A Fabulous Fashion Frenzy

Selma BlairGetting dressed up is par for the course when you're invited to attend an evening celebrating couture. And when the party has been thrown to celebrate Chanel and sponsored by Chanel, it inevitably leads to a bit of a celeb stampede on Chanel.

So imagine the darlings' horror when they found the doors to the fashion house firmly closed in their faces ahead of the gala at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The company limited access to Chanel to committee members and hosts for the Costume Institute's ball...because designer Karl Lagerfeld preferred to see the celebs - or, at least, their personal shoppers - doing their own thing.

Elle MacphersonBarbara Cirkva, Chanel's executive vice president for fashion, said: "For the Met you don't want it looking like a commercial for Chanel. You want to see a variety of designers and dresses."

Of course, Chanel favourite Nicole Kidman got the opportunity to dress in a sleek Chanel LBD, as did Selma Blair and Ivanka Trump.

But other ladies flouncing up the red carpet in acres of silk, satin and taffeta - like Elle Macpherson, Jessica Simpson, Joely Richardson - were dressed personally by the couturiers who invited them.

Either way, we say lucky ladies - there's no such thing as over-dressing for an event like this so, what an opportunity to hit the dressing-up box.