INTO: Dee Hilfiger’s Drop Dead Gorgeous Moment at the Met Gala

Denise Richards wears a mini Mount Rushmore in “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” 1999.

“Into” is a series dedicated to objects, artworks, garments, exhibitions, and all orders of things that we are into — and there really isn’t a lot more to it than that. Today: Our Senior Market Editor, Sarah Brody, reflects on Dee Hilfiger’s all-American moment at the 2019 Met Gala. 

I’m into Dee Hilfiger’s 2019 Met Gala look because she is, quite literally, dressed as the American flag. And more importantly, her ensemble clearly draws inspiration from none other than 1999’s cult classic, Drop Dead Gorgeous (or, “DDG” for the real heads). The iconic film, which I proudly own on both DVD and VHS, is a “mockumentary” about an all-American themed beauty pageant set in God-fearing, rural Minnesota. The participants in the Sarah Rose Cosmetics Mount Rose American Teen Princess Pageant take the stage in a parade of USA-inspired wears — star and stripes in every conceivable combination. Twenty years later, on the first Monday in May, Hilfiger presented herself as the most perfect combination of the film’s main characters, Amber Atkins (Kirsten Dunst) and Rebecca ‘Becky’ Leeman (Denise Richards). While she didn’t sport a homemade Mount Rushmore headpiece or come accompanied by a life-sized Jesus Christ on a cross (Tommy Hilfiger, her husband, escorted her), Dee’s red-and-white fringed bolero and thigh-high striped boots were nothing short of show-stopping accessories done with all-American elan. Winning over the judges with a look worthy for any evening gown competition, Dee would have totally nabbed the crown over Becky Leeman, surpassed her fellow contestants at State, and strolled all the way to Nationals.