The Met Gala is fashion's biggest night out of the year, but there are some very strict rules guests must follow if they want to be invited back to the star-studded event
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Celebrities will be busy getting ready for the Met Gala 2023, with the main event now just hours away.
The star-studded red carpet promises to bring glitz, glamour and extravagant outfits as fashion's biggest night out of the year returns on Monday with the theme Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.
While guests never fail to dazzle fans with their glamorous fashion, the high-profile event isn't as wild a party as it might seem.
In fact, there are several strict rules guests must abide by if they want to be invited back to the Met Gala.
From an age restriction to phone-free zones, here are five of the most unexpected rules at the fashion extravaganza.
No selfie rule
It may be hard to believe, but celebrities aren't allowed to take a photograph of themselves to remember the special event.
In 2015, it was announced that the use of social media would be prohibited at the Met Gala in order to stop celebrities spending the majority of the evening on their phones.
It's hoped the rule will help people to be present at the event.
A notice sent to guests that year said: "The use of phones for photography and social media will not be permitted inside the gala."
However, the no-selfie rule has been famously broken several times since, including Kylie Jenner's iconic bathroom selfie in 2017.
No smoking
In 2003, a ban on smoking indoors in New York City in places such as office buildings, bars and theatres was enforced by then-mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Despite this law being in place, a number of celebrities were photographed smoking in the bathroom at the Metropolitan Museum of Art during 2017's gala.
The stars spotted breaking the rules included Bella Hadid, Dakota Johnson and Marc Jacobs.
That same year, board members and donors expressed their dismay over guests smoking at the Met Gala, with one saying it was "disrespectful to the art collection".
The following year, guests were reminded that it was "illegal to smoke in the museum", with the invites reiterating the smoking ban.
Strict seating arrangements
Anna Wintour's Met Gala is meticulously planned and she knows exactly where she wants each guest to sit.
Plans for the seating arrangements begin in December, and there are strict rules when it comes to who celebs sit by.
The editor of Vogue likes to ensure celebrities can meet new people at her event and so spouses are usually sat apart from one another.
In the 2016 documentary The First Monday in May, director of special projects at Vogue Sylvana Ward Durrett explained that a lot of "power-brokering" goes into the seating plan.
"A lot of thought goes into who sits next to who, if they sat together last year, if they've sat next to each other at other events, so much goes into it, it's shocking," she explained.
She added: "The whole point of these things is to meet new people, and to be interested in what others are doing. What's the point if you come here to hang out with your husband?"
No under-18s
In 2018, the Met Gala adopted a new rule that under-18s were no longer allowed to attend.
The new restriction meant many celebrities missed out on an invitation, including the then 16-year-old dancer Maddie Ziegler.
"I can't go, because I'm not old enough," she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018, when asked whether she would be present on the red carpet.
A Met Gala spokesperson explained the decision to ban under-18s, saying: "It's not an appropriate event for people under 18."
Food bans
After gracing the Met Gala red carpet, guests are treated to a formal dinner.
However, the stars can't simply order anything they want.
According to The New York Post, certain food items are left off the menu at the request of Wintour herself.
A former Vogue employee let slip that parsley is on the list of no-go foods to avoid the risk of it getting stuck in guests' teeth.
Other ingredients on the banned list include onion and garlic to avoid any bouts of bad breath.
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