocked the theme from head to toe.

2016: “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology”

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As a Broadway fan, Parker turned her love of Hamilton into a white ‘fit for the 2016 gala. She accessorized the look with a cameo necklace and teal pumps that were equipped with her personal brooches.

2018: “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination”

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Parker has never met a Met Gala theme she didn’t like and her homage to Catholicism — in a gilded dress and cape — looked like was plucked out of the faith’s religious iconography. Even her headpiece belongs in a church.

2022: “In America: An Anthology of Fashion”

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Parker upped the ante in a dramatic Christopher John Rogers ball gown and a vertiginous headpiece. But as an homage to Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, the first female Black fashion designer to work in the White House, it was also laden with significance. A meaningful fashion slay.

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