After attendees struggled to interpret the whole “punk” thing at last year’s Met Ball, you’d think this May’s Charles James–themed edition would be infinitely easier for the fashion and celebrity sets. Got a sweeping gown? Congratulations, you’re pretty much ready.
Male guests, however, may find outfit prep to be a tad trickier. According to WWD, the dress code calls for “White Tie and Decorations.” If you don’t have your fop-to-English dictionary handy, “white tie” translates to “full evening dress — a black tailcoat, waistcoat, a wing collar shirt and a white bow tie,” per the paper.
But what are we to make of the “decorations” stipulation? Are men expected to deck themselves out in strange pieces of flair? “Decorations could come in the shape of lapel pins, from bronze stars to awards and more creative flights of fancy,” says WWD. Guys, good luck figuring that out, and, on behalf of women everywhere who struggle with woefully worded dress codes (“summer casual?” “barbecue formal?” “grown-sexy?”), welcome to the club.
