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My review of "Fabulous Fashion: From Dior’s New Look to Now"

Denise Shardlow
Jan 25, 2019
2 min read

The webpage banner for "Fabulous Fashion: From Dior’s New Look to Now" from the Philadelphia Museum of Art's website. (All the images in this post are from the Philadelphia Museum of Art's website)

A few Fashion Fridays ago, I went to see the current fashion Exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art with a friend. (Here's the Blog) Several people asked me what I thought, so here's a little review: I suppose I didn't do my research. I thought it was all about Dior, but it's actually a retrospective of fashion since the "New Look" came to the scene in 1947. It also was a great opportunity for the museum to show off it's incredible fashion archives... which is impressive!

After you walk through the entrance with a captivating slideshow/video, this classic Dior leads the show. It was obvious I was making the security guard nervous, since I was getting as close of a look to the detailing on the circle skirt as I could. I wanted to see if the top-stitching was done after the skirt was assembled. Since I could see that the stitching went over the seam line, it clearly was done after the fact. I was duly impressed. It's a sign of impeccable detail and workmanship.

The rest of the exhibit shows fashion as the expressible, irrepressible Art form that it is... both to the wearer and the designer. I was especially excited that I got to see a Madame Grès up close and personal for the first time! I did a Fashion Friday on Madame Grès in September: "Grès would direct the flow and folds with her own hands, then the unpressed pleats would be stitched into place, making the pleats to appear to woven into each other." It's truly something to be seen to be appreciated. My companions and I were having fun choosing the one item in the entire show that we would want to take home. Since all of the items, from gowns to day wear to hats to shoes, are exclusive to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I highly recommend a trip into the city to see it. It's also flows into the current exhibit "Little Ladies: Victorian Fashion Dolls and the Feminine Ideal." If you're as interested in Fashion History as I am, these miniatures are near replicas of a Victorian ladies wardrobe. I was blown away by the attention to detail and craftsmanship from everything to undergarments to gloves to jewelry to roller skates... and even calling cards!! See you next Fashion Friday and as always, please share with friends and feel free to comment on my blog posts. denise PS: Fashion Friday is a few hours late this week since we had friend stop by last night to pop open a bottle of Champagne to celebrate the birth of their brand new granddaughter!