Andy Cohen's Most Talkative: Fall From Grace

If you read my blog you are well aware of my love affair with Bravo and who better to be infatuated with than the guru of weave pulling, catty arguments than Andy Cohen himself? I've watched him evolve from the curly haired, oaf looking host of the season 2 Housewives of OC reunion to the ego inflated, Giggy obsessed talk show host that he's become today. Don't get me wrong, ego inflated or not, he's still fun to watch, masking his own curiosity by throwing in obscure names with an @ sign in front of them as the source of the question which has been itching him. (Sure Andy, @krt4567 really wants to know what Nick Lachey's memories are of being married to Jessica Simpson, sure.) He was always just so funny. Yes he often talks about his best friends Sarah Jessica Parker and Mattew Broderick or Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, but he was still just a regular Joe Schmoe who made it big and got to hob knob with celebrities and share with us. He was like our very own peep hole into celebrity life, he was there at the Met Gala and the Emmys gushing over Diana Ross and then coming to his show to talk about them and I loved him for it. And then I read his book and it all went to shambles.

So let's back up a minute, shall we? When Cohen's book first came out I was eager to read it because I wanted to hear his take on the Housewives, all the behind the scenes drama that I didn't get in the reunion, in cast interviews on Watch What Happens Live and in Lost Footage Specials. (Come on, there's got to be more!) But I didn't want to spend the money on the hardback for something I would read once and be done with it. Knowing that the library wouldn't have the book right away and  once it came in there would be a waiting list for it, I contemplated calling into his show to ask for an autographed copy as so many were doing, but then I never watch his show live. So I put his book in my back pocket and forgot about it. And then it came out in paperback and I thought of buying it, but still chose against it. And then, after five long years of work (not from me, my neighbors), a library was finally built around  the corner from my house and I put in a request for the book. I was telling a girlfriend how I was looking forward to reading it and she mentioned that she had a copy and I could borrow it. (Thanks, AK!)

And read it I did. It was a quick read, actually I think it was a quick read because I was trying to hurry up to get to the Bravo section, only to be let down. I was highly unimpressed with the book. Firstly, the writing level appeared to be catered toward the middle school crowd, there was a lot of moving around from story to story from different aspects of his life talking about life lessons he's learned. (And random bullet points.) He says it best in his book, he reached the age of 13 and never stopped maturing, that pretty surmises his biography. It's filled with a plethora of foot in the mouth moments which are highly cringe worthy and somewhat exploitative. Like the time he set up an interview with Oprah whose publicist refused two interviews, yet after the interview ended he kept the cameras rolling  but lied to both Paula Zahn (the interviewer) and Oprah that he was planning to use this section for his own segment he was producing. He spoke a lot of his tendency to speak out of line and ask inappropriate questions as he does now with the Housewives. (The first step is acknowledgement of your wrongs.)

I now see him in a different light. When I watch his talk show I feel like he's no longer the guy next door, my best friend, but just another media hound who is itching to get a story. He even spoke of an interview he did with Nicholas Sparks before The Notebook came out. While they were filming this documentary they have footage of Sparks getting a phone call that his father passed away. Cohen chose not to use the footage out of respect, but later regretted it saying it goes against journalist integrity. Sparks even thanked him later on in life, but I sensed that Andy's professional side weighed more than his respect side.

And last night I watched his talk show for the first time since finishing his book and I didn't find humor where I normally do. Jamie Lynn Sigler and Heather Dubrow were his guests and they were talking about Lydia from Real Housewives of OC and how her mother habitually smokes marijuana and did through her childhood.  It appeared Andy and JLS were making a joke of it and they even made the poll question if people cared if their mother smoked pot. I was highly upset that he would make light of something so dark in Lydia's life. We're not talking about a grown adult whose mother has taken up pot smoking recreationally in retirement. This is a woman whose mother was in an altered state for much of her childhood. If she were an alcoholic we wouldn't be making jokes about it. I'm not one to always see everything politically correct, I can take a joke, but I feel like this is a pattern by Cohen. Take anything and make a joke of it at the expense of others and for ratings for him.

Oh! And the main reason I read the book, to get some more dirt on Housewives, there was nothing there. Other than Cohen outing Jill Zarin as a lunatic, as we all knew and were just waiting for Cohen and his Switzerland stance on the  Housewives to acknowledge finally did.

