22 Hours in Portland

This weekend I took a trip to Portland to see the exhibit Native Fashion Now at the Portland Art Museum. For various reasons I decided to keep it short. I took the 6pm train from Seattle, and the 7pm out of Portland the next day.

It was a perfect little trip, except for an issue with my Business Class seat which I HAD PAID EXTRA FOR and I narrowly escaped going into full-on, Ross Geller, First World Problem meltdown mode.

But it got sorted out and I ended up having a lovely train ride and an even lovelier evening in my hotel room. Is there any feeling in the world quite like walking into a nice hotel room which you have all to yourself? It is fantastic. You dump your stuff on the floor, make a throne out of the sixteen pillows they gave you, and see if Say Yes to the Dress is on TLC. 

The next day, I was off to the Portland Art Museum.  

Native Fashion Now was originally created for the Peabody Essex Museum and is now on tour. Despite the name, it is actually more like 60+ years of Native Fashion, because it starts with some 1950s designs by Lloyd Kiva New.

FAB

The main point of the show was to show the diversity and the skill of many different kinds of Native fashion designers. Some are reinterpreting traditional designs and techniques, some are experimental and avant-garde, and some are just making awesome, wearable clothes. 

I lusted after this skirt:

Virgil Ortiz collaboration with Donna Karan

Loved this outfit but knew that I could never pull it off:

Jamie Okuma

This was another favorite:

Dorothy Grant "She-Wolf Tuxedo"

Overall the mannequins and the presentation was top-notch. 

The only thing that seemed weird to me was how most of the jewelry was shown on full torsos. It just felt like too big of a display mount for relatively small objects. 

and the mannequin boobs are keeping it from hanging flat! 

Actually one more thing. While it is always nice to see something fuller-figured in a fashion exhibit, it highlights yet another pitfall of mannequins with heads. If you fill out the body, the head starts to seem...small. 

Sorry mannequin, I'm not trying to body shame you! It is just that, with more minimalist forms, the body can be whatever shape it needs to be, without limbs and heads calling attention to a "standard" size.

After that I wandered around the rest of the museum and saw more cool stuff. I loved this painting where baby Jesus shows us that his textile game is on point: 

Thou shalt put a bird on it

And this trompe l'oeil painting that recreates the experience of finding something old in a museum collection and realizing no one ever properly cleaned it. 

WTF there are PEANUTS back there?!?!

There was also a gallery of contemporary Native art with some serious social messages. This rug was titled Resist White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchal Colonization.

#RealTalkThroughWeaving

I also came across this sculpture and at first I was like Awww cuuuute but then I saw it was maybe crushing a bird with its body?

And then the title of the piece is Seal + Penguin 4 Ever and now I'm even more delighted and confused. 

Next I headed over to the Oregon Historical Society. On the stairs up to their main Oregon history exhibit they had this fun display of artifacts:

This is a great idea, because often you have quirky stuff in the collection that doesn't fit in the main narrative of your core historical exhibit.

I also liked this case which was a great way to get a bunch of your random hats and shoes out on display, and visually say "Oregon is made up of many different kinds of people!"

But I didn't end up taking tons of pictures of this exhibit. There weren't even that many mannequins to make fun of. 

I did find these guys, which I guess are worth a chuckle 

But then I found this amazing wall decal and got a selfie:

Potential rival to the Kansas cow selfie

Close Encounters With Objects

Last weekend was amazing. First off, I had some fantastic musical experiences. I heard my Dad perform Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, attended The Flying Dutchman at the Seattle Opera, and finally watched Lemonade. 

For me, experiencing Beyonce in Lemonade was not unlike attending the opera or listening to Messiaen. I was totally into it, but also keenly aware that there were layers of understanding that were beyond me. And that's ok. I understand houndstooth on a deeper level than most people so it goes both ways.

YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW

Anyway, in addition to the musical experiences I also gave three very successful "Behind the Seams" programs at the museum. These events grew out of the "garment viewings" I used to do after my annual fashion lectures. Basically it is just getting a group of people in a room and taking a closer look at some artifacts in the collection. Unlike an exhibit where you can only see a few sides of a garment, I can show interior construction and details that get lost when it is dressed on a mannequin.

What I love about the programs (and the ones last Saturday were particularly good on this score) is that they end up being really collaborative. Often there are people in attendance who have lifetimes of knowledge about vintage clothing or sewing and they can point out things that I might have missed. Many garments are altered over time, or have multiple parts that don't go together clearly, so there can be a lot to discuss. In the first session we had a lively debate about the alteration history of a three-piece Balenciaga ensemble. Was the skirt original? Was the top altered? Was that weird peplum made out of the old lining?

