There may be nothing Sarah Jessica Parker loves more than a theme. While most attendees at the Met Gala take the dress code as nothing more than a light suggestion, Parker always commits. For 2013’s “Punk: Chaos to Couture” exhibit, the actress arrived in a printed Giles Deacon gown with thigh-high plaid Christian Louboutin boots, topped off with a Philip Treacy-designed mohawk headdress. It was a look she herself would out-do just two years later at the “China: Through the Looking Glass” themed gala in 2015, where she teamed her H&M dress with another headpiece by Treacy, this one made to look like flames were erupting out of her head. It was a look that spurned 1,000 memes—and, really, what more can you ask for from the Met Gala red carpet?
Of course, then there are the actor’s poignant Met moments—like when she paid homage to Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, a freed slave who went on to become First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln’s dressmaker, in 2022 or honored her late friend Lee McQueen at the 2011 ball with one of his own archival designs. Here, look through each and every one of Sarah Jessica Parker’s Met Gala looks over the years.
1995
For her Met Gala debut, Parker went the simple route in an empire waist cocktail dress that she picked up at a thrift shop.
2006
In 2006, the actor arrived at the Met steps on the arm of the late Alexander McQueen. Her tartan tutu dress? The perfect interpretation of the night’s “AngloMania” theme.
2010
As a nod to the 2010 exhibition “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity,” Parker wore a pleated Halston Heritage dress that was asking to be danced in.
2011
The 2011 Met Gala honored Alexander McQueen and Parker chose to dip into the late great’s archives for the occasion. She wore a blinged-out dress from the designer’s fall 2005 collection.
2012
Parker paired her floral Valentino dress with thick gold bangles at the 2012 ball.
2013
Parker went all out for the 2013 punk-themed Met Gala. She wore an abstract Giles Deacon dress that she paired with a Philip Treacy mohawk hat which was so tall that it required her to sit on the floor of her car as she made her way to the museum.
2014
In 2014, the actor picked out a two-tone Oscar de la Renta gown and white opera gloves.
2015
Parker’s H&M ensemble and flame-like Philip Treacy hat was one of the more talked-about looks of the 2015 Met Gala.
2016
Although Parker prefers a large gown to wear at the Met, she played in type with her 2016 outfit. She slipped into capri pants from Monse that she paired with tousled hair, a simple tank top, and a theatrical jacket. Mismatched heels, a classic Carrie Bradshaw styling trick, finished her look.
2018
Dolce & Gabbana had the honor of outing Parker for the 2018 Met Gala. Naturally, she wore a Neapolitan nativity scene on her head as an homage to the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” dress code.
2022
2022’s “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” Met Gala propelled Parker to channel an important piece of American fashion history. Her custom Christopher John Rogers dress was inspired by Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley—a freed slave who went on to become First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln’s dressmaker.