Visiting some new exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum

If you've been following me for awhile, you know I love museums and their exhibits. I try to go to every fashion related one in NYC. Also, I know I'm blessed to live in a city with so much access to these events and appreciate every minute of it. Besides missing people, I've missed museum trips! I've most especially missed spending time with my friends.  Thanks Wanett (sewnbrooklyn on IG) for spending the day with me, it was just everything!

Honestly pre-pandemic, I wouldn't go to the Brooklyn Museum, declaring it was too far to travel on public transportation. I've since changed my mind! *LOL*  Sitting at home for 18 months makes you realize the importance of experiencing as much as you can. Y'all I don't drive, so this was a trip totally done on public transportation. An Uber to NJTransit train to NYC, then an Uber to the Museum reverse it to come home...but it was so worth it!

Please note this is a picture heavy post.

There were two exhibits I wanted to see ~

The Obamas Portrait Tour which will be in Brooklyn until October 24th

and the 

Christian Dior Designer of Dreams exhibit that will be in Brooklyn until February 20, 2022.

I took a lot of pictures beginning with my trip across the Manhattan Bridge...

My Uber was stopped at the light and I loved the graffiti

versus fire escape color on this building...

Columns at the Brooklyn Museum

The Brooklyn Museum is doing timed entrance tickets so our first set of tickets were for The Obama Portraits. I loved that there was biographical information on the artists who painted the portraits, why Michelle chose that dress, and the mediums used to paint the pictures.

We had a short snack and talked and talked while we waited for our timed admittance to the Christian Dior Exhibit. Now I'm going to admit this exhibit made me cry. By the end of it I was so overwhelmed with how it was displayed, the sensory perceptions and the beauty of the garments, that I cried. Thank goodness for masks because no one could see me lose my sh*t!

Wanett and I took a lot of pictures and this is the combination of both of our picture taking efforts. I'm sharing them as they appear in the exhibit with a little commentary thrown in.

This is right as you enter the front 

and it's a quilted textile

I loved that cranberry dress in the middle. If I was still working

in Corporate America, I would be scheming how to interpret it!

The pleated skirt on this dress was awesome!

"The New Look" outfit!

Natalie Portman's Dior Commercial Dress

The next section shared garments by other House of Dior designers.  I only took a few pictures here because so much of this has been shared on social media and in magazines. At this point this still seemed like a regular museum exhibit. A really thorough and well displayed exhibit.

Loved the embroidery and trim on this jacket

This dress was all hand embroidered...it was stunning!

Then you moved into a display organized by color and full of miniatures, shoes, hats, jewelry that was fabulous in the way it was displayed.

Finally we moved into the room where the toiles are displayed. This is the room I've always wanted to see after seeing the pictures of the exhibit online. Because I marveled at the height and number of toiles displayed...

So imagine my shock and surprise when I realized that this effect was achieved by mirrors!

I stood there for five minutes with my jaw hanging open. The use of the mirrors and the optical illusion was everything! I had set my camera to record and someone had to walk up behind me and tell me I wasn't recording. It was because of the effect of the room.

The next room we moved into is the piece de resistance of the exhibit. It was so overwhelming and amazing that I walked around the room twice before I could focus on the garments. The staging in this room is perfection. I've never seen an exhibit like this and if you think I'm spoiling it by sharing all of this, I'm not.  My words can NOT do this room justice.

So some pictures...

I loved this exhibit and stayed here for a minute!

Side/back views of the dresses to show the artistry

I spent the most time in this room and this is where I cried. Even typing this reminds me of the way the exhibit made me feel and I needed to exhale.

The final room shows dresses the stars have worn...and there are decades of them. I'm not sharing them all, just a few of my faves. It was the perfect decompression after the excitement of the previous two rooms.

Grace Kelly & Josephine Baker wore these dresses from left to right

The back of the dress Nicole Kidman wore to the Oscars

Princess Diana wore the blue slip dress

I know I shared a lot and believe me it's not half of the collection. I wasn't a fan of the House of Dior when John Galliano was the head designer so his entire section is missing. Quite a few garments from when Dior himself designed it because I had seen a lot of them.  All of this is to say go and see the exhibit for yourself. IT IS SO WORTH IT. I'm actually determined to see it again before it leaves, it was that good!