I take no responsibility for that embarrassing hemline

Usually historians are taught to use documents and photos as primary sources, but it is much less common to be taught how to "read" an artifact. I got some good instructions on how to do it in grad school, but I also recently got the book The Dress Detective: A Practical Guide to Object-Based Research in Fashion which does a great job of explaining it in simple steps.  Now I'm all inspired to do more of this kind of programming! History gets so much more exciting when it is presented as something to explore and discuss, than as indisputable facts.
...

Huh so this ended up being a very weird post. Not much snarkiness, no update on the fan inventory, AND NOT ONE GIF!

Ok well this seems all in order then.

Fashion Trip to Portland (again)

This weekend I went to Portland for a Costume Society of America event (which it feels like I JUST did). I took the train (duh) but this time didn’t stay in the Ace Hotel because all their cheap rooms were booked. So instead I got a decent rate at a Mariott hotel and got to sleep in a giant, fluffy bed.

Six pillows all for meeeee!!!!

The only bad thing about the Mariott was that when I asked the concierge for directions to the Portland Art Museum (less than a mile away) he had to look up the address and then struggled to find it on the map.

The CSA event was in two parts. First, a docent tour Italian Style at the art museum. It was a touring exhibition from the V&A and full of high glamour. Photos weren't allowed, so you’ll have to just enjoy this giant Dolce & Gabbana banner outside the museum.

Byzantine. Realness.

I sort of felt bad for our docent, whose script was clearly not intended for people who already knew a lot about fashion history.  There was one pretty awesome new piece of information though: apparently Emilio Pucci went to Reed College and his first design job was making uniforms for the college ski team.

Besides the fashion, the best moment on the tour was when a conservator in the group spotted a centipede crawling on one of the platforms near the garments. She grabbed the only piece of paper nearby, leapt onto the platform, and mercilessly squashed it.  The piece of paper turned out to be the docent’s notes.

#GreatMomentsInPestManagement

In the afternoon we had the option to sign up for something called the “Portland Style Tour.” We went by bus to four stops:

1. The Dehen Knitting Company

This was probably my favorite stop. Dehen is a heritage brand that was started in 1920 and makes school sweaters, letterman jackets, and cheerleading uniforms, as well as their own line of classic styles. They had these totally cool knitting machines from the 1950s and the floor was slippery with fabric fuzz which of course made me think of...

Tragically, I was not romanced by the mill owner and so had to move on to the next stop...

2. Portland Garment Factory

This was a more modern factory concept: two women who saw the need for a factory that would do small runs for local designers as well as bigger projects for companies who want their stuff made domestically. It is a brilliant idea and they seem to be doing well.

Starting with this stop all our speakers where young and hip and occasionally spoke in Portlandia-worthy quips. The best from this location: “Inspiration struck while I was touring with my husband’s band…”

3. Adam Arnold Studio

I knew a little about Adam Arnold from the Fashioning Cascadia exhibit I saw last time I was in Portland. Basically he is designer who does only bespoke work, and our tour guide described him as a “local eccentric.” You can get a sense of what the visit was like from the following facts:

-No shoes were allowed in the studio space

-We were provided with tea and shortbread cookies he had baked

-He handed out his card which had a picture of him at 5 years old, dressed as a cowboy

-When asked about his influences and other favorite designers he answered “I pretty much get inspired by everything but fashion and designers.”

Some of it was a bit eyeroll worthy, but I also sort of wanted him to be my friend and have him make things for me.

4. Michelle Lesniak Studio

http://michellelesniak.com

So, apparently this woman won Project Runway? This was way beyond when I stopped watching. The designs we saw in her studio space were nice and she seemed like a talented person who probably wasn’t the villain of her season. However, I had a hard time not rolling my eyes at the following comments:

“I didn’t study fashion. I come from an art background.”

“I don’t follow trends. For me it is emotional.”

I know what she is trying to say, and great designers have to have creative minds that produce ideas that are all their own. But isn’t there always someone on Project Runway who says this? And then their stuff ends up being pretentious and unwearable or totally derivative even though they are convinced NO ONE HAS EVER MADE THIS SHAPE BEFORE EVER.

Also the whole “I don’t follow trends” and “I don’t get inspired by fashion” is buying into this whole idea that fashion is “bad” and so they are "different" and above all that. Hey, guess what-- small, DIY, “artisanal” designer operations ARE a trend. You are part of the fashion system AND THAT IS OK.
Also:

New York is a Great Place to Vist

“New York is a great place to visit…” the tourist saying goes, “but I would never want to live there.”

This phrase has been repeated by many and derided by many more. I actually heard someone say it on my airplane, who then proceed to talk about their experience staying in a hotel in Times Square. GURL. Of course you can’t imagine living there.

Well, after spending most of last week in New York I would like to submit my own version:

New York is a great place to live, then leave, and then come visit.

A few months ago I got an email from a friend I lived with at Menno House asking if I would have any interest in an April or May visit to NYC. I had been seriously thinking about a spring visit and this was exactly the push I needed. We got another friend involved and booked a room in the guest part of Menno House.

