And the purse gave Blake the strength she needed for fashion’s biggest night. 

"I'm shy too, I just like to have my kids with me,” she explained. “I probably could've fit them under my dress to be honest."

Of course, Blake is no stranger to the Met. In addition to filming many Gossip Girl scenes on the museum's famed staircase, she's been a staple at its annual ball since 2008, when she made her debut in a black feathery design from Ralph Lauren for that year's "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy"-themed affair.

Since then, she has only upped her fashion game and transformed—quite literally—into a style icon before our very eyes. Most notably, when she co-chaired the 2022 Met Gala's "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" bash alongside Ryan, Blake turned heads in a Versace Atelier gown that changed from metallic copper to mint green to represent the patina on the Statue of Liberty.

In fact, the look was so iconic that it ended up being featured at Kensington Palace's Crown to Couture exhibition. And when Blake went to visit her dress, she couldn't help but to play stylist once again, hopping over the rope cordoning off the display to perfect the way the skirt fell.

 "This was absolutely surreal," she wrote on her Instagram Story at the time. "I still feel like a kid playing dress up every time I get to wear a gown and borrowed jewels out."

Blake added, "To see it memorialized like this... just. Wow. Something I'll never forget."

And for more show-stopping outfits from this year's Met Gala, keep reading.