Between his constant boasting about his popularity in high school and A-list meetings the only poignant part in the whole book were his relationships. He has such a strong bond with his family, his mother in particular, and he has kept his friendships since childhood which was an endearing theme throughout the book that contradicts his professional intentions, but is the part of him that will keep me watching his talk show. I love how he speaks of his mother and how he reads texts from her on his show and will acknowledge that his mother will be irritated with him after certain words that he says. Despite my frustrations with his obsession to earn ratings, the importance of his relationships shows that the tin man does have a heart, at least when it comes to his own family.

Images
Andy Cohen and his book
Andy Cohen and SJP
Oprah and Paula Zahn
The Notebook
Lydia's mom
Jill Zarin
Andy Cohen and family

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins

Last Thursday was my Bambino's first birthday so it was of utmost importance that he had some kind of cake to blow out a candle and devour! Since his party was on Saturday (Thus the reason I have not had time to blog!) and  my parents  ordered a tiered Mickey Mouse cake, I didn't want to make an entire other cake and so I went looking for muffin recipes. I thought of chocolate chip muffins because it's kind of like cake, but actually a muffin.

I Googled the words chocolate chip muffin and the first recipe that showed up was Nigela Lawson's Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins from the Food Network. It was simple and somewhat healthy minus the cocoa powder and chocolate chips, but not a horrendous amount of sugar and vegetable oil so that's the recipe I went with.

And can I tell you how much I love Nigela Lawson? I discovered a cooking show of hers years ago on PBS and fell in infatuation. With her sweet, British accent and her ability to cook. So of course I had to make a Nigella recipe! She's like the English version of Giada, or Giada is the Italian American version of hers, whatever, you know what I mean. Just another reason to make the muffins!

Overall the muffins came out pretty well, I enjoyed them. There were a lot of reviewers that said the recipe was bland and that it needed something more. Personally, I think they thought this was a cake recipe, and if you have the expectations that you are biting into a cupcake, then not it is not as moist and fluffy. But if you think of it as a light muffin, then it's actually more of a decadent muffin!

Hubby, Sweet Pea, Bambino and I all enjoyed the muffins on Wednesday, but after I frosted a couple on Wednesday night and refrigerated them over night, the results weren't so great. After we sang happy birthday Bambino just looked perplexed. He knocked the muffin upside down and just stared at it. I cut it up for him and he continued to just stare at it. Then I threw some cheerios on his plate to determine if he wasn't hungry or just didn't care for the muffin. Well, apparently he was mighty  hungry with how he stealthily found all the cheerios in between the muffin crumbs.

Lesson learned? Nigella's Chocolate Chocolate-Chip muffins do not taste good refrigerated over night, they harden. Otherwise, great recipe!

Click here fro Nigella's recipe.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 cup milk
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Sift flour with baking powder and soda. Add in cocoa powder, sugar and chocolate chips.

3. In a separate bowl mix together milk, vegetable oil, egg and vanilla.

4. Mix two bowls together.

5. Pour into greased cupcake tins and bake, about 20 minutes or so until muffins are dark and rise.

Amateur Cooking Difficulty Scale: 3
This is a really easy, straight forward recipe for muffins. And considering muffins usually include some fruit that has to be cleaned, peeled, chopped or blended, this makes it even easier.

Good stuff people, easy, yummy and somewhat healthy. I say make it! But don't frost it and put it in the fridge overnight, apparently even sugar obsessed toddlers don't care for it.

Images
Nigella Lawson and Mario Batalli

What Color to Moccasin? I Need Your Help!

I've never been a big fan of the penny loafer. It reminds me of the style from 9th grade (Since I was sported the style in 9th grade, it must have been more popular when I was in the 7th.) that I used to wear with my...I'm far too embarrassed to describe the style I was wearing. It was my attempt at wearing whatever was in that could be purchased at Mervyn's. (At that time I was unaware that you could purchase finer and trendier items at the mall for sale price that would be similar or less to Mervyn's.  You know, like the Gap.) Anyways, so when I saw that loafers were back in style I just couldn't fathom the look, it wasn't for me.

What I did like were men's loafers that came in vibrant colors. I just loved the style and for years now I've been trying to get Hubby to buy a pair, but perhaps he too had similar sentiment regarding penny loafers from high school and refuses to purchase a pair. 

How awesome are those red loafers? How does he not want a pair? And then I started to think, is it that I want to buy him a pair or is it that I want a pair for myself and don't think they are feminine friendly?

