7th January 2010

Location: FIT (fashion institute of technology)/ mid town/ main noodle house !/ madison square gardens
Company: Rhianna mostly

Time: all day

Night and Day exhibition was the museums own collection of pieces from decades even cenutries ago

American Beauty was based on the construction of garments and how american designs influenced and shaped literally and metaphorically the shapes and styles of garments through innovative construction methods

Notes from the American Beauty exhibition:

100 garments 1930's upwards- affordable ready to wear to luxurious couture

Pieces are ordered by method of creation

Video "simious lines" reminded me of the videos from textiles lessons

Patricia Mears- construction or craft of dress making Geometrics- Kimono

Emilio Pucci "Holsten was a genius"- sensual bodice cut
- nick name for one of his pieces "american beauty rose dress" a layered & billowing evening dress

was known for simplifying plans

- peasant woman inspired, pulling skirt up over head

Some sketches from the museum

Ralph Rucci: self manipulations- hand knotted evening dress (albaster silk jersey s/s 03 NY)

-> the pleats in the skirt add so to the flow &hang of the dress- added elegance, constricted bands of fabric, knotted on top to create a mesh bodice then unfurled to make 117 piece gored skirt

Rodarte: Marbeleized Leather LA dress (leather fall 09)

-> remarkable handling of delicate fabrics, covered in hand dyed silk netting, loved the textures, mix of simple tonal variations

Notes from the Night and Day exhibitions Afteroon Dress (Champagne silk satin & silk fringe circa 1925 France) typical of 20's evening dress -alternating fringe = change in tonal & textual qualities

after the museum got a cappucinno at a deli to plan where we were going, it smelt of nail varnish !

<--- Macy's- a real let down not what i had imagined at all. House of Frazier like almost, it was far less organised had a very european vibe for me. To some they won't know what i'm on about but it reminded me of the German department store Gallaria Kaufhof, particularly the sale section

There were some lovely Christopher Kors boots, almost debenhams like in places

They have quick lifts !! scary quick, they gave me the feeling of the boots library death lift to the 4th floor

The price ranges were mid to high, the service was ok but not as attentive as i had expected

Old Navy i found was good for basics, not really for fashion

the price ranges were mid to high and the service was pretty poor as the staff were unenthusiastic --->

Brightly decorated to match mix in the colour of clothing

The changing rooms were possibly the worst i have ever seen, it looked more like i had stepped into a store room and unfinished Had a GAP feel however a cheaper version or Orsay

Lunch : Deli 7th Avenue 3rd street corner

an interesting experience would never do the buffet box again though !was so expensive which is made more of problem due to price being calculated by the weight

nevertheless the people were very friendly and helpful

Victoria Secret- absolutely packed due to the sale on

Decorated very much like an upmarket american style walk in wardrobe, plush button down panels, shiny patent draws cases displayed around the store very reminscent on LV style displaying things around the store

the sales assistants were very helpful

Something i feel stores in the UK should introduce:

In the changing rooms they offered you a box of your size bras to try on as well as offering for free bra fittings. The box imparticular meant that i didn't have to venture back into the store to get more bras if i wasn't happy with the ones i had taken in myself as well as encouraged me to try things that may not have necessarily picked up on my own

Lord & Taylor the sales assistants were lovely, very friendly and -->

chatty particularly at the NARS counter
me and rhianna got a free makeover & were given advice on skincare, where the good places to shop were (soho and the village, american eagle & topshop)

They talked about the pressure to look good, even with the guys

Its odd for men to not look good or make an effort to look groomed

However the best advice we got from them was on places to eat !

The Main Noodle House was to die for

The wonton soup was delicious as was the plate of noodles

We were sat in the window and everyone who walked past pretty much looked at us, so much so we felt like works of art

A policeman came in and it was almost so like the stereotypical image of an amercian policeman, just with chinese instead of a doughnut as they went and sat in the car to eat it !!!

<--We also met these policemen who were again lovely and invited us to go to the rodeo with them the next day !

we said we might see them there but when we got to the knicks game we just booked the cheapest tickets as we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the rodeo !! lol

So FINALLY the KNICKS vs BOBCATS game

We even saw the classic proposal on the big screen and all the banter between the mascots etc it was such an amazing experience, however the second half was a lot better !