Most Of Blake Lively’s Met Gala Looks Share A Satisfying But Overlooked Detail

Once you notice it, it can’t be unseen.

We wouldn’t expect anything less from the woman who played Serena van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl — a character who not only was fashion forward but also spent a lot of time on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

There has been a certain theory swirling around the internet about Blake Lively’s outfits at the Met Gala over the years — and learning it will further affirm her keen eye for pleasing aesthetics (which was already clear because, well, Ryan Reynolds). 

As one Twitter user pointed out Monday night during the 2022 Met Gala, the actor has a tendency to match her outfit to the event’s red carpet.  

So, let’s take a look and see if this theory rings true, shall we?

Here’s her outfit from the 2016 Gala:

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Blake Lively at the "Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology" event in 2016.
Karwai Tang via Getty Images

And here’s another number from 2017:

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Lively at the 2017 Met Gala, which had the theme "Art of the In-Between."
John Shearer via Getty Images

Her 2018 dress seems to compliment the patterns on the red carpet:

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Lively in 2018 at the gala for "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination."
John Shearer via Getty Images

And her 2022 Met Gala gown seemed to follow the same theme: 

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The theme for 2022 — "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" — had a dress code of "gilded glamour."
Theo Wargo via Getty Images

If the coordination is intentional, it’s unclear how Blake could pull it off — though she was a co-host at the 2022 event, which may explain her getting some intel.

According to a piece in Curbed about the history of the gala’s literal red carpet, more work goes into its design than one would think.

Phillip Bland, a decorative artist on Long Island who came into the job seven years ago after working with Anna Wintour on her various homes, is responsible for painting it. And although he’s one of the first people to know the gala’s theme each year, he implied that most celebrities are unaware of his final design.

“My hope is when the final design comes out, it doesn’t clash too much,” the designer says of the stars walking the carpet.

“If someone spent all this money on this beautiful dress and all of a sudden they get out there — I’m sure they don’t know what the carpet is gonna look like.”

Mm-hmm, sure. So we’re starting a new internet theory — that Blake’s got Phillip’s number in her contacts.