Gorgeous Gong Li at the Met Gala

I’m happy to see Chinese actress Gong Li looking stunning as always at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute gala tonight.

She is one of the co-chairs of the event, which marks the opening of the spring fashion exhibit, called “China: Through the Looking Glass.” I love that she combined what appear to be sapphire and emerald earrings with her “Marsala” gown by Roberto Cavalli.

People tend to be shy about combining colors, but jewel tones often look good with other jewel tones. (When I wore a Marsala-hued Zang Toi gown this January, I accessorized with my turquoise skull ring.) From what I can see in tonight’s photos, Gong Li is just wearing one ring tonight … diamonds, perhaps? From a jewelry designer’s perspective, I’m sad she didn’t keep going with the richly colored gems. I think my Empress Wu dragon ring with the lapis lazuli globe in its mouth could have worked well with those earrings.

Coincidentally, last week I spent hours online watching clips from Gong Li’s movies, totally unrelated to the Met Gala. I had been sorting through a big folder of mementos when I found my December 2005 invitation to the New York premiere of Memoirs of a Geisha.

In Geisha, Gong played the bitchy senior geisha, Hatsumomo. She gives great bitch!

Gong Li (right) and Ziyi Zhang in Memoirs of a Geisha, via IMDB.

She really is one of my all-time favorite actresses and I would watch her in practically anything. There’s a saying that a great actor can read a phone book and still hold the audience’s attention; I would watch Gong Li read a phone book in Mandarin.

If you want to have yourself a Gong film festival, I recommend Red Sorghum (1987), Raise the Red Lantern (1991), The Story of Qiu Ju (1992), Farewell My Concubine (1993), and Temptress Moon (1996). Most of these movies are pretty traumatic. Keep tissues, alcohol and comfort food at hand.

By the way, that clip above of Morgan Freeman reading the phone book is from a promotion for 2014’s The LEGO Movie. That had to be something to entertain the parents, right? Does anyone under the age of 10 know what a phone book is? Are phone books still being made? I haven’t seen one in years.

Anyway, I need to get back to the Met Gala red carpet to scout for my Best Dressed/Wear What You Want combo award winner. While Gong Li looks exquisite, my award is about recognizing extreme looks. I see Sarah Jessica Parker in a big headdress. She’s going to be the one to beat!