Vintage American Style I studied costume and art history in school and let me tell you- seeing photos of sumptuous ball gowns and slender New Looks inside of a textbook is nothing compared to seeing them right in front of you! I experienced that first hand helping out at a vintage clothing shop a few years back and again last week at the Cleveland Museum of Art's Media Day event for the opening of their new exhibit Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920's. I, along with other writers, bloggers and influencers got a chance to view the exhibit before it opened to the public on September 30th. Cool right? Night at the Museum The overall ambiance transformed me as soon as I stepped into the exhibit with it's perfect mood lighting, jazz playing overhead, wall murals that captured a good time and I could all but smell the elongated Lucky Strike cigarette held by the bejeweled and bedazzled hands of a flapper. Though borrowing heavily from other cultures including Europe and Africa-, no one can deny the fact that Americans had the best taste in the Roaring 20's, and that was clearly evident from the music, art, design and style of the time. Over 300 works of art, jewelry, motorcars, furniture and fashion were on display and honestly everything looked so chic and modern that it would all fit right in today. I could totally see some of those highly stylized pieces of furniture in my apartment! Design was glamorous, chic and elegant back then and that includes just the teapots so ya'll know I could barely contain it when I stepped into the fashion section. The silky beaded fabrics with fringe, gold threaded embellishments, and glittery bijou made me want to touch EVERY. SINGLE. THING and it drove me crazy that I could not lol. I got lost imagining the amount of hours and craftsmanship that went into the construction of gowns by Fortuny, Paul Poiret, Chanel and others. The sequins, bugle beads, glass beads, gold thread and embroidered velvet was fashion history in 3D format and let's not even talk about the fancy jewels for men and women alike- the iced out pair of Cartier airplane brooches from the early 1930's excited me just as much as the pink feathered evening fan. I loved how the art, design and fashion of the time mimicked each other- simple minimalist looks in the first half of the twenties and then the welcoming of Cubist inspired abstract geometric shapes and bold colors that coincided with the liberation of women and the new adventurous lifestyles that included smoking, short hair and night clubbing. I had a great time at the event. There was an open bar, bite size apps, costume props for photos and selfies and a great selection of gifts for sale in honor of the exhibit. I met fellow bloggers and ran into lots of familiar faces and old friends. It was just a wonderful evening and I really thank Kelly Notaro for the invite. If you are looking for something to do in Cleveland- this is it! The exhibit will run from September 30, 2017 to January 14, 2018 and tickets are $15 ($13 for students and seniors) and is well worth it. View American lifestyle at it's most decorated and opulent time...
And don't forget you still have time to visit the WOW Factor at the Western Historical Society, not too far from CMA!
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About the BlogThe main goal of this blog is to connect my readers to everything dope, fresh and stylish- All the Fly Things. Archives
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