We, and nearly every fashion writer, blogger or fan who could attend, said that the “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” exhibit at the MET was worth seeing no matter what. It seems many of you were listening, and not even a fashion superhero could challenge a retrospective on the late designer’s legacy.

With nearly a week left, the New York Times is reporting that the showing set an attendance record for a fashion exhibition with 582,000 people attending as of Sunday night. The previous record was held by the 2008 “Superheroes: Fashion Fantasy” exhibition which attracted 576,000 attendees. The MET is planning to keep the exhibit open until midnight on August 6th and 7th – the two final days.

In more McQueen news, the designer’s will was recently made public and it was revealed that McQueen left £50,000 for the care of his dogs – the same amount he left to each of his housekeepers, nieces and nephews. An animal lover to the end, two separate UK animal charities also received £100,000 donations from McQueen’s estate. The bulk of his £16 million (approximately $25 million) fortune, however, will go to his own charity which the designer asked to use towards scholarships at his alma mater, Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design. {the Independent}

He broke boundaries when he was alive, broke hearts with his death, but there seems to be no limit to the number of people Alexander McQueen continues to inspire and touch from beyond.

A few words to describe the experience at Savage Beauty: Alexander McQueen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art this weekend: Hot. Crowded. Worth the trip, no matter what.

Vogue UK is reporting this morning that the McQueen exhibit is the Costume Instituteâ€s most popular ever at the MET with 5,100 people showing up on opening day, and @WorldMcQueen tweeted that the MET reported a record 43,000+ visitors to the exhibit in less than a week. We certainly believe it.

We got to the museum around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and headed straight for the special exhibit, which was unveiled at the Costume Institute Gala last Monday and opened to the public May 4, making this the first weekend ordinary folks could visit it. On reaching the entrance the crowding was apparent, but there was no line. However, upon exiting the Savage Beauty exhibit about 90 minutes later, a 45 minute-long line had formed and was snaking its way throughout the European paintings.

Savage Beauty will remain at the MET until July 31, so if youâ€re really not into the idea of a potential long wait, holding off for a few weeks might be a good idea. Weâ€re of the opinion, however, that this special exhibit is worth the 45 minute line.

McQueenâ€s pieces possess a certain magic, and being in the presence of his work had a goose-bump inducing effect, particularly in one of the multiple rooms of the exhibit which contained mounted television screens running clips of some of McQueenâ€s most memorable shows like “What a Merry Go Round” and, our personal favorite, “Itâ€s Only a Game.” Seeing the “Armadillo” shoes and several looks from “Platoâ€s Atlantis” was also amazing. You can truly appreciate McQueenâ€s attention to detail and perfect execution when viewing his work in person. We couldâ€ve stared at some of the pieces for hours without becoming bored.

The exit from the exhibit included a Savage Beauty gift shop with all of the expected memorabilia including Savage Beauty T-shirts and wall calendars. Also available was a catalogue by Andrew Bolton, which can also be purchased online in addition to a commemorative skull scarf (for $495, of course).

If we had one gripe regarding Savage Beauty, it would be the banshee music in the second room. The exhibit consisted of multiple rooms, and in each the different music was appropriately haunting and set the tone perfectly. In room two, however, the music consisted of a repeated banshee howl, which was actually a bit corny and somewhat annoying as movement through the exhibit slowed with the growing crowd. One other minor inconvenience: no pictures are allowed. It’s an understandable rule, but still disappointing that the museum docents were strict about enforcing it.

Surprisingly, the large number of visitors to the exhibit doesnâ€t fall into the category of pitfalls. Though the crowd had its annoyances, it was actually an additional fascination. So many different types of people were there, from fashion types to mothers and their kids, groups of girlfriends and a few older groups. It was at once surprising and refreshing to see such varied and large interest in a fashion exhibit, since it often seems widespread interest in fashion is restricted to shopping.

Bottom line: no matter who you are or how much knowledge of or interest in fashion you have, Savage Beauty is worth the trip to the MET. Get yourself there. ASAP.

Exhibition renderings by Joseph Bennett via the Metropolitan Museum of Art Blog

Stella McCartney in Stella McCartney

Do you remember your elementary school diorama project where you cut a hole in a box and dropped in figurines? This is like that, but with a nice pair of legs in place of the figurines. The oddly bulky top doesn’t help either, and as gorgeous as a lot of the attendees looked in Stella McCartney, we’re really not sure about the designer’s own fashion diorama.

Carolyn Murphy in Tom Ford

Granted, it’s the Costume Institue Gala, but this purple ensemble would be more at home on a theater stage or the costume rack for Burlesque. Tom Ford is pretty much the best accessory anyone could have, but between the weird tassel neckpiece and our feeling that Carolyn Murphy is making a silent prayer not to have a wardrobe malfunction – that strap is clinging for dear life – this really should have been left in a wardrobe trailer.

Frieda Pinto in Chanel

Everyone in fashion loves Karl Lagerfeld, but this is an homage too far.

Christina Hendricks in Carolina Herrera

Sigh. Christina Hendricks is absolutely gorgeous, this giant rust stain is absolutely not. We’re going to imagine Christina Hendricks in the nude for completely sartorial reasons.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in Burberry

We know Duchess Catherine has kicked off a bit of a trend with sleeves, but we just can’t with these extra shiny, slouchy gauntlet/arm warmer combos.

Kristin Stewart in Proenza Schouler

At an event celebrating a designer who was known for his skill in tailoring, we just can’t get over these frumpty dump dresses, and this one is no exception.

Julianna Margulies in Narciso Rodriguez

Since we’ve established by now that we’re not feeling the baggy bodices, we’ll continue directly to the side cutouts. If there’s anything that can make a designer gown look like a prom dress you’ll be embarrassed to be seen in 10 years down the road, it’s side cutouts. They’re so miss or miss (really, the hits can probably be tallied on one hand, with a few fingers remaining), and particularly so on this dress. Again, gorgeous woman, who should not have been subjected to this ruffled baggy crop top monstrosity.

Serena Williams in feathers & Demi Moore in Prabal Gurung

Dear Ms. Williams and Ms. Moore, the event you’re looking for was across the Atlantic, and it ended a few days ago.