And then the Tom's craze went under way and I of course had to get a pair. It was the complete antithesis of the flip flop rage (that in my head has been going strong since high school) and I loved it. Granted, the closed toe shoe did bring back my foot problem from childhood...I won't get into that now but of all people who remember far too fondly, that would be my brother. 

So I wore my Toms all through the fall and winter (it's Texas, shorts and closed toe shoes mean it's cold outside!). And now I'm getting tired of Toms. I thought maybe I needed a new color or design, but I'm starting to think that Toms are just played out and I'm over it. (I get over things oh so quickly, I know. My newer diaper bag is only two months old but I'm already getting that handbag itch.) 

Bye, bye, Tom's! 

And then a couple of months ago I was at Nordstrom's and saw red flats. I immediately became obsessed with bright colored flats that were not Toms. But the only problem was that I thought they were a little too dressy to wear with shorts, which is my staple uniform.

So pretty! 

And then I forgot about my need for the new and improved version of Toms until a few weeks ago (or maybe a week ago?) I was reading a blog about great mother's day gifts and came across this photo for suede driving moccasins at a store called C Wonder. 

I immediately fell in love with the shoes and the store! The store, C Wonder, is kind of a version of Anthropologie without the boho feel, and overall just more of a giddy feel. (I don't know about you, but despite the bright colors sometimes Anthropolgie comes across a bit bleek and dismal. Perhaps the C Wonder models smile and Anthropologie's do not?)

Anthropologie

C Wonder 

Yep, that explains it.

Moving on. So I loved the shoes, but saw that they were $98 and felt it was a bit too much to spend on something I wasn't sure how often I would wear the shoe. And I figured I would just hold out for a sale.

And then today on Twitter (Yes, I started following C Wonder on Twitter. Follow others on Twitter as they will then follow you? Oh, is that not the Golden Rule?) I saw that they were having a massive sale and my moccasins are on sale for $54.99! Yay! 

So I am desperate to buy a pair of these moccasins, but what color to buy? What will be more versatile and could go with more outfits. I really like the Navy and Azalea, but just can't decide, so help me! 

#1- Navy

 

#2- Pool Blue

#3- Azalea

Post in the comments below what color I should purchase. Times a ticking as the sale ends in just two days! (Am I being a sucker for marketing gimmicks, apparently so.)

Image Sources

Blue suede moccasin

Men's loafers

Tom's

Tory Burch shoes

Anthropologie model

C Wonder model

Baked Corn Dogs

You may be thinking that these two words are quite the oxymoron, baked and corn dogs  At least that was Hubby's initial reaction was when I said I wanted to find a baked corn dog recipe, "Aren't they always fried?" he asked. I don't have much of a relationship with corn dogs,  perhaps I ate them as a child, but as a vegetarian for the last 15 years, I have no corn dog in my carnivorous lexicon and so I went hunting for a recipe for baked corn dogs.

Why all the excitement over a hot dog covered in bread that is deep fried? Apparently mini turkey corn dogs were served at school and Sweet Pea gobbled them up. (I used to pack her lunch religiously, but she would rarely eat it so I tried offering her a school lunch and what do you know, she ate her whole plate, minus the green beans.) And so the search for a healthy corn dog was under way.

I did some research and there were quite a few recipes out there, apparently I'm not the only baked corn dog obsessed person on the planet. I decided on a recipe I came across on a diabetic living website. I was going to half the recipe and only make three dogs, but Hubby said that he could easily eat four. "Um, ok," I say, a little shocked and disgusted at the same time.

So I made the baked corn dogs and surprisingly it was really easy to make! I was worried that when I dipped the hot dogs into the batter the batter would slither all over the place, but the batter was thick enough that it stayed stuck to the dog, yay! I proved all those naysayers wrong. By all those naysayers I mean Hubby who asked how you could bake a corn dog. Just eat your four baked corn dogs, Buddy.

Here we go into the oven...

Just minimal slithering, as you can see.

And out of the oven, perfection at it's finest! (No, I wasn't being sarcastic.)

Overall the baked corn dogs were a big hit, Hubby happily ate four with some brown mustard and Sweet Pea ate two. She actually enjoyed the freshly baked corn breading more than the hot dogs! I tried a bit of the corn coating and must say that it tasted like corn muffins. Hot dog and corn muffins...is this where I'm supposed to say yum?

Click here for the original recipe

Ingredients
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt (I upped this to closer than 1 teaspoon)
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon oil (Don't up this or then you will have some slithering, it happened to me the second time I made this recipe.)
6 wooden skewers
6 hot dogs

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, dry mustard and salt. In a separate bowl mix together milk, egg and oil. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir.

