Last week, one of my favorite exhibits in forever debuted at the MFA in Boston.  Taken right from their website, here is the description:

“Hollywood Glamour: Fashion and Jewelry from the Silver Screen” presents designer gowns and exquisite jewelry from the 1930s and ‘40s—the most glamorous years of Hollywood film. The exhibition focuses on the iconic style of sultry starlets of the period, including Gloria Swanson, Anna May Wong, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, and Joan Crawford. Hollywood style in this era was a blend of on- and off-screen fashion and accessories, including dramatic costumes created for the screen by famous designers such as Adrian, Travis Banton, and Chanel and dazzling jewelry from makers of the era like Trabert & Hoeffer-Mauboussin and Paul Flato. Along with eye-catching gowns once worn by famous figures and the sparkling jewels that contributed to their allure from the MFA and private collections, photography by Edward Steichen along with period photographs, film stills, and film clips capture the style of the silver screen era. Enjoy a glimpse of Hollywood in the Golden Age of glamour.”

I was overwhelmed with the beauty – I walked in the room and literally gasped and got a case of the vapors!  My wedding dress, designed by my friend, the beautiful and talented Nirva Derbekyan, was a bias cut silk and chiffon dress that was completely influenced by the 30’s; these dresses clearly are from one of my favorite times in fashion history. No flash was allowed, but pictures were. I did my best to capture my favorites to share with you here.  The top pictures are of the fantastic jewels that accompanied the dresses (that fan in the first picture – a lipstick holder – could you die?!). The bottom two dresses are Chanel Couture and they left my jaw dropped open – just as timeless today as they were when they were made in the 1930’s.  On a fun note, those extreme platform shoes pictured below – Mae West, who stood at only 5 feet tall, had 8 inch platforms made for her so that she would appear much taller than her reality. They literally created platforms in the color of her long evening dresses so that no one would be able to tell what was really going on.

I highly recommend that anyone in the Boston area get to the MFA to see the show in person.  For those of you that can’t travel the distance, enjoy the pictures!