Costume Institute Part One: Yves Saint Laurent

Public archives are the greatest thing to ever be great, especially when it comes to major museums like the The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition to its extensive archives of artwork, the Met also has a database called The Costume Institute, its historical fashion branch. Anything from a Mantuan dress from the late 17th century, to jackets by John Galliano, The Costume Institute archives it all by the thousands. Since digging around public archives is a pastime of mine, I figured I would share my favorites from this one, featured by designer, starting with Yves Saint Laurent.

Born in French Algeria in 1936, Yves Saint Laurent was a prominent French designer who, after working extensively for Dior, started his own company. Known for its incredibly constructed, yet feminine silhouettes and its introduction of prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear), YSL remains one of the leading French brands to date.

Evening Ensemble
Silk
Fall/Winter '83-84

Shoes
Feathers, Leather, Synthetic
2004

Pantsuit
Wool
Spring/Summer '70

(House of Dior)
Cocktail Dress
Silk
Spring/Summer '59

"L'Eléphant Blanc" (House of Dior)
Evening Dress
Silk, Metallic thread, Glass, Plastic
Spring/Summer '58

"Refrain" (House of Dior)
Cocktail Dress
Silk
Spring/Summer '58

Dress
Wool
Fall/Winter '65-66

Evening Ensemble
Silk, Metallic thread, Beads, Sequins
Spring/Summer '80

Banana Republic and how it will be the financial death of me

A few months ago I discovered that one of my favorite stores, Banana Republic, had created an exclusive Mad Men inspired collection which would debut sometime in August. I'm already used to expecting ingenious and quality creations from Banana, but I feel like the store crawled around in my head for a while, compiled all of my tastes in clothing and pop culture, and spat them out in this line. This Banana/Janie Bryant collab is the greatest thing to ever be great (and terribly expensive). Here are some of my favorites from the collection.

From what I've heard from employees of Banana who have gotten an early peek (and a %50 employee discount...), the shoes for the collection are absolutely stunning, but the clothing is not made from the same quality material that one would expect from the store. Apparently, many are awkward fabrics that are difficult to shape or iron, yet cost the same as a regular silk Banana dress.

Nevertheless, this is a brilliant campaign, and I can't wait until the leftovers seep into the sales rack so I can actually afford them.

Banana launched the collection just a few moments ago, as I was writing this, and you can find it here. To celebrate the event, the store is also having a cocktail party tomorrow (or today, if you are east of the central time zone), where customers buying merchandise with their cards will receive a complimentary cocktail. Information here.