Paris Hilton To Attend Met Gala For The First Time

Paris Hilton is checking a HUGE honor off her bucket list, she'll be attending the Met Gala for the first time in her life ... TMZ has learned.

Here's the deal, sources connected tell TMZ ... Paris got the invite from Vogue and the designer of her upcoming look and luckily, she was available to go. Unclear who she'll be working with for the outfit, but a big accomplishment like this must warrant a big designer.

We're told this year's theme is in honor of her late friend and iconic designer, called "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty." You'll recall, the 2 had a great relationship together -- some might even remember she went with Kim Kardashian to a collab he did with Dom Perignon back in 2006.

Paris will be flying to the Gala -- which goes down on May 1 -- from Washington, D.C. ... where she'll be holding a conference about the new Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act prior to the fashion event.