How much do Met Gala dresses cost? Kim Kardashian's latest red carpet look left us curious

How much do Met Gala dresses cost? Unsurprisingly, the price tags are as hefty as the event is glamorous. 

In 2022, we had plenty to ogle: Simone Ashley's Met Gala look gave off Bridgerton vibes while Gigi Hadid basically swam in the maroon parka that hid her Versace corset. And the Blake Lively Met Gala ensemble proves she's the only one who actually followed directions and listened to this year's theme (the Gilded Age). 

But when Kim K hit the red carpet, naturally, all attention diverted towards the reality star. In 2022, she wore one of the most iconic looks in pop culture history, and needless to say, plenty of questions abounded. 

How much do Met Gala dresses cost?

You've likely heard that Kim Kardashian revived Marilyn Monroe's "Happy Birthday Mr. President" dress from the 60s—yes, the actual dress—lost 16 pounds in two weeks to fit into it—which stirred quite the controversy—and received a lock of Monroe's hair from the dress's owners at Ripley's Believe It Or Not. 

Considering no one besides the iconic Monroe wore the piece, it's pretty significant to take it out for a joy ride on fashion's biggest event of the year. Oh, and did we mention the dress—donned with 2,500 crystals—is worth roughly $4.8 million? It's literally the most expensive dress ever sold at auction. 

So...where does that leave everyone else?

Back in 2013, The Cut did some digging to uncover how much attendees drop on their evening garb, most of which is comped for A-listers. At the time, the outlet noted that dresses range anywhere from $5,000 to $35,000. Various outlets from Yahoo Finance to Business Insider agree with these figures, even nine years later.

Though nothing can compare to Monroe's dress, that's still quite a significant figure. Have a look at some other prices that made our jaw drop. 

A few jaw-dropping figures

Blake Lively's 2018 look

It's no surprise Lively was asked to co-host the 2022 event, she's a star pupil. In 2018, she donned a red Versace gown that  consisted of $2 million worth of Lorraine Schwartz jewelry, per Business Insider. But the real accomplishment here is that she made her $5 mani look glam—nail trends we should reference for the future. 

J. Lo's 2019 look

Although the singer and actress' hair was completely covered in crystals, it was the nearly 300,000 necklace that turned heads, per Business Insider.

Jared Leto's 2019 look

It's not every day people bring replicas of their heads to events, but Jared Leto's $11,000 2019 Met Gala accessory was an exception. (Honestly, it's pretty uncanny!)

Tickets run up to $48,000 (roughly) and tables can cost up to $500,000, so at this point, no price tag can truly surprise us. 

If you wanted to relieve the fun moments from fashion's Super Bowl, have a look at the most memorable Met Gala fashion moments and Met Gala 2022 memes—all for free!

(If you were curious about Kim, she changed into a replica dress shortly after appearing on the red carpet, and garment conservationists, appraisers and archivists assured the OG dress remains in tact.)