Museum Meet-Ups: Nashville and New York

That's right, I'm taking my show on the road! I'm quite lucky to have a husband who caters to my every silly whim. When I found out that the Golden Age of Couture exhibit is in Nashville for the summer (with only this one U.S. stop!), I expected to have to make a detailed argument for why we should take a trip there to see it. But I barely got one sentence out before Jeff said, "Sure, let's go." Sweet! So we're going to spend a few days in Nashville at the very end of August. I hear will be boiling hot, but one must suffer for couture sometimes.

I'll be going to see the exhibit (which I've heard about for years it seems, but I never thought I would get to see!) on Sunday, August 29th at 1:00 p.m. Would you like to join us? I would love to meet you! I'm starting up an e-mail list for interested parties. Just drop me a line at gertie [at] blogforbettersewing [dot] com.

Now, closer to home! How about a meet-up at FIT later this month? The current exhibit is Eco-Fashion: Going Green. It's not the most thrilling topic to me, I admit, but it's an important one and I always enjoy the FIT exhibits. Plus: it's free. I'm thinking Saturday, July 24th. Afterwards, we can do lunch and/or fabric shopping! Again, just e-mail me to get involved: gertie [at] blogforbettersewing [dot] com.

Yay for meet-ups! Hope you can make one of these. If not, don't worry. I'm sure there will be more exhibits in my future - especially with Jeff so easy to convince. I'm thinking I'll push for London next!

First-Ever Museum Meet-up

Last Saturday, a group of 23 readers and I met-up to go to the High Style exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. What a lovely day we had - and how much fun to meet in person! We met outside the museum and then went in for a guided tour. Here are a few of the highlights (taken inside with no flash, so unfortunately the color isn't perfect. But many thanks to Jeff for capturing all of these!):

This is a House of Worth gown in a lovely lavender with a fantastic scalloped hem. (Bonus: my teacher Sharon came along and gave us all sorts of tips on sewing scalloped hems at lunch!)

 This couture puppy ensemble was a hit.

There was a good amount of Schiaparelli on display, including this lovely day dress. The pattern is flower seed packets!

There was a special section on American women designers, where we saw this spectacular sundress.

How fabulous is the silhouette of this gown?

But for me, the real highlight of the exhibit was seeing the pieces by Charles James, an American couturier who had his heyday in the 1950s. His gowns are no less than feats of engineering.

Do go check out this exhibit if you can. The Charles James pieces alone are worth it!

As for the first-ever reader meet-up, I'm declaring it a smashing success. Besides going on the guided tour, we also had a lovely lunch, complete with a sewing Q&A with Sharon. Also, my mom came all the way from Arizona to attend! (I think I promised her a prize for having traveled the furthest to get there. Hmm, will have to figure out what that will be . . . )

Didn't make this one? Don't worry, there will be more! I'm currently cooking up a visit to FIT's Eco-Fashion exhibit later this summer. (See the Threads post on the exhibit here.) Details to come!

Five Spaces Left on "American High Style" Tour and Lunch!

Happy Sunday, everyone! I have five spaces left for our Brooklyn Museum tour and lunch that I need to fill by the end of the day tomorrow. A group of us will be going on June 19th at noon. As a bonus, my teacher Sharon (who helped me make my body double dress form and is teaching me draping) will do a fifteen minute Q&A at the lunch! She'll answer any sewing-related questions we have, like how to recreate looks from the exhibit, like maybe this amazing Charles James "Butterfly" gown featured above! But you must act fast, friends! I need to hear from you by midnight tomorrow, the 31st. E-mail me at gertie [at] blogforbettersewing [dot] com. The cost for the one-hour tour, catered lunch, and Q&A session is $40.75 a person.

Museum Meet-Up: Update!

A while back, I posted about the possibility of a meet-up to go see the American High Style exhibit at Brooklyn Museum. Well, folks, it's happening! I've organized a group tour of the exhibit, followed by a catered lunch at the museum. Read on for details!