Notorious & Notable Museum of the City of New York

Earlier this month, I traveled uptown to check out Notorious & Notable: 20th Century Women of Style at the Museum of the City of New York.  It being a weekday afternoon, I was surprised that I had to shove my way through gaggles of chit-chatting old biddies clogging up the exhibit's narrow aisle and maneuver around babies crawling around the carpeted floor as their Uggs-wearing, tourist mothers were occupied with their Blackberries.  The annoyance level caused by this bunch felt like being stranded at an airport during a blizzard on a holiday weekend.

The exhibit certainly features designer ensembles and jewels worn by many "notable" women, but call me dumb-dumb, I couldn't really figure out whom the "notorious" part of the title refers to.  Arranged by color, the show offers outfits worn by "80 prominent New York women who used their style, talent, or wealth to capture the attention of society and the media" (from the musuem's website).  The clothing is displayed on mannequins alongside a portrait of its wearer, a short bio, and a pull quote describing the subject and her style.  Featuring duds worn by the wives of powerful businessmen - Mrs Andrew Carnegie; socialites - Sunny von Bulow and Brooke Astor (the lace dress she wore to Truman Capote's Black and White ball in 1966); performers - Lena Horne, Marian Anderson, and Gypsy Rose Lee (the burlesque diva's ensemble features a row of snap buttons up the back for quick removal); politician Bella Abzug; actress Lauren Bacall; artist Louise Nevelson; Pop art collector Ethel Scull; writer Anita Loos; and genuine fashion/style icons Iris Apfel and Tina Chow.  Displayed in glass cases are jewelry pieces once owned by Edith Bouvier Beale, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Barbara Walters, Carolina Herrera, Diana Vreeland, and more.

While the collection of garments is impressive and the array of subjects diverse, as ironic as this sounds regarding a fashion exhibit, Notorious and Notable felt superficial and arbitrary, directionless.  If you're simply in the mood to check out some fab frocks worn by some fab New York women, and don't expect to learn about fashion or New York history, then this show should suit you fine - just be prepared in case another annoying-bus happens to visit on the same day that you do.  Learn more at the museum's website mcny.org and read reviews at artdaily.org and nytimes.com.  Through January 2, 2011.

 

Fashions During Cassandra Austen’s Lifetime (1773-1845)

Pretty Cassandra Austen, Jane Austen’s elder sister by two years, lived until the ripe age of 72 . This brief visual guide demonstrates how fashion changed during her lifetime. Wherever possible, I tried to represent Cassandra’s age and the clothes she would have worn during that period. I also used the paired women combination to evoke Cassandra and Jane, even in the years after Jane’s death. The last image shows the changes in the silhouettes of the gowns regarding waists, sleeves, skirts and trains.

Mrs. Thomas Bolling with children, 1773. One can see the style of clothes baby Cassandra and Mrs. Austen would have worn after her birth.