American Woman, Baby Let Me Be: The MET's Costume Institute Exhibition Part One

On a cloudy afternoon there is nothing better than taking a stroll through the museum. Lucky for me, the MET is currently hosting its exhibit, American Fashion: Fashioning a National Identity. Not only does the exhibit feature gorgeous fashions by designers from the grandfather of haute couture, Charles Worth to Coco Chanel but it is also narrated by the quintessential New York City gal, Sarah Jessica Parker. The beautiful exhibit takes a historical look at American history through the eyes of fashion gowns through the heiress of the 1890s to the Old Hollywood glamour of the 1940's.

At first you enter a room that is straight from the 1890's celebrating the heiress. With walls covered with damask wall paper and music reminiscent of an elegant ball, the scene was set with several bustle-style gowns glimmering with satin and embroidery. During this time period, women of an older age wore dark gowns and younger women wore lighter colours. The most stunning gown was a black sequin floor length gown with a corseted bodice and full sleeves. Elegant and glamorouous. Another favourite was a soft pink silk gown with an embellised feather detail accented with beautiful fans and delicate lace. As always, the MET recreated this time periodd perfectly and I felt as if I were in this time period myself.

Next up we had the Gibson Girl of the 1900's, an animated character created by illustrator Charles Dana Gisbon that represented the ideal American girl who was athletic, active and fun, always wearing a chignon. This part of the exhibit featured outfits that women wore when playing sports and it was quite different than what we see today. No spandex shorts and sports bras for these Gibson Girls! A typical outfit for swimming was not a cutout metallic bathing suit but a navy sailor-inspired dress! With white trim and nautical motif, this outfit must have made swimming difficult for these ladies.

The Gibson Girl was not the only woman that dominated the early 1900's, there was also the Bohemia. A woman who celebrated her intellect and engaged herself in the arts. Instead of celebrating her body she wore clothes that distracted from it with gold chiffon wraps and loose harem-style pants. My favourite piece was a blood-red silk jumper that was inspired by dhopis worn by men in India. Accented by a lace vest, this look is reminiscent of the bohemian woman of today.

Following this. were the woman warriors who took part in the war effort and when they were at home they fought for a woman's right to vote. Always accompanied by their gold and yellow sashes these women wore elongated coats and full skirts. The most fashionable outfit would have to be a beige suit with a button detail reminiscent of a frog detail that is normally found on a mandarin coat.

       On to the roaring twenties! These women were liberated, independent and free spirited. They drank, smoke and did the Charleston all while wearing casual and comfortable clothes. During the day, they wore modest clothing with my favourite being a red cloche hat, beige sweater with red vertical stripes and matching bow on top with a pleated beige skirt coming just past the knee for the bottom. At night it was all glitz and glamour! Exquisite sequin details and shapeless dresses was the style du jour. A standout was a blush dress with chiffon bodice and embellished skirt with cutouts reminiscent of a mermaid's fin.

      The exhibit ended with a picture into Old Hollywood, the most glamorous decade of all. Floor length gowns filled the dimly lit room with scenes featuring old films starring screen goddess, Jean Harlow wearing a fabulous fur trimmed chiffon robe playing in the background. The most coveted designs had to be a halter dress by Charles Worth with cascading silk layers printed with a brown and beige abstract print. A very sexy number was a black long sleeved gown with cutout detail in the back with a long skirt and embellished hem. Subtle and sexy all in one!

      Finally the event concluded with a montage dedicated to all the strong, influential women throughout American history from famous dancer, Josephine Baker to Diane Von Furstenberg to Tina Fey. At the end of the event, not only was I inspired by the beautiful fashions but I also felt empowered for being a woman. The exhibit beautifully celebrated influential fashion and the women that wore it in a way that made you feel like saying, "I am woman hear me roar!" (in a fashionable ensemble of course.)

Enjoy!

*All images of the gowns have been taken from http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/listview.aspx?dd1=63

Amanda

New York Fashion at its Finest: Costume Institute Gala at the MET

Being in New York I am beginning to realize that there is no fashion event more glamorous and fabulous than the annual MET Ball, where the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts an exhibit dedicated to a theme associated with fashion. Last year it was The Model As Muse and this year it was American Fashion-which by the way was absolutely fabulous!

In my opinion, there is no better red carpet than the MET Ball red carpet because designers and fashionistas a like really pull out the stops in terms of their red carpet looks. This year I would say was less experimental than last but still just as glamorous and fabulous. Be hold some of my favourite MET ball red carpet looks:

It's pretty easy to call these two a modern day Mick and Jerry. With their rock 'n' roll style and uber fashionable children, these two are a couple that we will all remember. At this years MET Gala, they each complemented each other beautifully with Gwen's sheer wrapped fitted gown and Gavin's classic tuxedo accented by none other than a bow tie.