Some of these pictures were posted to my Instagram account and quite a few sewists talked about seeing it in London, Paris and Dallas, TX. And how it looks like they're sharing different garments, so if you get a chance, please go and see the exhibit.  It's so worth it!

...as always more later!

The Crown Exhibit at The Winterthur

After Renee (MissCeliesPants) posted to her Instagram stories that she and Carly had gone to see The Crown Exhibit at The Winterthur Museum, I started plotting a trip with Gaylen. Luckily I worked my last Summer Friday this past Friday, so I was on a 3:05pm train to Lancaster soon after.

After dinner out, I had a relaxing evening at Carriage Corner B&B. I swear staying there is way more enjoyable to me than staying at a hotel. Less people, more personal attention and large comfortable rooms.

Saturday morning after eating an amazing breakfast, I headed over to Zooks. Another thing I like about Gaylen's B&B, most of where I want to go is within walking distance...and I always want to go to Zooks! I left Gaylen saying I'm only buying two pieces...only two!  

So here is what I came back with ~

I looked at this border print when I was at Sew Camp and decided

against purchasing it but I just couldn't leave it behind this time!

Purple Mod 60s print on the left

Blue/Yellow floral print on the right

The button bags are 24 buttons for 98 cents 

and the bags of a dozen were 20 cents a button

After showing considerable restraint at Zooks, cause I really could have purchased four or five more pieces, I ended up with just three. I was really proud of myself y'all! I also ended up buying every button I could at Nancy's, cause cheap shirt buttons...ummm yeah!  Then I headed back to the B&B where Gaylen was ready to head out to Delaware to the exhibit.

You can see the exhibits, take the house tour, and the tram around the gardens. Unfortunately we scheduled a late house tour first. Honestly I wanted out of the house tour 10 minutes into it. I'm just not into house tours of racist rich white Americans where the tour guides whitewash history. 

Next we went to see The Crown Exhibit and then missed the last garden tour tram which Gaylen really wanted to see. 

I was really thrilled with The Crown Exhibit though, probably because I love the show and am anxiously awaiting the next season! The interesting thing about the exhibit, is these garments are replicas of the actual garments the Royals wore and are displayed how the actors wore them in the Netflix series. There are lots of placques and information about how the costume designers designed and created the costumes. Thrilling me to no end with all the behind the scenes information about them.

You begin the Exhibit with Queen Elizabeth's father dying and how she became Queen.  So the Coronation Garments are first...

Queen Elizabeth's Coronation Outfit

The robe & suit that Prince Philip wore to the Coronation

The Coronation Crown and Scepters

The outfits were separated out by characters and events. I'm not going to highlight all of the outfits just my favorites. So after the Coronation robes, the next garments I adored were the wedding gowns of Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret.

Queen Elizabeth's Wedding Gown to Prince Philip

Placque showing Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip and Claire Foy,

the actress playing Queen Elizabeth wearing the wedding gown

Even the train was hand embellished!

Princess Margaret's wedding dress was a contrast 

because it was simplier in make and design

A few other pictures of evening wear because it was just stunning...

The dress Queen Elizabeth wore to meet Jackie Kennedy

Princess Margaret's Evening Dress (notice the pockets!)

Queen Elizabeth's evening dress

Queen Elizabeth's Coronation Dress with the special honors on it

and the Life Magazine cover showing the dress

I loved the exhibit. Gaylen wanted just a few more costumes. I guess I knew what to expect because I watched Renee's Instagram stories several times. To me that was worth making the trip to Winterthur alone.

On the way back to the Inn, we stopped at the craft store because Simplicity Patterns were on sale for $1.99. I only purchased three - trying to only buy things I will actually sew before the season is over. I also bought 10 skeins of yarn to start a new crochet project...but more on that later!

I came home Sunday evening after a wonderfully relaxing weekend! While I didn't sew, I had an amazing time with my friends and am so ready for Labor Day weekend sewing. 

If you get a chance to see The Crown Exhibit I highly recommend it. The Exhibit will be at Winterthur until January 5, 2020, so plenty of time to plan a trip!

...as always more later!