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Has anyone ever noticed that aside from all of the high stakes (pun intended) drama on The CW's hit series The Vampire Diaries, what's really cool about the show is all of the insanely gorgeous clothing? Seriously, how are the high schoolers and college kids able to afford so many ridiculously high-class, expensive ball gowns? Teach me your ways, guys. And why is the town of Mystic Falls obsessed with throwing so many different parties for these kids to wear said expensive clothing? I'm so jealous. But instead of dwelling on things that I cannot change, why not just relish and enjoy all the fashion, namely, Elena's epic Vampire Diaries gowns?

From the annual Founder's day events to all of the new balls and parties that Whittmore college throws on a regular basis, Elena and her friends (and sometimes her enemies) get the chance to wear amazing dresses all the time, and most of the time they are on point — I still have dreams about some of these ball gowns and I am being one hundred percent serious. While the show itself may test my brain with twists and turns and plenty of crazy little details, there's always the easy-on-the-eyes flip side: the fashion.

So in honor of Mystic Falls' many grand celebrations and events, I've ranked the many amazing dresses of Elena Gilbert for your viewing pleasure.

9. Whittmore College Campus Party — Season 5

This dress doesn't seem like much at first, but once you turn it around and pay attention to the color on Elena, it's really quite gorgeous. This is probably the least fancy dress on the list, but it's also a great display of college party wear and a taste of Elena's evolving everyday style.

8. Historical Ball — Season 5

Considering all of the incredible historical ball gowns we've seen in flashbacks that Katherine has worn, I can't really look at Elena's outfit here and be as amazed, but nonetheless it's a beautiful dress on her and deserves its own spot. (But seriously if we were ranking Elena and Katherine's outfits on this list, every ball gown Katherine owned in the past would be tied for the number one spot.)

7. Caroline's Mom's Funeral — Season 6

Not all of Elena's outfits are used for happy occasions. This is the dress that Elena wore for the recent funeral of Caroline's mom and she looks gorgeous. It's the whole look, the dress — which may seem simple but is really quite an elegant LBD — and the hair and makeup. It's just simple and understated enough for a funeral.

6. Miss Mystic Falls — Season 4

Elena and Caroline were not competing in Season 4 for Miss Mystic Falls so their gowns were definitely more understated than Season 1. But this look is both flirty and classy. Elena really knows how to wear her black dresses, and how to dress them up or down.

5. The '20s Decade Dance — Season 3

Elena kills it in this white flapper dress, perfectly reminiscent of the 1920s with the right hair and accessories as well. It's also most certainly the best decade dance outfit she wore in college. It's a beautiful complete look, but when I think about Caroline's red flapper dress in comparison, it's hard not to want to gravitate towards that outfit instead. Black and white dresses are beautiful but sometimes I just want to see Elena wear more color. Though I am going to continue admiring this dress for a long time.

4. Masquerade Party — Season 2

This drop-dead black number is technically worn by Katherine but I think Elena also wears it one point? This is the time in The Vampire Diaries where Katherine was pretending to be Elena a lot so I'm still confused as to who wore what, so I'm just going to pretend this was Elena as well and count this dress in the mix because I just love it that much. I know that again it's a black dress and we've seen those time and time again on Elena, but look at the details on it! Add it together with the mask and you've got yourself a winner.

3. Miss Mystic Falls Competition — Season 1

Remember when Elena wore color like this? This striking blue dress may not be the fanciest design in the world (it's just a tad simple for me) but it is a gorgeous color and the cut is perfect for Elena. (And can we give a shoutout once again to Caroline for her green number? These two really knew what they were doing fashion-wise from the very beginning didn't they?)

2. The Formal Ball — Season 3

Wow. Just wow. I know that again we're back to black, but this dress is out of this world incredible. Once again, Caroline also has killer style for this event (thanks to a dress Klaus gives her), but this Elena dress is one to remember thanks to the gorgeous detailing and the shape, and the beautiful underlay of gold. It literally screams formal ball, so it's the perfect dress for the occasion, and I want it in my closet immediately.

1. Prom — Season 4

Never mind. This is the dress I want in my closet immediately. It's the perfect Elena dress. It combines gorgeous color with a perfect simple yet elegant and interesting design that doesn't require a lot of extra styling on top of it because it's just so dang beautiful. This dress clearly wins out of all of the incredible outfits Elena has worn over these many seasons. Seriously, where can I procure this dress immediately?

Images: Bob Mahoney (4), Quantrell D. Colbert (3), Annette Brown (2), Curtis Baker/The CW

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