The secret fashion detail we all missed in Blake Lively’s red carpet outfit

Blake Lively at the Met Gala

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The secret fashion detail we all missed in Blake Lively’s red carpet outfit

By Kayleigh Dray

7 years ago

Blake Lively’s Met Gala 2018 outfit contained a beautiful (and secret) tribute to the people she loves most… 

Blake Lively has form when it comes to iconic fashion moments: after all, the actress shot to fame in the wardrobe-filled world of Gossip Girl

However, she truly outdid herself at this year’s Met Gala, donning an ornate Versace gown that took over 600 hours to make. Think bejewelled straps, sheer paneling, incredibly detailed embroidery and a crimson train to rival the length of the red carpet itself.

With so much detail to coo over, though, fashion fans failed to notice a key message hidden in Lively’s ensemble.

We’re talking, of course, about her handbag.

Unlike previous years, Lively was not joined at the event by her husband, Ryan Reynolds, who is on tour promoting Deadpool 2.

Instead, she arrived with Christian Louboutin and Reed Morano, the director of The Handmaids Tale – yet the actress arranged for Reynolds and her family to be present with her on the day.

Her clutch purse, an exclusive custom design by Judith Leiber ,was covered in tiny, multi-coloured rhinestones. The front, in keeping with the gala’s theme of Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, depicted classic ‘sacred heart’ iconography behind a veiled woman.

The back, though, told a very different story. Looking for all the world like a medieval family crest, it featured a scroll reading “Reynolds”. And, emblazoned across the centre, was a bejewelled cross – each of the four points of which were the letters B, R, J, and I.

As in, yes, the first initials of each member of the Reynolds-Lively family: Blake, Ryan and their daughters, James and Ines. 

Of course, Reynolds attended last year’s Met Gala with Lively in person, and the high-profile couple were approached by the Humans of New York photo project.

When asked about their relationship, Reynolds made a point of sharing the important life lesson his wife has taught him over the years.

“She always responds with empathy,” he said. “She meets anger with empathy.”

The actor continued: “She meets hate with empathy. She’ll take the time to imagine what happened to a person when they were five or six years old. And she’s made me a more empathetic person.”

Reynolds added: “I had a very fractured relationship with my father. Before he died, she made me remember things I didn’t want to remember.

“She made me remember the good times.”

Image: Getty

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