The Met has an exhibit called Camp: Notes on Fashion. This year’s Met Gala celebrated the exhibit, which is part of The Costume Institute at the Met. The exhibit examines how the elements of irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration are expressed in fashion. Not to mention food!
Here are some of my favorite pieces from the exhibit.
I would love to wear one of these gorgeous gowns to the next gala at the National Arts Club! An inspired pairing…
Spanish designer Cristoba Balenciaga evening dress (1951), black silk velvet and pink silk taffeta. French designer Thierry Mugler “Venus” ensemble (1995-96 haute couture), bodysuit of beige synthetic powernet embroidered with clear paillettes and pearl beads; dress of black silk velvet and pink silk satin with pink and blue silk satin roses.
Here’s a variation on wearing the lampshade on your head. There’s so much going on here, the mind boggles. David Hockney swimming pool, suit of armor, art deco shapes, wetsuit zipper. And so cute!
British designer Mary Kathantzou ensemble, 2011. Top of polychrome printed cotton-synthetic crepe; skirt of polychrome printed synthetic satin and white synthetic velvet trimmed with clear crystals.When you think Bob Mackie, you must think Cher! This 2008 dress is nude synthetic tulle embroidered with iridescent crystals, clear seed beads, and clear paillettes; headpiece of white silk organza and white felt embroidered with polychrome crystals and iridescent paillettes.Wild and Lethal Trash ensemble (1996); jacket of yellow PVC, bodysuit of purple synthetic spandex knot. French designer Jean Paul Gaultier dress (1995-6) of synthetic plain weave.This is making me hungry. According to Andrew Rose, camp is the “inherent funniness of leftovers.” The Italian design House of Moschino (Jeremy Scott) “TV Dinner” ensemble (2019-20). Cape of jute plain weave, polychrome foam, and silver spandex knit; romper of green synthetic plain weave embroidered with green paillettes.“The Souper” dress, à la Andy Warhol, 1966-67. You know how much I love the Campbell’s Soup theme!
A triptych of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies, 1914-1926. Altogether he painted about 250 pictures of water lilies in the series.
MOMA is closed for four months for a major $450 million renovation. The reno will add 40,000 square feet and improve traffic flow. The good news is the museum will be able to display more pieces from its permanent collection.
The museum will reopen on October 21.
I went on the last day before the closure, June 16, in a pre-emptive move against MOMA withdrawal. Here are some favorite works of art from the permanent collection for you to enjoy if you are missing our beloved museum.
MOMA One
It almost seems a crime to present these inexpertly photographed works of art, especially as better versions are already available online in abundance. So I hope you will take this in the spirit intended—to share my love and appreciation of these works with my friends and family.
MOMA Two
Did you notice any suprising new artists or works of art in the above slideshow? 😉
I revere Anna Wintour and Vogue magazine. ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ is my favorite vacay movie. But just to cut through the idealization, this time I’m going to take the piss and show how style translates from haute couture to proletariat.
Highlighter hues as seen on the celebs in Vogue.
I ripped this page out of May Vogue for inspiration, when I was in Paris checking out the style in the Fashion Capital.
When I got back to New York, I spotted these highlighter hues everywhere! Taking it to the street…
Delivering laundry & multitasking on the phone.
Strolling on the street with a soda. Girl in foreground is in highlighter pink.
Waiting for the subway at Penn Station, phone in hand. Woman on the bench is in highlighter yellow too.
Unloading a truck on Sixth Avenue.
So you see, you don’t have to be rich and famous to dress like the stars. Just color-match and you’re there!
As I mentioned in my last post, this year I attended the famous Easter Parade in NYC on April 21, beginning at 10 AM at 49th Street and proceeding north to 57th Street. The parade ended at about 1 PM. I also watched the 1948 film, “Easter Parade,” with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. This is a classical musical, with the song and dance numbers blending absolutely seamlessly into the story, in glorious color, with fun tunes by Irving Berlin. The grand finale is on Fifth Avenue, and this is where the Easter Parade takes place to this day.
