What to do instead of extreme dieting to get into an old dress for 5 minutes on social media: tips for Kim K

CW: mention of extreme dieting.

In case you’re not a big Met Gala red carpet fan (don’t judge me; it’s a way to avoid end-of-term grading), Kim Kardashian (who I still can’t figure out why she’s a celebrity) showed up wearing a dress of Marilyn Monroe’s. She wore it for a few minutes– long enough for selfies seen ’round the world– and then changed into an identical dress for the rest of the evening.

This was a very elaborate and expensive publicity stunt, which I think is Kim Kardashian’s stock in trade. That’s not why I’m bringing this to your attention. Rather, it’s the fact that this stunt involved very extreme weight-loss methods in order to fit into a fragile 60-year-old dress for less than 10 minutes– basically long enough to pose and ascend the stairs at the Met Gala. I won’t post anything about those methods, but you can read more about it in the Teen Vogue article.

In my view, Ms. Kardashian was ill-advised in her desire for attention on the Met Gala. Had she asked for my input, there are lots of other ways she could’ve drawn attention to herself without doing potential damage to her body and encouraging lots of women and girls to do the same:

1.Ms. Kardashian could have set up a sewing machine and table to sew a one-minute dress, put it on and strut up those stairs. Yes, it’s possible– check it out here:

2.If Kim didn’t want to go to all the trouble of sewing, but wanted to make an impression, she could’ve taken tips from these folks, who certainly went all-out for the Met Gala too, but didn’t worry about fitting into too-tight clothing:

Honestly, a great hat can really spruce up an otherwise-ordinary outfit. Had Kim’s people done their research, they would have found these examples to help turn the spotlight on their client:

My fashion take-away: there are so many fun and elegant and whimsical and hilarious ways to go all-out for special occasions. Why focus on clothing that doesn’t fit in the first place (which isn’t your fault or the clothing’s fault)? Imagination and a little courage can send us all out there into the world and onto whatever red carpets or boardrooms or conferences or galas with panache.

I don’t currently have any fancy dos on my agenda. Do you, dear readers? What do you wear when the dress code is schmancy? I welcome your advice.