3. Spray an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet with cooking spray. Take a hot dog and insert wooden skewer. Coat hot dog with batter. I used a spatula and spread it over the hot dog, it seemed to work well.

4. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake 14 to 16 minutes until the batter appears golden brown.

5. Voila, you  have baked corn dogs!

Amateur Cooking Difficulty Scale: 4
The hardest part of the whole recipe is coating the hot dog with the batter, I'm a bit of a perfectionist so it took me awhile to ensure there were no holes where you could see hot dog. (But obviously from the above picture there still were.) Otherwise, pretty easy.

Oh, and I don't think the leftovers reheat as well, as seen by Sweet Pea's face when she took one bite of the reheated corn dog.

Real Housewives of New York City: Reminiscing Over Couture

So it's been about a year since we were last dazzled with Ramona's denial of plastic surgery (Semantics people, semantics), Luann's desire to be referred to as a Countess and Sonja's train wreck seductiveness (You don't want to look, but you just have to take a peak out of disgust. Recall her forgetting to wear her skirt at the costume party she threw? Don't worry, I'll save you and not post the photo. ) I had read countless times that the show had not begun filming to which I refused to believe because Bravo works like clockwork, the new season always premieres about 13 months from the previous season. And so with it being May and no previews for the new season premiering on Bravo, I realized something had to be up. And so I did a little research (Or perhaps an article popped up in front of me) that said that RHONYC was just beginning to film because producers wanted more film of the ladies in the Hamptons in hopes of garnering more viewership, apparently people didn't care for winter in NYC. I must say that I agree, I do miss the days of seeing everyone's Hamptons home in the summer, the bright colors of their bathing suit cover ups and their dogs frolicking on the beach. I really didn't care to see the darkness of the clothes and the dreary city in the winter. And so I shall wait for summer NYC to appear on my television this coming winter (or so I assume).

But as we wait why not reminisce over some of the fashion of the show. Let's be honest, while some of these ladies are a little too old to be adhering to the trends of  youngsters, some of their styles were still pretty... pretty. Yes, even Ramona had some moments.

I love Heather's first impression dress on the show at a cocktail party Sonja throws. It's laid back, yet corseted to bring up the glam factor. And I love her hair and make-up with this outfit. I would wear it! Do they sell it at Old Navy? 

Remember the Morocco trip from hell where there was constant impromptu arguments which thanks to Alex, was outed as faux-arguments to garner face time. (Come on, are you telling me that Kelly telling Alex that Santa Claus ruined her henna "tatoo" wasn't staged? Oh, it wasn't?) Regardless of the horrible acting, the  colors and sparkles of their authentic garb was beautiful. Sonja's was my favorite. With the makeup and the scarf around the neck, gorgeous! 

While some did not understand the need for a 17 year anniversary vow renewal (Ahem, Jill Zarin. And Ramona's daughter, but that's ok, teenagers are supposed to question with an eye roll everything their parents do), Ramona's dress  is still beautiful. It's something very trendy that I could see a young, 20 something would wear. It's absolutely stunning, feathers and all. And Avery looks beautiful in that dress and with those long waves.

Remember the season one finale dinner where Ramona showed up an hour late much to the dismay of Jill? Her Barbie-pagentesque attire was a bit over the top (Even Jill's daughter Allie commented on it to Ramona's daughter Avery. Oh those youngin's pulling a Fashion Police on their moms!) and Alex's alleged famous designer blouse and skirt was sadly worn. It almost made an appearance at the Pamela Roland fashion show, but thankfully Bethenny had a hook up so the two were able to wear the designer's actual designs. Unfortunate for us, no such hook up was made for the finale dinner. (I know, it's sad that I recall such details.)

Alex redeemed herself in what I believe was season three where she walked some kind of purple catwalk and only Ramona showed up with her friend who was supposed to only say hello to Alex and leave but then decided to sit front row and watch, probably because she was unaware that cameras were going to be there and once she saw them she needed some face time. Anyways, this dress is absolutely stunning! I love the color and sparkles, but I think it needs to be taken in a bit around the hips.

As pretentious as she often comes across, I definitely adore Luann's style. She's chic and sophisticated and knows how to dress her age. You won't catch her in booty shorts or cleavage baring tops, conservative is usually the way she rolls. I loved this gray sweater wrap dress she was trying on with Kelly  when the two went shopping. It was very Luann and very conservative, love. But where is that statement piece she always perfects her outfits with? 