Here are some photos of this year’s paraders:
Easter 2019
It was a glorious sunny day, and people were in a jubilant mood, as you can see. The man in the hounds-tooth jacket actually sang a few bars from “Easter Parade” to me! People were happy to pose in their festive finery, though I also captured a few candid photos on the subway and platform. It was a joyful day with the true Easter spirit of new life and growth bringing happiness to everyone’s hearts.
Each year on Easter Sunday, celebrants in New York don fantastical finery and show off their very best bonnets along Fifth Avenue. This year’s parade takes place on April 21, beginning at 10 AM at 49th Street and proceeding north to 57th Street, continuing until about 4 PM. This New York City tradition dates back to the 1870s, and anyone wearing a bonnet can join the parade. As you probably know, the best place to watch is from the area around St. Patrick’s Cathedral between 50th Street and 51st Street.
Macy’s Fashion Pods
In the weeks leading up to the parade, Macy’s has its annual Spring Flower Show at three New York locations. This year’s theme is a sci-fi spectacle called Journey to Paradisios, complete with “fashion pods,” alien trees, and a spidercrawler. Each location has different flower displays and events. This is the 73rd annual Macy’s Flower Show. According to Susan Tercero, executive producer of Macy’s Flower Show, “This year Macy’s Flower Show will take spectators on an incredible extra-terrestrial journey filled with wondrous sights, dazzling discoveries and unexpected experiences as we invite them to explore Paradisios. More than 1 million spectators in three cities nationwide will have the opportunity to experience this immersive floral world and be the first humans to set foot on this majestic planet.”
National Arts Club Bonnet Bash 2019
In a related event, the National Arts Club will be holding their Bonnet Bash 2019, “Carnival of Capital Sins,” on Friday, April 12, 8 PM to 11:30 PM. Tickets are $35, available on eventbrite.
Stay tuned to this page for photos from this year’s parade!
Alexandra Kargin, The Bomb, and Karen Rempel in spots
I’ve been attending FashionSpeak Friday events at the National Arts Club, ever since stumbling upon the Iris Apfel book launch (for Accidental Icon: Musings of a Geriatric Starlet) and award ceremony there, in May 2018. Suddenly a glamorous world of high fashion and style opened up before my eyes, and I knew I wanted to be part of it. I happened to be wearing fantastic Herchkovitch; Alexandre + Melissa clear vinyl platform shoes with flower cut-outs, and it appeared I fit right into the event, for people assumed I was part of it. (Actually, I’d been attending our graduation dinner for the United Nations Worldview Institute Executive Leadership Training, downstairs, that evening.) In any case, I was smitten with the National Arts Club, FashionSpeak Fridays, and fashion in general.
The Bomb’s shoes & socks. This man has style!
A few weeks ago I attended a leopard-themed event at NAC, in honor of International Women’s Month. The speaker was Jo Weldon, author of Fierce: The History of Leopard Print. She gave a very informative and fascinating talk, and the evening began with an amazing burlesque performance. What was most delightful about the evening for me was the prevalence of leopard prints, as New Yorkers love the chance to play dress-up. There were so many spots in that room that I thought I might have an epileptic fit.
Sole mates – zebras and leopards in harmony
FashionSpeak Fridays at the National Art Club are free to the public, so I like to go whenever possible. I just love the atmosphere at the Club, and the fashion events are truly inspirational. The Club, at 15 Gramercy Park South, is located in the historic Samuel Tilden Mansion. Samuel Tilden, the 25th Governor of New York, combined two mansions and gave them a complete redesign in 1863. Tilden hired Calvert Vaux, a famed architect and one of the designers of Central Park, to modernize the façade with sandstone, bay windows, and ornamentation in the Aesthetic Movement style. John LaFarge created stained glass panels for the interior of the mansion and glass master Donald MacDonald fashioned a unique stained glass dome for Tilden’s library that crowns the room where the bar is now located. This is truly one of my favorite places in New York to have a drink.
Bert Daniels, Karen Rempel, and part of Jo Weldon’s leopard print collection, with DJ in background – he mixed a lot of great jungle-themed tunes for the event!
