The Black Dress Traveler

Bonita, Bold & Beautiful: Balenciaga at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute

Photo Credit: Photography by Kenny Komer

Just a whisper of the name Balenciaga makes fashionistas weak in the knees. Surely, being surrounded by his creations at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute must have  lovers of couture close to fainting! Conceived by designer Oscar de la Renta and curated by Hamish Bowles (Vogue's European Editor-at-Large), Balenciaga: Spanish Master showcases more than 70 items of Cristobal Balenciaga's eternally elegant and stunning clothing and accessories.


Photo Credit: Photography by Kenny Komer

Born in Spain, Cristobal Balenciaga (1895-1972) was a highly acclaimed designer in his native country. However, the Spanish Civil War forced him to close his stores and he moved to Paris and opened his fashion house there in 1937. Balenciaga may have left Spain but his culture very much influenced Balenciaga's designs. The great late fashion editor Diana Vreeland said that his "inspiration came from the bullrings, the flamenco dancers, the loose blouses the fishermen wear, the cool of the cloisters." Not just a master of haute couture, in 1968 Balenciaga designed the flight attendant uniforms for Air France.

Balenciaga: Spanish Master will be open for viewing at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute in New York City (684 Park Avenue) until February 26, 2011. Timed tickets are required for admission ($15) and reservations can be made by calling 212-628-0420 or visiting the website.

PS. The exhibition will be expanded for presentation as Balenciaga and Spain at the de Young Museum in San Francisco from March 26-July 4, 2011

Style from the Nile and On Museum Mile: Cleopatra & American Woman Exhibitions

Can we be honest and admit that not every museum exhibition is exciting? There, I said it. I love art but a stuffy museum is more boring than watching paint dry. If you want to see two glamorous and captivating exhibitions, I recommend American Woman: Fashioning a New Identity at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art and Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

It took excessive amounts of self-control to restrain myself from asking the security guard at the MET where the fitting room was located. The American Woman exhibition is a decadent display of little black dresses and a wide variety of gorgeous gowns. If ever I wanted to embark on a life of crime and pull a museum heist, it was yesterday. American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity focuses on "archetypes of American femininity through dress, the exhibition reveals how the American woman initiated style revolutions that mirrored her social, political, and sexual emancipation." 

From Gibson Girls and Suffragettes, from riding habits to evening gowns, American Woman showcases creations by iconic designers such as Worth, Lanvin, and Poiret. The audio guide is narrated by Sex and the City fashionista Sarah Jessica Parker. Another highlight is the multi-media presentation set to Lenny Kravitz's rock tune American Woman that includes photos and video images of Josephine Baker, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Onassis, Beyonce, Rosa Parks, and prominent American women of all ages and cultural backgrounds.
(image: La Sirene by Charles James. 1941)


Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt reveals that Hollywood wasn't entirely wrong - her life really was a soap opera! Egypt's last Pharaoh, Cleopatra was a legendary beauty and powerful leader who married her brothers, had love affairs with her enemies, and apparently loved to shop.

"Organized by National Geographic and Arts and Exhibitions International, with cooperation from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities and the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM), the exhibition features never before seen artifacts, and takes visitors inside the present-day search for Cleopatra, which extends from the sands of Egypt to the depths of the Bay of Aboukir near Alexandria."

In addition to important historical information that dispels many myths about Cleopatra, the exhibition includes eye-catching displays of beautiful gold jewelry and other luxury items. Also, did you know that current research suggests that the dramatic eyeliner worn by Cleopatra and others may have helped ward off eye infections? A smokey eye with medicinal powers - Sephora are you listening?

The Boy King Rocks the Big Apple: King Tut Returns to New York City

Just in case you need tangible proof of the saying "you can't take it with you," look no further then the new exhibition Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharoahs. Scheduled to open on Friday, April 23 at the Discovery Times Square Exposition in the heart of Manhattan, this highly anticipated exhibition features more than 130 artifacts, 50 of which are from King Tut's tomb. When the exhibition closes on January 2, 2011, the treasures of Tut will return to Egypt and NEVER tour again. 
 
Affectionately known as the "Boy King," Tut became pharaoh in 1333 B.C at the tender age of nine. Ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife and, when King Tut died suddenly at the age of nineteen, his tomb in the Valley of the Kings was filled with treasures intended for his use after death. Did Tut make it to the afterlife? I don't know. But his belongings and mummified body remained earthbound and undisturbed for some 3,000 years until the tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter. Now those royal jewels, statues, funerary items, and even cosmetic containers are on display for our education and sheer enjoyment.

Today, I was invited to take a sneak peek at the exhibition before it opens to the general public. I was stunned by the impressive condition of the artifacts. And, of course, I saw more than a few pieces of spectacular gold jewelry that I would love to wear. So many of the faces depicted on the statues are breathtakingly beautiful - leaving me convinced that the ancient Egyptians were the first to master the dramatic application of eyeliner.


The exhibition is designed to make you feel as if you are in the tombs discovering these ancient treasures on your own. It is haunting, beautiful, and educational. Be sure to take the audio tour narrated by the one and only Omar Sharif.

