The MET Gala’s theme this year was “white tie,” an extremely formal dress code—not that the NBA players, rappers and other celebrities in attendance paid too much attention. Here are the men who bucked the stuffiness of formality and showed us that they can break the rules in style.

Jay Z
The former minority owner of the Brooklyn Nets showed up wearing a white Givenchy tux, fresh off the rack (it was a last-minute decision). It came finished with white satin detail, which he contrasted with a subtly different texture in his black velvet derby shoes. As for the rest, he went full-on classic: plain black pants and silver cufflinks.

Amar’e Stoudemire
Stoudemire arrived with Alexis Welch beside him, sporting a darker-than-navy blue, one-button Lanvin tuxedo with wide peak lapels in a contrasting black. Perhaps just to show us that he could, he also brought along a silver cane matching his lapel pin.

Carmelo Anthony
While Anthony may be catching flack for this outfit on social media, there’s something to be said about ‘Melo’s penchant for going big or going home. Alongside his wife LaLa, Anthony rocked a three-piece accessorized with a bright red boutonniere, gold pocket chain and, of course, a top hat.

A$AP Rocky
Turns out rapper A$AP Rocky cleans up well. He broke the rules with a lengthy take on the classic tux, with tonal black satin lapels from one-stop rock-n-roll shop Topman. Note that he also eschewed a white tie (or any tie, for that matter) to make the dress code his own.

Victor Cruz
Many have tried, and many have failed where New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz has succeeded: pulling off sneaks with a suit. The perfect amount of white pocket square is echoed in the white soles of his Public School x The Generic Man kicks, while their patent leather upper camouflages their informal identity for the occasion.

Ryan Reynolds
Here’s another way to subtly subvert a black and white dress code: throw on a midnight blue velvet tux and an imperceptibly burgundy bowtie—the only thing giving away Reynolds’ outfit is the black tuxedo stripe up his pant leg. The smart actor also knows nothing goes better with midnight blue than a rose gold number on your arm, so cheers to that.

Andrew Garfield
After the last few MET Galas that saw stars outfitted in increasingly outrageous costumes, Garfield still managed to completely ignore the rules while looking every bit the part. His silver Band of Outsiders tux blazer with black lapels worked to his favour. Throwing on a large and loose three-inch butterfly bowtie finished the look with classic charm.

Chiwetel Ejiofor
The 12 Years A Slave actor may have done the best job breaking the unwritten rule that celebs can—and should—go rogue. Instead, Ejiofor attended sporting a white satin bowtie and a perfectly-tailored classic tux. If you look hard, the hook-and-eye clasp on his jacket makes the outfit that much more refined.

David Beckham
Becks pulled a reversal of the suggested rules by inverting his bowtie and tux colours. His all-white presentation mirrored his wife’s, and the choice of black and white striped pocket square is a nice touch. The morning after the party, Beckham flew straight to Florida to catch his pals on the Miami Heat facing the Brooklyn Nets in their first game of the series.