In 1966, New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission declared 15 Gramercy Park South a New York City Landmark; and in 1976 the Federal government designated the building a National Historic Landmark. Of course the club has had many illustrious members, including three US presidents and many artists, writers, architects, and other creative geniuses.
Dusty, Alexandra, me, Anila, Nikki, and Bert at the Rose Bar, across Gramercy Park, after the event
The club is a great place to hang out, and I hope to be a member soon so I can lounge and dine in the gorgeous library and restaurant. The sparks of creativity in the atmosphere have landed in my heart, and ignited in my new role as Fashion Editor of the WestView News, the Voice of the West Village. As many of you know, I’ve been writing articles for the paper for a few years now. When I wrote a piece on the closing of the Cornelia Street Cafe (also discussed at length in this blog), the owner of the paper, George Capsis, said he’d like me to write, write, write for the paper. He invited me to HQ on Charles Street, and asked what I would like to write about. What came out of my mouth, with no forethought or foreknowledge, was the single word, “Fashion.” Wow! A revelation… My first fashion column came out in March, and the April edition is due out tomorrow, with the second column. You’ll see me sporting leopard there too!
As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve been writing fashion pieces for the WestView News. With spring hovering near, the West Village is starting to take on a greenish hue. Tiny leaves are budding on the trees in sunny gardens. Birdsong is in the air, calling us to spring forward out of our beds at an earlier hour. A sprinkling of fairy dust was also in the air on St. Patrick’s day, as West Village residents and visitors alike took to the streets sporting green to celebrate our favorite Irish holiday.
Paul MacKnight’s St. Pat’s ’stache
It’s an eerie coincidence that Paul MacKnight works at both Barre3 and Bar Six, both in the West Village. (And frequents Hell’s Kitchen’s Bar Nine, the dueling piano bar?) He poured a wicked Irish coffee on Sunday, serving it up to St. Patrick’s Day patrons during his shift behind the bar. In honor of the day, he put on some gold and green sparkle, making him the pixiest bartender in town.
Sana Siddiqui strolling down Sixth Avenue with Jefferson Market Library in background
Meanwhile, Sana Siddiqui strolled with her family down Sixth Avenue, and this couple power-walked in green splendor down a Gold Coast side street.
I’ve been getting emails from Cornelia St. Cafe owner Robin Hirsch for the past month, letting his mailing list know that the cafe will be closing for good, after 4 decades of being a Greenwich Village institution. I wandered over there today after Barre class, not realizing it’s the last day they will be open.
I had a chat with Robin, and he said the closure is not just about rent increases, but also about general landlord nastiness. Evidently the landlord who owns the building is on the Top 10 list of worst landlords in New York, and actually boasts of being THE WORST!
I’ve had a few wonderful evenings at the cafe over the past few years, and recently was the first patron in for a morning coffee, trying to soak up the last few bits of memory before the cafe closes. Some of you may recall that when I worked at Krystyna’s Place, the vintage clothing store on the same block as the cafe, we wound up the photo shoot at the cafe, and I met Robin that day. He gave us each a glass of wine, as Krystyna is a good friend of his. It was the perfect ending to a dream day.
So I have a soft spot in my heart for this New York institution. For a while, my writing teacher from Gotham Writers, Nelsie Spence, was hosting a monthly comedy reading show here, the Imperfect Perfect Show. Sadly, I never got over to see it.
Today was an especially vibrant and emotional day at the cafe, with regulars and new visitors alike thronging around the bar, filling the tables, and lining up outside for the 3:00 PM Songwriter’s Exchange. Tonight, the final event will be an artists’ salon, starting at 7 PM. I was lucky to get a seat at the bar, and ordered a tasty New Year’s Day brunch of eggs Florentine, coffee, and mimosa. An excellent first meal of the year, though tinged with sadness.
Here are some short clips of the scene outside the cafe today.
On one side of me was a couple from Toronto, in town to celebrate New Year’s Eve. The man is a performer in Come From Away in Toronto, and his partner is a tango dancer. They went to a tango event last night and then finished up the evening at Marie’s Crisis, a sing-along piano bar in the West Village. On the other side of me, I met a long-time New Yorker and cabaret performer, MAC nominee Kathryne Langford. She is under consideration for a Bistro Award for a recent cabaret performance, and has promised to take me out to some of her favorite New York places. How wonderful to meet a new friend on the first day of the year.
