American women aren't necessarily trouble, as simultaneous spring exhibitions at the Met's Costume Institute and the Brooklyn Museum seek to prove next spring, celebrating the evolution of fashion in the USA from 1890-1940.
“American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity,” at the Costume Institute will feature 75 pieces for suffragettes, movie stars, hippies, flappers and more, from designers such as Travis Banton, Callot Soeurs, Elizabeth Hawes, Madame Grès, Charles James, Jeanne Lanvin, Elsa Schiaparelli, Valentina, Jean-Philippe Worth and Charles Frederick Worth. The show will run from May 5-August 15, at the same time (May 7-August1) that the Brooklyn Museum runs "American Woman: Fashioning a National Collection," with goodies from Charles James, Norman Norrell and Jeanne Paquin that once belonged to women such as Lauren Bacall and Millicent Rogers.
The exhibits have the big guns for support, sponsored by the Gap and Conde Nast and kicking off with the annual Met Ball, being chaired by Oprah, Anna (as in Winfrey and Wintour, obvi) and Gap creative director Patrick Robinson.
Following Europe-heavy jaunts across the sartorial globe, it feels good to have NYC museums focusing their attention closer to home.