And here's Luann looking put together again at the season two reunion, wearing a gorgeous dress in a bright color with her trademark one shoulder style. And can we all appreciate how well Bethenny and Jill also look? I hate to say it, but I feel that Jill's style identity is suffering from dissociative identity disorder, one day she's channeling Madonna with the long extensions and top ponytail while on What What Happens Live and the next day she's in the Hamptons in an ugly Pucci cover up, but at this season two reunion show she had it right. The hair had curls, the dress was conservative yet trendy and her screeching voice actually didn't hit falsetto status.

Now this is a statement only Carol Radziwell could make, a long sleeved, short pant unitard in black to an event where she is meeting all the Housewives for the first time. Oddly enough, it works on her petite frame, but don't get any ideas, Jill Zarin.

I know, another Luann. So don't look at the hair or the expression, but I love the conservative one shoulder green dress. The necklace is ok, but I love the attempt at a chunky piece draped over a solid covered dress. 

I know that the photo on the left is actually from Bethheny Ever After (moment of silence for the broken relationship), but I would love to wear that outfit. I don't even like the reptile skin style, but that purse goes with the outit! I love a crisp, white oxford blouse and to turn it into a nighttime look? It doesn't get any better! 

As I was going through the pictures I realized that I miss the camaraderie of Jill and Bethenny, the slightly obnoxiousnes of Ramona and the wealth and etiquette of the Countess. And then I remembered how the whole show went into flames thanks to the burgeoning egos of the cast members and I didn't care for the last season too much. Hopefully the long hiatus will help revive of the show, if not at least we still have the fashion to appreciate, because that really is the backbone of the show. You don't see these ladies wearing sweatshirts from their alma mater with matching sweat pants, do you? 

Images

Cast photo

Individual photos are linked to names within the article.

The Met Gala: Punk Rock's Attempt at Going Glam

The Met Gala's formal name, The Costume Institute Gala, is the annual gala that marks the opening of the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute. The Costume Institute is an exhibit that houses historical costumes, jewelry and other fashion paraphernalia. All of the money raised by the shindig goes straight to the Costume Institute. (Thus by dressing up in attire that probably costs triple the amount of your ticket is like spending money for a good cause, right?) The event is hosted by Vogue magazine (thus the reason why the editor's, Anna Wintour, devilish smile is plastered all over the red carpet) and brings out all the celebrities and high rolling wannabe celebrities who love fashion. It's an atmosphere in which people go balls to the walls with their love of fashion. There doesn't appear to be a lot of conventional restraint, ideas are picked straight from the runaway and put to the museum, which is why a lot of the looks make no sense. (Images of Madonna in her bunny eared ensemble from the 2009 Met Gala come to mind.)

Each year the Met Gala (or Met Ball, whichever you prefer to call it) has a theme that coincides with the exhibit at the Costume Institute. For 2013, the exhibit that is being unveiled is entitled, "Punk: Chaos to Couture." Color me fashionably ignorant, but I was unaware that punk went couture. If you mean by Kristen Stewart wearing Givenchy and her Converse shoes on the red carpet, I would not consider that couture.

And so the celebrities brought out their full on fashion sense (or maybe their stylist's fashion sense) channeling their interpretation of punk. I must say, after reading the theme of the night, now I see why I was highly unimpressed with the looks of the night. While there were some highlights, those highlights didn't follow the theme of the night, so which is more appropriate? Ugly and following theme or chic but clashing? All too reminiscent of Porsha pickle on Real Housewives of Atlanta where she was asked to dress as Halle Berry from BAPS to some party but chose another ensemble, she looked sleek but did not adhere to the rules. (Did I really just use a metaphor from one of the only Bravo shows I don't like and rarely watch? I did)

Regardless of whether they followed the rules, lets just check out how punk couture is interpreted.

I was accepting Beyonce's take on punk, until I noticed the thigh high boots matched the dress. No. No. And no. If she were in some black stilettos I could have even accepted the belt, but those shoes ruined the whole outfit. 

 

All was good until Sarah Jessica Parker showed up in a synthetic mohawk. I actually think the dress is beautiful, but the boots (or are those tights?) and of course the obvious gold mohawk. 

