By Tim Nudd

05/07/2013 at 11:10 AM EDT

Anne Hathaway and Nicole Richie

Kevin Mazur/WireImage; Splash News Online

It takes a lot to stand out in a crowd like the one that gathered Monday night in New York for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s lavish Costume Institute Gala.

But if the competition was fierce, so too were many of the looks – from the dresses to the accoutrements to (of course) the hair.

If you missed any of the festivities, see below for our recap of five highlights from one of the most fashionable nights on the calendar.

5. Tiger Woods & Lindsey Vonn’s Red Carpet Debut

What better place for this sporting super couple to make their first public appearance together? Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn were all smiles as they arrived at the gala, with Vonn looking gorgeous in a cream-colored gown with two high slits in the front and her hair slicked back into a ponytail.

4. Kim Kardashian’s Floral Dress

How did Kim Kardashian celebrate the thaw in her relations with Vogue‘s Anna Wintour at her first-ever Met Gala? With a custom Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci outfit, featuring a floral printed jersey, turtleneck and matching gloves and shoes – a fascinating choice by the soon-to-be mom.

3. Anne Hathaway’s Haute Couture

Anne Hathaway turned in one of the night’s great dress-and-hair combos, with a sexy black gown from Valentino’s 1992 archives perfectly framing her newly blonde locks – a supremely classy look worth of an Oscar winner.

2. Sarah Jessica Parker’s Faux-hawk

If you go with the faux-hawk, you have to own it – and Sarah Jessica Parker certainly did with her custom “Punk Couture hat” from famed milliner Philip Treacy. (“I feel incredibly fortunate that it’s in my custody and care,” she said.) Rounding out her fabulous look: a striking Giles Deacon dress, Louboutin thigh-high tartan boots and Fred Leighton jewelry.

1. Nicole Richie’s Spray-Painted Silver Hair

The eerily cool look of the night was turned in by Nicole Richie, with her up-combed pompadour spray-painted gray that popped against her bronze skin and dark wine lips. Paired with an elegant, embroidered white gown with a high neck, this was one silver that took gold.

View the story “Met Gala: The Best Pics of the Night” on Storify