Dark metallics are done right is this form fitting, sleek gown. It has a hint of the futuristic look that is shown everywhere, however it manages to still have a good dash of old Hollywood sexiness.Oh SJP! Everyones favourite fashionista! This is absolutely fun and whimsical with its '70's vibe and full skirt. Not only is this dress lovely but it also easy breezy. Fun, fun, fun!
I always love an elegant ruffle here and dash of colour there especially when those features complement each other so nicely. The shade of framboise goes beautifully with Naomi's shiny blonde hair and colourful pout with the accessories adding the right amount of sparkle!

Kate Hudson truly epitomizes the definition of glamorous bohemia. She is either rocking a laid back earth mama look or a sexy bombshell look and here she manages to do a little bit of both with the relaxed draping and glittery sparkle. Bon Bon!

Enjoy!

Amanda

Photo of the Day

This is one of my favourite red carpet looks. Taken from the 2007 Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala, Cameron Diaz glows in Dior by John Galliano. Styled by Rachel Zoe, this look is still remembered as one of the most memorable red carpet looks.

Amanda

New York, New York It's A Helluva Town!

Ahhh.......I am finally back in Toronto after a couple days in rainy New York. But in all honesty who can complain about rainy New York when there are so many amazing clothing stores and fashion related events to explore?

My fashion trek of NYC first began at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art special exhibit, The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion. After watching Coco Rocha's E! Canada special, Fashion Attacks where the Canadian model provides a behind the scenes look at New York Fashion Week, I knew that one of the first things that I saw in New York had to be The Model As Muse exhibit. Sponsored by acclaimed American fashion designer, Marc Jacobs with additional support from the notable, Conde Nast the exhibit was a sight to be seen.


Highlighting iconic models from Dorian Leigh to Daria Werbowy, the exhibit showcased the works of the models and their respective eras. As you enter the exhibit you are welcomed by a hot pink room, with a mannequin remake of the 1970 Richard Avedon photo featured on this blog, accompanied by the famous Yves Saint Laurent quote, "A good model can advance fashion by ten years". This powerful statement set the stage for the encompassing exhibit.

Despite the chronological set-up of the event, I accidently viewed it backwards after being lured by the attractive gift shop filled with The Fashion Book, Audrey Hepburn's Funny Face and the exhibition book Model as Muse: Fashioning the Ideal by Harold Koda and Kohle Yohannan. In I went to what was technically the end of the exhibit and was embraced by FW 2007-2008 Dior couture dresses draped over white mannequins that were displayed against a navy blue sparkling wall as Marilyn Manson's, Beautiful People blared in the background. Tributes to contemporary models such as, Liya Kedebe and Natalia Vodianova framed the display.

In the next room was a tribute to Giorgio di Sant'Angelo. Mannequins dressed in his brightly coloured jersey gowns hung from the ceiling. Complimenting this display was a glass mirrored box with mannequins dressed only in black and white pieces by Donna Karan, Prada and Helmut Lang. The contemporary room was followed by a tribute to the grunge/alternative era of pop culture and modelling. Nirvana's, Smells Like Teen Spirit played in the background of the room covered with graffitti walls. Outfits by Anna Sui were showcased and the whole room reminded me of being in grade 4 listening to No Doubt's, Spiderwebs. The Grunge era was all about the anti-model and this section was complete with several photos of Calvin Klein muse, Kate Moss.

Next up was Christy, Naomi and Linda.....the Supermodels. George Michael's music video for Freedom '90 played behind Gianni Versace's Andy Warhol-esque Marilyn Monroe dress. Tributes to Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford lined the display as the exhibit moved on to The Body Politic, with a tribute to Halston and Paco Robanne. Photos of a young, innocent-looking Janice Dickinson and Lauren Hutton decorated the colourful walls that transitioned into the Youthquake a.k.a. the British Invasion where Mary Quant, The Beatles and Twiggy ruled. Images of Jean Shrimpton and Veruschka accented the futurisitic, chain-mail-inspired Paco Rabanne shift dress.

Audrey Hepburn's Funny Face welcomed me into the last room of the exhibit that was dedicated to The Golden Age of Couture. A recreation of the famous Cecil Beaton photograph of models dressed in Charles James was featured in the centre of the room and was a lovely conclusion to the wonderfully curated model exhibit.

Viewing the Model As Muse exhibit was fulfilling in every way. As someone who could learn more about models I feel like I had an informative lesson in Model History 101. The array of editorial and gorgeous images left me feeling inspired and ready to strike a pose!

Amanda