The cafe is selling its custom-made tables. Lacking space in my apartment for any more furniture, I took home a Cornelia St. Cafe sparkling bottle instead. (See top photo.)
Robin Hirsch is an amazing person, a former Oxford, Fulbright, and English-Speaking Union Scholar, who has acted, directed, taught, and published on both sides of the Atlantic. He is a long-time supporter of eclectic artists and art forms, ranging from stilts, to tight-rope walking, to writing to spoken word to music, and much more. He has written a book about the cafe, called The Whole World Passes Through: Stories from the Cornelia Street Café, and other works as well. His cafe will be much missed, and I wish him and the staff all the best as they head in a new direction.
Here’s a brief history of the cafe, and some stories about the cafe on the same page. Here’s another great article about the cafe and some of the famous and infamous people and goings-on.
I spent this New Year’s Eve with my friend Lew, and we began the evening with a cocktail at the Rock Center Cafe Bar, overlooking the ice rink from the north. (In my case, a refreshing peppermint martini–close cousin to the Rempeltini!) Then we dined at the Sea Grill, overlooking the ice rink from the south.
We had a lovely view of the statue of Prometheus, framed by the fountain backdrop, illuminated by lights that changed color periodically. The fountain was so beautiful it truly enhanced the splendor of the evening.
According to the bards at the Rock, “Prometheus is said to be the best-known sculpture in Rockefeller Center and the most photographed monumental sculpture in all of NYC. Created by famed American sculptor Paul Manship, who held a great fascination for mythological subjects and events, it has become the main attraction of the Lower Plaza. Its central theme is best stated by the quote that’s carved in the red granite wall behind him, taken from the sixth-century B.C. Greek dramatist Aeschylus: “Prometheus, Teacher in Every Art, Brought the Fire That Hath Proved to Mortals a Means to Mighty Ends.””
We had hoped to begin the evening with a cocktail at Bar SixtyFive at the Rainbow Room, which had a holiday party beginning at 9:30. Tickets for this event on the 65th floor of Rockefeller Center began at $450. Unfortunately, they didn’t allow anyone upstairs prior to the party, so the closest I got to the Rainbow Room is this coatcheck ticket!After our lovely dinner, we walked up Fifth Avenue, retracing my steps from a week ago in reverse. We saw the Bergdorf Goodman windows again, and walked along the park to 7th Avenue. I’d read online that the ball at Times Square would be visible all the way up 7th Avenue to the park, and indeed it was, albeit the size of a pea.
We stood under a shelter until 5 to midnight, then stepped out in the rain at the top of 7th Avenue, near Central Park, to watch the ball drop. Being that it was about the size of a pea from where we stood, once it started to fall we couldn’t see it. However, we could see the fireworks down in Times Square, and fireworks behind us in the park.
It was fun to be out in the rain with other people in a festive mood, and I am glad Lew was up for the adventure!
After our taxi dropped Lew off in Chelsea, I finished the night at Small’s in my West Village neighborhood, with a set of jazz and a glass of prosecco. I made it home by 2:15 a.m., and woke up feeling pretty good…
I hope you all had a wonderful evening, in whatever key you chose, and wish you the very best for 2019.
And just to start the year off on the right note, I want to share this article about the Top 99 Good News Stories of 2018. Thanks, Jill, for passing this on.
Bergdorf Goodman 2018 – one of the windows facing the Plaza Hotel
I recently saw the film Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s with my friends Deborah M. and Nancy G. (Nancy is co-founder and co-owner of Zeitgeist Films, and this year she distributed the New York zeitgeist films Bill Cunningham New York and Studio 54, and many others.) One segment of the fascinating documentary about Bergdorf Goodman was devoted to the efforts that go on behind the scene to create the Christmas window displays. The displays wrap around the corner of the building, from W. 57th St. (facing the Plaza Hotel) to Fifth Avenue. There are about 6 or 7 full-sized picture windows, complete with picture frames of various sorts, including ivy, as well as a number of smaller insets. Each individual window is indeed a work of art, filled with treasures.
