Charles James: Beyond Fashion at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

So best dressed from last night’s Met Gala? Gotta be Tabitha Simmons in Dolce & Gabbana and Hamish Bowles and his outstanding cape-work, no? Plus a shoutout is in order for Hamish Bowles’ top notch pap work on Instagram

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Now that’s out of the way, onto the exhibition, Charles James: Beyond Fashion. Charles James was an English-born couturier based in New York whose designs were technical feats of engineering, all the more incredible as he had no formal training. Charlie Porter has written an excellent post about him, which will have to do for me as I have no scope to visit New York any time soon…

I would so love to delve into the room of ephemera though. Loving this typed list called ‘Clients whom I would have liked to dress…sometimes could have but did not’…

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And here’s something I never knew. This Cecil Beaton photo full of Charles James gowns is iconic, but I had no clue that the model on the far left looking in the mirror is Carmen Dell’Orefice. A legend of modelling and still working today at the age of 83 – high five to that lady (and thank you David Downton for that nugget)!

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CHARLES JAMES: BEYOND FASHION IS AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART IN NEW YORK FROM MAY 8th – AUGUST 10th