Cool shadows and the museum at FIT

Yesterday I taught a sewing lesson. My student made a very cool red and black shaped shrug.On my way home I passed this building. It has always been a favorite of mine.

 I had never see it before with

this particular play of shadows.

I was not the only person who had stopped to take photos of the pretty shadows cast by the brackets that hold up the fire escapes.

Sometimes there are museums that are on my to do list. The Museum at FIT is always on mine.

I had heard that Fairy Tale Fashion was not to be missed. I was looking forward to seeing the exhibit. I took a bunch of photos not realizing what a great job the museum had done in the online version of the exhibit. So feel free to just go to the link and flip through their photos.

It's kind of an interesting premise for an exhibit showing garments as if they have been chosen to clothe a reenactment of the classic stories. It puts garments from different eras in new contexts with one another.

Ultimately though the exhibit was less about the clothing and more about something else, perhaps theatrical spectacle.

I did love some of the garments, particularly this Thom Browne ensemble. 

My sewing buddies should be aware that some of the sewing on the skirt was pretty funky. The whole ensemble was great, but some of the parts had the same wonkyness that we all occasionally suffer from. So don't beat yourself up if your own work is less than perfect.

The upstairs exhibition space that tends to have historical exhibits that are useful for FIT students showed Denim. 

Here is the great Claire McCardle Popover dress complete with potholders. I loved this 1952 circle skirt appliques with dimensional vegetables. It is completely silly.

Is this not a great belt? 

 Parts of the exhibit felt like revisiting my past.  I would have loved to own either of these jeans , either the Calvin Klein's or the Jordache  when I was in college. Instead i wore Carhart painter's pants. 

I remember these outfits from this display from my high school years. I owned a white Levis short sleeved denim jumpsuit. I thought I looked divine in it. 

My older sisters had simpler versions of the blue tie dyed shirts. I ended up wearing them when I grew into them . I used to embellish jeans when I was in college. 

I love this gown made out of deconstructed jeans.

As always the museum at FIT is worth a visit. Even if you aren't there to look at the exhibit, they renovated their formerly gross bathrooms and you can sit on a padded bench and charge your phone or camera, like I did after visiting the exhibits.