It was a perfect setup. We were all familiar enough with the city to be comfortable navigating the subways and the neighborhoods, and since we had already visited many of the sites there was no pressure to pack in everything. But we were still tourists, and so had fun doing new things and splurging on activities when we felt like it. If you want to have a wonderful time in New York you should definitely live there for a couple years and then come back for the visit.

Some highlights:

Mad Men exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image

Pretty good over all although smaller than I expected and some of the objects weren't labelled or didn't have much information. They assumed every viewer was a huge fan of the show and would recognize each piece. But, for example, there was an outfit in the “Betty” section that was totally unfamiliar to me. When did Betty wear velour hot pants?? Or was it actually a Sally outfit on an adult mannequin?? I would post a picture, but photography wasn’t allowed and I am nothing if not a museum rule-follower. So here is a gif of Bob Benson in his short shorts:

The rest of the museum was loads of fun and perhaps better than the Mad Men exhibit. I usually skip interactives but they several which were very clever and enjoyable.

Ate a mind-blowing wrap in a chair swing 

Falafel, pickled red onion, toasted sun­flower seeds, pick­les, and sesame sauce all wrapped in a fig dough tortilla which was cooked fresh in front of me. WHUT. The weird chairs suspended from the ceiling actually weren't that comfortable but we sat in them anyway.

Went to the Museum at FIT and was reminded that I am not universally against mannequins with heads

#BaldandFabulous

Also: YSL. Chicken Print. Realness.

Saw Kinky Boots on Broadway

There were multiple times when my brain was screaming I AM SO ENTERTAINED RIGHT NOW. Also, I was doubly entertained with the men who were sitting behind us who were very vocal about their enjoyment. When the main drag queen character would appear onstage in something fabulous they would audibly emote things like "YESSSS" and "SHUT. UP." 

Which we were all thinking anyway

So Much Fun Time with Friends

What I miss most about NYC is the people. Great classmates, great coworkers, great housemates, great mentors. Why you all gotta be so far away? Oh wait, I guess I was the one that moved...

In the Shadow of the Dome

This weekend I took a trip to Tacoma with my mom, and was perhaps more excited than a Seattleite is allowed to be about visiting Tacoma. (For my out-of-state readers, Tacoma is a large city about an hour drive south of Seattle. The two cities got in a vicious fight in the 19th century regarding a transcontinental railroad terminus and we've been throwing shade at each other ever since).

My mom's choir had a concert on Saturday and a late rehearsal the night before, so a bunch of choir members decided to stay the night in between. I came along in order to hear the concert and hopefully visit a museum while we were there. And Tacoma really rolled out all its grandeur for this trip. We stayed in a hotel with a glorious view of the Tacoma Dome:

(what this photo doesn't capture is the grime on the window)

But I was still excited about what Tacoma had to offer because it is home to the Washington State History Museum, which happened to have a clothing exhibition on view! The show was called Pomp & Circumstance: The Clothing of Transformation and when I heard about it I thought the concept was brilliant. It was all about special occasion clothing, which is exactly what every history museum has coming out of its ears. So why not put your wedding dresses, christening gowns, uniforms, inaugural gowns, and weird ceremonial gear from fraternal organizations on display together and come up with a theme that encompasses it all? GENIUS.

WORK IT GOV GREGOIRE

The exhibit was a little smaller than I expected and it looked like it had been put together on a tight budget, but there was a lot of interesting and unexpected stuff. It was the perfect topic to showcase their collection and I was really impressed by the loans they got. Including...

IS THAT...

 JINKX!

Mannequin dressing nitpick though: I would have put this dress on a slim male mannequin. If you add foam boobs to existing mannequin boobs you get: 

AGGRESSIVE FLOATING TORPEDO BREASTS

After basking in all the clothes, it was time to check out their core Washington State history exhibit which I hadn't seen since the 8th grade. It was light on artifacts and heavy on sets and props. Not my cup of tea but I realize that school groups are a huge part of their audience, and sitting inside a fake covered wagon is way more engaging for a kid than a real wagon wheel behind glass. But where they really lost me was with the full-size plaster people. These things were like creepy mannequins taken to the NEXT LEVEL.

So many plaster ruffles...

That is one pissed-off frontier drag queen

So remember how I said that there is a bit of a rivalry between Seattle and Tacoma? Because obviously Seattle is better and Tacoma is just bitter about it? 

Well, since this was an exhibit about the history of Washington State they obviously had to at least mention Seattle. So how did they do it? 

Welcome to Seattle! Land of hopeless slums!

Yep, they put the spotlight on Seattle for the section on the Great Depression, illustrating the era with a reproduction "Hooverville" shack. When you went inside there were two plaster men talking about how everything was terrible, accompanied by an audio track of heavy rain falling on a tin roof. 

NICE TRY TACOMA.