Poiret

My 13-year-old cousin stayed with me Saturday evening to Sunday evening, and I think it went well. She's going through a rough time family-wise at that moment through no fault of her own, so I wanted her to have a nice time. One of the things we did, at my boss's suggestion, was go to see the Poiret exhibit currently going on at the Met. Interestingly, in an exhibiition hall on the ground floor, off the new Greek and Roman galleries, as opposed to in the Costume Institute space.

I actually read about Poiret fairly recently in the New Yorker which was good as my cousing travels through museum exhibits much more quickly than I do, so I didn't have time to do all the reading and slow looking that I normally do. It also meant I didn't have anyone to chat to while looking. I wanted to say un-witty things like, "my god, you'd need to be an absolute stick to look ok with a roll of fabric on your hips," and, "that coat would make a normal person look like a tank." Then again, it's hardly news that if one is going to wear something with very little structure they ought to be quite thin.

Still, the work I liked best was that which still had a real shape to it, while not going to far into the "oriental" look he was so influenced by. While the Met did a nice job of presenting his innovations, particularly in showing through projected images how some of the clothing was draped, I think you still came away--or at least I still came away--feeling as though you were looking at costumes. For all the practicality of getting rid of restrictive undergarments, the clothing still doesn't feel as though it would work for your typical woman. Then again, I suppose that's why his popularity declined once women became more active.

Still, one has to applaud that kind of devotion to beauty, even if it doesn't seem like clothing that is as functional as one might hope. Of course, the dresses Poiret was replacing don't scream functional either.

Beyond that, my cousin and I rented some movies, ate out, and did the whole girly manicure/pedicure thing. It didn't rain as it was supposed to, but it was nevertheless to hot to go for the long walk I normally would have liked. I don't quite know why being out in the sun is so draining, although I'm sure there's some kind of biologic reason for it. So now I'm home, typing away with one of the cats sacked out on my lap and enjoying the quiet. I love having a roommate and have not been liking this only-person-in-the-apartment thing generally, but I do have to admit as much as I prefer living with people, and as much as I liked having my cousin visit, tonight I'm really enjoying the peace and quiet of having the place to myself.