Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Fairy Tale Fashion


A delightful exhibition at the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum took me right back to my childhood.


Little Red Riding Hood, in several iterations, greets you.




The wolf's hiding in a corner.


The clothes weren't necessarily designed with a particular fairy tale in mind, but the curator creatively matched content to theme.  Beauty first wore this dress in 1755.



A Beauty needs ladies in waiting.


Just like a Beast needs Laboutins.


Alice in Wonderland isn't really a fairy tale, but who could resist these costumes and shoes?






Guess who wore these?



Adrian costumed Dorothy and Auntie Em in good old American gingham for The Wizard of Oz.  Would you believe I once met Yip Harburg, the guy who wrote the lyrics for the iconic musical, shortly before he died?  We had a breakfast meeting when I worked briefly at Crown Publishers where he had published a book of poetry.  So cool!


Just in case Lady Gaga ever decides to play Dorothy.


Snow White sure knew what she was doing when she asked Dolce & Gabanna to dress her.


Sleeping Beauty, of course.


She took a bite from this poisoned purse by Judith Leiber.


How about this crazy hat from The Red Shoes?


Cinderella inspired a Giorgio Sant'Angelo collection.  He purportedly slashed the chiffon fabric the night before his 1971 fashion show.


My memory is a little fuzzy about the inspiration for these dazzling outfits but queens, wicked stepmothers, maidens, fairies, mermaids and even a horse wear them.

















The history of denim, also on display, offers quite a contrast.



Denim really came of age in the 50s.


The flower children meant well.


These cut-offs are printed with an image taken of the crowd at Woodstock.


Bell bottoms remain abominable!


The fancier denim gets, the less I like it.







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