Thursday, August 16, 2012

Desert Winds, Wine, Shoes, and Théâtre de la Mode

Miss Peggy Lee and I recently took a trip to the Maryhill Museum of Art to see the new wing, the Rodins and of course the permanent Théâtre de la Mode exhibit.
 We stopped of in Hood River, Oregon for a bathroom break and a quick promenade. Hood River is the windsurfing capital of the world, so you will need to hold onto your hat when you visit!


This store caught my eye despite being tucked in an alley. Just look at that sign! It's as big as the door!
 Aaaand we have a successful impulse buy!
This store's stock room is a vault. And I thought padlocking my sheuz was excessive!
 Oh right, we were going to the museum!
 We are on the Washington side looking towards Oregon. You can't tell from our vantage point, but the mighty Columbia river is in between the mansion and the desert background.

  To the exhibits!
Théâtre de la Mode pulled together the talents of theater set designers, haute couture designers, accessory designers, milliners, and designer shoemakers.
Contributors include iconic designers like Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, and Cartier.

The war had a severe impact on the apparel industry. Couturiers and their customers fled occupied France in droves. Clothing businesses that struggled to remain open had to deal with extreme shortages of cloth, thread, and other sewing supplies.


As designers forged Théâtre de la Mode after French and American troops drove the Nazis out, rationing still ran deep. The houses couldn't quite shed their competitive past and they strove to out-design one another despite their limited resources.



 The exhibit opened at the Louvre in 1945 and toured New York and San Fransisco in 1946. It was created to raise funds for war survivors and to help revive the French fashion industry in the aftermath of World War II.
 Maryhill rotates the scenes with regularity. It is incredibly difficult to take decent pictures of the scenes due to the dimly lit exhibit. We can't have these clothes fading now! You must go and see it with your own eyes!

 Off to the winery we go! The Maryhill Winery is a spectacular place to rest your bones after walking around all day. The view of the Columbia River Gorge is breathtaking!


 Glug, glug, glug.
Till next time!


Pictures from out last trip here
All content belongs to Jitterbuggin unless otherwise noted.

2 comments:

  1. Good pictures! When I finally got my chance to see Maryhill this year, I'd arrived 5 minutes before they closed, I was rushed, and focused on taking pictures of everything. And then, the pictures all turned out bad after I checked them later.

    Arrrggh. Next time I visit Portland, I'll have to make the trip out there again.

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  2. What a beautiful trip! It's so great to see fashion history and to see how things were actually worn and evolved, side by side, Thanks for sharing.

    -Desiree, Pop-o-matic Deluxe!

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