This Is Why Blake Lively Wasn’t at the Met Gala

There was so much star-studded fashion action at the Met Gala (Beyoncé’s sheer dress! Kim Kardashian’s sexy back action! Jennifer Lopez’s dragon!), but one person was noticeably missing: Met vet and Vogue darling Blake Lively. After her whirlwind Age of Adaline style parade, we were really excited to see what mega gown the actress saved for the annual fête. But she never hit the carpet. (Long sigh.)

So why was Lively missing? She’s globetrotting for work.

“Blake RSVP’d to Vogue a month ago and said she couldn’t make it,” her rep tells PEOPLE. “She is shooting back-to-back movies in China and Bangkok.”

Michael Simon/Startraks; Courtesy Blake Lively

An image surfaced Monday of Blake in N.Y.C. promoting Age of Adaline, which got us excited that she might show up at the gala. It turns out, the photos are from an earlier appearance. But we couldn’t help but notice that she pulled a re-wear — a very rare occurrence for the stylish star. Lively showed two different ways of styling a Lindsey Thornburg floral top, which is available on her website Preserve.

The trendsetter wore it as a set with the matching skirt while promoting Age of Adaline, but she also sported the tie-front topper with a pair of high-waisted jeans and ankle booties for a more daytime look (and one of the best #OOTD photos we’ve see on Instagram).

RELATED PHOTOS: Every gorgeous look from Blake Lively’s Age of Adaline tour!

Religious Blake style spotters know that the designer is a new favorite for the star — she wore two different dresses by the label on her 72-hour fashion-packed promo tour, for which she called in more than 200 looks.

“Once upon a time, this was supposed to be a two-week press trip,” Lively told PEOPLE. “But then life happened, and I had a baby, and suddenly I needed to condense two weeks of promotional appearances into two days. Seriously: two days. So I changed the timeline, just not the wardrobe.”

The star, who said she uses her sister Robyn as a fit model, also curates all her own looks.

“I started planning for this back in February. I selected easily over 500 looks from Style.com, various runways and even some past collections. I wound up calling in 256 outfits,” she shared. “If I had a stylist I’d just book one whole day of fittings, but instead I had to cram it in wherever I could. And in the end, I couldn’t even do all of it.”

Did you miss Blake on the Met Gala red carpet? What do you think of her latest Preserve style find? Sound off below.

RELATED VIDEO: Blake Lively’s 11 Looks in One Day

–Brittany Talarico