The MET and the American Woman

How exciting! Now on special exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity

May 5, 2010–August 15, 2010
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Exhibition Hall, 2nd floor

According to the MET's website, the exhibit, (which will probably entice me to go dress shopping at Bloomingdales directly after), "...is the first Costume Institute exhibition drawn from the newly established Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Met. It will explore developing perceptions of the modern American woman from 1890 to 1940 and how they have affected the way American women are seen today. Focusing on archetypes of American femininity through dress, the exhibition will reveal how the American woman initiated style revolutions that mirrored her social, political, and sexual emancipation. "Gibson Girls," "Bohemians," and "Screen Sirens," among others, helped lay the foundation for today's American woman."

Pretty ball gowns, cocktail dresses, sparkly heels, chic clutches? I'm so there. But, if you won't be able to make it to the Big Apple in time, here's a fantastic virtual exhibit tour via YouTube. The mannequins kind of creep me out, but those dresses, oh the dresses! It's like learning American History by way of frocks, fabrics, patterns, embroidery, lace, sequins, and tulle. How very lovely and empowering!