I recently spent a fabulous and busy week in sunny New York (the weather was absolutely fantastic) and visited the Charles James exhibit at the Met (located in the newly named: Anna Wintour Costume Institute).

I was highly impressed with the integration of technology in this exhibit, seeing the x-ray like robots dissecting the inner architecture of the jaw-dropping ball gowns was fascinating. Each ball gown had a flat screen that displayed the couture construction from the inside out as well as historical photographs of the women donning these works of art. I highly enjoyed reading about the women James dressed, as each gown had a story, especially the one's made for heiress Milicent Rogers.

The exhibit is split into two galleries, one containing the glamorous ball gowns and the second houses James' RTW pieces (many coats and skirt and jacket ensembles). I particularly enjoyed the side gallery in the lower level that contained photographs, paintings, accessories and notes from his atelier. This truly brought the exhibit to life and showed us who James was as a person and artist through the intimate memorabilia on display.

On display through August 10, 2014

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