Did I miss the matching dress and shoe memo? I want to say it's hideous, a la Beyonce, but I kind of like the shoes! (Hmm, following in the steps of your baby daddy's best friend's wife only to fit in with the A-list crowd? I don't know what was more high school there, Kim Kardashian's attempts at said theory or just said theory.)  And I must say, I actually like the style of the dress (minus the turtleneck) it's just far too Sound of Music making a dress out of curtains. And it's quite the antithesis of punk.

Madonna really takes the theme literally, no? This is punk with a bit of contradiction in the shoes. Ugly, but following the rules. 

Jessica Biel is starting to become one of my style icons, who know Mary Camden had quite the fashionista 

hidden under all that tomboy basketball attire? This is a great way of taking trendy styles and merging it in with punk. Quite possibly my favorite of the night!

Absolutely not, Hannah Montana, absolutely not. Badly bleached spiked blonde hair was last seen on Lance Bass circa 1999, and at the time it was considered frosted tips.

 This is not allowed on a female in 2013, it just looks bad. The dress fits the requisite theme along with the contrasting lipstick, so I'll give you a pass on that. 

Taylor Swift does an amazing job of representing punk couture, it's a gorgeously chic gown that has that certain edge to make it funky. She follows the theme without losing her own fashion identity. And how beautiful does she look with her hair pulled out of her eyes highlighting her smoky eyes? Love. 

Katy Perry, you obviously wore this outfit to garner attention, well here you have it, served in a tiffin. You do not look punk and the crown does not make you regal. Next! 

Punk couture is Kelly Osbourne's life. This dress is a perfect fit to her, it actually looks like something she would wear to any event. I kind of the dig the yellow juxtaposed to the black, but I don't care for the beehive. 

I love Katie Holmes's dress! Now, before you question my judgement, hear me out. Firstly, I love white halter gowns and this fits the bill. A long train is something you can only pull off at your wedding and the Met Gala. And, the shredded train is her bit of punk for the night. Did I say love yet? 

Ginnifer Goodwin's make-up is called taking a theme too far. The dress is ok, ho-hum. Fits the theme, but could go elsewhere as well. I'm sorry, I just can't take my eyes off those eyes.

As obnoxious as Giselle Bundchen is (Recall her comment about formula fed babies about three years ago? If not, I'll save you the annoyance.), she really melds together punk fashion but still staying true to her own fashion sense. I love the hair, dress and shoes. Now I hang my head in shame. 

What are you doing, Gwenyth? That color screams Golden Globes, not Met Gala. Do you think because there is a see through section in the dress it's punk? The controversial dress she work to the Iron Man 3 premiere was much more fitting for this event than this Pepto Bismol dress. 

I can't even acknowledge the dress because it's hard to look past that hair! Is it supposed to be punk because it looks a lot more Mama's Family to me. Wait, wait, looking at the dress I actually adore it! The color, the print, the style. Not so punk, but maybe that's why Nicole Richie colored her hair since she really wanted to wear the dress? 

Ashley Greene, I think this is more goth than punk. No, don't ask me to decipher between the two, I can't. For goth, I actually kind of dig it. Makes me think of something one of the extras wore on the set of Toni Braxton's video for "How Could an Angel Break My Heart."

Now Sienna Miller's ensemble truly depicts Punk: Chaos to Couture. I love the white dress with the badass jacket on top. The contradiction of gentle vs intense is beautifully highlighted, but I wouldn't have opted for the hair piece.

The only thing punk about Emmy Rossum's look is her smoky eye. With that being said I absolutely love this dress. It's edgy with the bit of see through yet soft with the color. Gorgeous! Not too punk, but who cares!

This is not really punk, but it's definitely something one would wear to the Met Gala because I don't think it would be too fitting to wear anyone else. Shh, as crazy as the feathers are (are those feathers?) I think the fit is great for Blake Lively.

There were so many looks of the night and I could keep going, but I have two children sleeping which means a chance to sit and watch my recording of The Mindy Project! (What, did you expect me to say Bravo?)

While many of the looks were pretty outrageous, I love that it's such a barrage of different interpretations of one theme. This isn't the Grammys or Oscars, there is no governing body setting restraints on what to wear (Ahem, Grammys 2013). There doesn't appear to be much conformity, in fact to not conform is to conform. In essence it is a costume ball, but more avant garde and less Halloween. And this picky pseudo-fashion blogger can truthfully say that she appreciates the abstract styles, but only for the Met Gala, lets get back to conformity come Emmy's, people! 

Images
The Met Gala banner
Madonna
Celebrity images linked to their name within the article.