From September 25 to January 20 this interesting exhibition showed Impressionist paintings and the new fashion of that time. It juxtaposed the paintings with original dresses and sometimes even the actual dress next to the painted dress. Not only women's dresses but mens wear and the influence of department stores and 'ready wear' which was new at that time.
I had a chance to visit this show in November - now it was too late. Then I enjoyed to see the dresses so well preserved. Tiny stitches by the seamstresses who created these works of art one can see and they give the same immediate timeless connection as the visible brushstrokes by the painters. Their names - Manet, Renoir, Degas, Monet etc. - are well known, the names of the seamstresses - who knows?
You will be able to see this exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum in New York from February 26 to May 27 and then in Chicago at the Art Institute from June 25 to September 22, 2013. Worth a trip!
