This was from the American Giving Awards, which sounds like a very grown-up and serious affair indeed, which may explain why Miley attempted a very grown-up and serious look. And I don't hate this, either, guys. It's not terribly Miley -- she usually likes the flowy boho, or short and shiny -- but at least it fits her, and it's showing probably the right trace amount of cleav.
Overall, it feels like a visual apology to The Powers That Be (aka The Children and their parents) for that crack about smoking a ton of weed, as if she is trying to say, "See? I was kidding. I am a responsible adult, and I believe in giving. American giving. Like this apology. I'm GIVING it to you, America. BUY MY MUSIC." (Not that I think she needs to apologize; she's not a Disney kid anymore, and if you feel like the word of one actress are going to send your kids down a path of DRUGS and CRIME or whatever, then perhaps there are larger problems to address.) These choices are never -- or let's say rarely, just in case -- made in a vacuum, and I think the desire just to pick out a dress she liked had to have been commingled at least partly with an urge to, let's say, class up the joint. HA, see what I did there? Anyway, regardless, I'm not mad at it even if I think maybe it would've worked better on her after she'd clocked, say, four more years on her odometer. And/or at her own third wedding.