2008: Badgley Mischka
Ah, the days when Taylor Swift was a Country Blonde. This dress was, in her Fugstory, one of the first major fashion statements where she was inching away from cutesy. The gold is gorgeous, and while I can't decide how I feel about the three-tone ombre nature of it, certainly it's visually arresting. And for a debut Met Gala, truly pretty damn good. The theme was the link between fashion and superheroes, and this DOES look also potentially armored, without being super literal. Well done.
2010: Ralph Lauren
This theme was "American Woman," which... snore. And snoring, appropriately, is also something you can do in this dress, which is basically little more than a nightgown. It's not a HEINOUS one, but it's still a bit slight and unimaginative for the Costume Institute's night of nights.
2011: J. Mendel
This was the "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" year. And it DOES look bit like her dress got savaged. I think a dinosaur that only eats fabric took a bite out of her side.
2011: J. Mendel
The black lace risks looking gangrenous.
2013: J. Mendel
Ah, I recall this Met Ball. I was in Germany visiting my sister, nine or so hours ahead of Los Angeles and thus six ahead of New York, and Jessica and I were on a very delicate tightrope trying to cover everything without repeating each other. The theme was punk, and a lot of people punted. This, for example, feels more like it could pass muster in the fashion/superheroes one. it's a great, dramatic garment on her -- she was tiptoeing closer to the edge, or just edge, here -- but I'm not sure she looked super punk. The deconstructed-looking one from 2011 fit the theme better in a way; maybe Swifty is a time-traveler who just mixed up her dates a lot.
2014: Oscar de la Renta
This is one of those dresses I WANTED to be transported by, but a) OdlR sent out two or three other AMAZING gowns that year on other people (Karlie being one of them; they arrived together); and b) this is a weird hybrid of a bridesmaid's dress and a wedding gown, and c) arriving with your friend means you can't lie down in the limo and WHOOPS suddenly your dress is an accordion.
Taylor Swift
Messy.
Taylor Swift
Yeah, it just... it's fun to look at, just to try and sort out the construction of it, but I don't find it alluring so much as perplexing.