Bergdorf Goodman has been lighting up 5th Avenue for over 100 years, moving up the avenue and occupying several locations over the years. The main store, on the west side of Fifth Avenue, opened in 1928. They also have a men’s store, across the street.
BG 2015 First
I first admired the window displays on Fifth Avenue the winter of 2015. The photos above are from this first foray into New York’s Christmas magic. Some of you may have seen my video of the Lord and Taylor display. Sadly, L&T is closing its flagship store on Fifth Avenue, and they did not have displays this year—just “Everything Must Go” signs filling every window. So sad to see a New York institution die, to be replaced by WeWork headquarters. (Lord and Taylor is now owned by the Hudson Bay Company, and other locations remain open, but not the flagship.)
BG 2015 Second
Awash in more than seven million Swarovski crystals, the 2015 theme was appropriately named Brilliant Holidays. Two of the windows shown in my slide show are called The Crown Jewels and The Treasure Chest. I think you’ll be able to tell which images are part of these incredible displays.
Bergdorf 2018 First
In any case, I was especially motivated to go look at Bergdorf’s windows this Christmas (2018) after seeing the documentary. And I thought it would be interesting to compare this year’s windows with the ones I saw in 2015. So I’ve prepared the “then and now” slideshows for you–two sets for each year. These windows are truly the epitome of fine craftsmanship, creativity, bling, and extravagance. This year’s theme is Bergdorf Goodies, with all manner of cakes, cookies, and candies, and I wanted to enter into these displays and start biting. But really, I got a sugar rush just by looking at them!
Bergdorf 2018 Second
In case you are wondering how these windows come into being, I highly recommend you see the documentary. Once the theme for the current year’s windows is selected, craftspeople in Brooklyn create the backdrops and sculpture creatures that populate the displays. Other groups of people select clothes and accessories to work with the theme, dress the manikins, and mount the displays. I can’t imagine how much it costs to create these gorgeous displays for the enjoyment of New Yorkers and visitors. Of course, the goods on display cost hundreds of thousands of dollars too. I must confess I wish I could wear clothes like this from time to time. They are so fantastical and fun.
It was a rainy night, but there was a constant stream of people passing by and stopping to admire the windows. It was a challenge to get the unobstructed views of the main picture windows. A New York couple who clearly looks at the windows every year was commenting on the displays, and I couldn’t resist filming them.
“Oooooh. Adorable. Fantastic. They must be just divinely inspired to come up with one of a kind things. These are not normal off the rack. These are things that they actually made. Look at these manikins, how skinny the legs are. No sense of reality. These are just divine. This is the height of the trade. It doesn’t get any better than this. No one can do anything … like this. They made these… they make everything. It’s all too great. [Street vendor: “Umbrella, umbrella…”]”
More Displays
After enjoying the display at Bergdorf Goodman, I continued down Fifth Avenue, past Tiffany’s and Trump Tower, to the always decadently rich Dolce & Gabbana display. My first New York designer dress was a Dolce & Gabbana satin party dress, which I lost 15 pounds to fit into. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for D&G since then! This clip shows the Cake Factory in one of the windows at BG, followed by the window at D&G:
Continuing south down Fifth Avenue, I saw the marvellous Saks Fifth Avenue display, across the street from Rockefeller Center. People were thronging the sidewalk across the street, and barricades were up on both sides to prevent gawkers from seeping onto the street and causing vehicular incidents.
It is an amazing display of lights set to a Christmas carol. After this, there was a pause, and then the lights started up again to New York, New York. Ah, home!
Finally, I headed along W. 47th St., over to the BDFM subway line on Sixth Ave. that would whisk me home. On W. 47th, I saw the Rockefeller Christmas tree and rink, as well as FAO Schwarz, the oldest toy store on earth. It was open on Fifth Avenue continuously for 150 years, then closed 3 years ago. It just reopened at Rockefeller Center this November, in time for Christmas. The splendor of life-sized stuffies is back!
