Anthology of Fashion

Tim hung a 1982 self-portrait in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's triennial employee art show.  Wow!  His facility with opaque water color is as astonishing as he was handsome.  

We met after both of us lost the bloom of youth.  Tim based his self-portrait on a photo taken three years earlier.  He offered to paint me and selected this 1992 photo ("no smiling or peace signs!") taken in the Pines.  

I also stood in line, something I detest, to see "In America:  An Anthology of Fashion."  Very atmospheric with mannequins populating rooms in the American wing in installations created by film directors, but there's a lot going on and I sometimes found the label text as confusing as it was informative.

Wedding Dress (1884)

Dress Worn by Mary Todd Lincoln (1861-62)

British Style in America (early 19th century)

French Style in America (early 19th century)

The "Battle of Versailles" room, conceived by Tom Ford and based on a 1973 fashion show dazzles, just as you'd expect.

Could this be a Stephen Burrows creation?

The mirrored ceiling adds another dimension--over  the top--entirely.

 

Dressed by Claire McCardell

Gowns by Jessie Franklin Turner (20th century)

Dresses by Ann Lowe (20th century)

Could this room be any more fabulous?

Ball Gown by Marguery Bollhagen (ca 1961)

Dress by Eta Hentz (20th century)

Sofia Coppola is working on adaptation of Edith Wharton's The Custom of the Country. Conceiving this room must have been good practice for the Gilded Age drama.

Dress by Josephine H. Egan (ca 1880)

Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles James and Martin Scorcese--what could go wrong?  But somehow, the dresses get lost.