One piece currently not on display is King Tut's chariot which is scheduled to arrive in the next month or so. This chariot is an important part of the mystery surrounding King Tut's death. A recent CT scan of King Tut's mummy indicates that he had an accident just a few hours before he died. Could a chariot accident have been the cause of the Boy King's untimely death? This scenario is a definite possibility according to Dr. Zahi Hawass, the outspoken Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Superstitious folks say that a curse follows King Tut's treasures. I say that you'll be cursing yourself if you miss this extravagant and extraordinary exhibition.

Adult ticket prices are $27.50. Seniors pay $25.50 and the admission for children 4-12 is $17.50. Children 4 and under are free. A Family Pack (2 adults, 2 children age 4-12) is $79. 50% of the ticket price will be used to further the discovery and preservation of antiquities in Egypt.

If you are traveling to the exhibition from out of town, Starwood Hotels is the official hotel sponsor. Hotel guests will get access to VIP tickets that get them to the front of the line, no black-outs, and untimed tickets.

For more information, visit www.kingtutnyc.com.

P.S. Be sure to enter the contest to win a trip to Egypt.

Remembering the Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition at Discovery Times Square

We all know how the story ends, yet the world remains fascinated by the ill fated maiden voyage of the Titanic. An estimated 705 people survived and more than 1,500 passengers perished in 1912 when the "unsinkable" luxury ship struck an iceberg in the frigid Atlantic Ocean. Titanic never reached the intended destination of Chelsea Piers in New York City, but today many of her artifacts are on display during a limited engagement at the Discovery Times Square Exposition.

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition features the largest collection of Titanic artifacts recovered from the wreck. More importantly, the exhibition makes a concerted effort to tell the stories of the families, immigrants, clergy, socialites, and titans of industry who boarded the Titanic full of hope and enthusiasm only to encounter disaster 4 days later. Upon arrival, all visitors to Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition receive a replica boarding pass with the name and bio of an actual passenger. The journey through the exhibition's artifacts and replicas concludes at the memorial wall where visitors discover if the passenger on their pass was lost or saved.  

First class passenger, and Titanic survivor,  Margaret Brown became known as the "Unsinkable Molly Brown." Brown took charge of her lifeboat and went back to the sinking ship to rescue more passengers from the freezing water. Our kind of girl!

    
Replicas of the Titanic's first class and third class cabins. 
 
I was amazed at the number of personal items that were recovered from 12,460 feet below the ocean's surface such as shoes, jewelry, hair brushes, currency, purses, and even vials of perfume with their scent reportedly still intact 97 years later. The exhibition also features a stunning recreation of the Titanic's legendary Grand Stairway and an eerie ice-cold replica of the lethal iceberg. Foodies will be enthralled by the intact china dinnerware, set of au gratin dishes, and copies of the dinner menus. Tapioca consomme, anyone?

actual au gratin dishes from the Titanic

 Click here to learn more about Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition.  

Philadelphia Celebrates Princess Diana

As a little girl, I was captivated by the fairy-tales-do-come-true Royal Wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles in 1981. As an adult, I was crestfallen by the sudden death of “The People’s Princess” in 1997. Clearly, I was not alone in this sentiment.

What was it about Diana? I am not a Royal Watcher but it was impossible not to watch Princess Diana. Somehow, she was different. In spite of Diana's beauty, wealth, and talents she possessed an ineffable quality that made her seem like someone with whom you could actually share a glass of wine, secrets, and even commiserate about boy trouble.

Twelve years after her death Princess Diana continues to be a source of fascination. Thanks to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, fans of the Princess can indulge their passion for all things Diana at the fabulous new exhibition, Diana: A Celebration. Diana's brother Charles, Ninth Earl Spencer, flew across the pond from the family's ancestral home in Althorp (where Princess Diana was laid to rest) to welcome guests to a preview of this stunning exhibition. Diana: A Celebration will be open to the public from October 2 - December 31. In his welcoming remarks, Charles referred to his beautiful and altruistic sister as the world's first glamorous humanitarian.

Diana: A Celebration covers 10,000 square feet and features over 150 artifacts organized into nine galleries: Childhood, Spencer Women, Engagement, Royal Wedding, Tiara Gallery, Style & Fashion, Her Work, Tribute, and Condolences. While Princess Diana’s extravagant wedding gown is the showstopper, the other objects in the exhibition really bring Diana’s personality to life. Childhood movies, an old report card, handwritten notes and even old dancing shoes share space with her couture fashions. Most importantly, Diana: A Celebration also showcases her humanitarian work for causes such as HIV and the campaign to ban land mines. Truly, Diana's modern approach to life and her concern for the world far beyond the walls of Buckingham Palace redefined what it meant to be a Royal.

Yes, Princess Diana was only human but Diana: A Celebration is an engaging reminder of how this very unique woman generously shared her gifts with the world and broke through rigid expectations to live life on her own terms.

For more information about Diana: A Celebration, visit www.constitutioncenter.org.

    Princess Diana’s wedding gown - the wedding dress of the century!

Yes, the dress has a 25 foot train!

 

Princess Diana’s brother Charles graciously posed for a photo with me.

Princess Diana wore this scarlet evening dress designed by Jacques Azagury on a 1997 visit to Washington, DC.

   The Style Gallery showcases 28 of Princess Diana’s outfits.

  

Princess Diana’s passports from her childhood and as an adult.