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| the de Young museum |
I spent a rainy afternoon checking out the de Young Museum's retrospective on Oscar de la Renta. They had dozens of gorgeous dresses and items from throughout his 50+ years working in fashion. The designer's work was the epitome of elegance and glamour - and yet, practical: even in the '60s he was making ballgowns with pockets. The exhibit, curated by the inimitable Andre Leon Talley, featured pieces worn by notable women such as Dede Wilsey (head of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco which includes the de Young), Hillary Rodham Clinton, Laura Bush, and today's red carpet stars such as Amy Adams (love her), Taylor Swift (of course) and Nicki Minaj (pleasantly surprised).
As much as I love wandering through museums, I think the last special exhibit I attended was the (New York) MoMA's Tim Burton exhibit, and I forgot how popular (crowded) they can be. I splurged for the audio tour which helped me focus among the crowd, as well as learn more about the history of the items in the exhibit and the designer's inspirations. The sources of inspiration included Spain and flamenco, which brought back some study abroad and college memories for me - I was dressed nowhere near as elegant as these mannequins, though. Perhaps one reason the exhibit felt like such a treat is that since moving to the Bay, I hardly have any reason to truly dress up. My only disappointment at the exhibit was that you couldn't touch the fabrics or try the dresses on... I mean, I know I was in a museum, but still I dream.
Apologies for the blurry iPhone pics, here are some choice pieces from the exhibit:
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| New York, New York :) |
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dresses from: http://www.vogue.com/865470/asia-major/
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| the dress that Marie Antoinette-era Kirsten Dunst wore in Vogue... |
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| http://www.vogue.com/slideshow/761290/ |
The look that I totally want to copy:
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More links:
The exhibit goes through May 30: https://deyoung.famsf.org/exhibitions/oscar-de-la-renta-retrospective
