Hi all,
I had a flying visit to NYC last weekend to attend the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (if you want to read more about THAT experience, visit my author blog at wendymcleodmacknight.com).
While I spent the entire weekend in a ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, I had enough time on Monday morning to pop over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art before catching a cab out to the airport for my flight home.
The last time I was at The Met, the Costume Institute section was closed, so I was delighted to find it open this time and more than delighted when I realized that the Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style exhibit was still on.
I'm not going to lie - I was only peripherally aware of her existence before this exhibit (though that is more than she is aware of mine!) and mostly in the context of her being one of Capote's Swans.
But as I read about her life, saw the videos and pictures, and most of all, looked at the outfits she had chosen for the exhibits, I fell madly in love with her.
The woman was glamour personified.
It was one of my first opportunities to see real haute couture up close.
It did not disappoint. The material and craftsmanship was breathtaking. Even as I write this, wearing a J Crew t-shirt that is only one year old and has a large hole in the underarm, I am struck but what a really fine artist can do with beautiful fabrics.
She was born glamorous and with a body made to wear these kinds of clothes...
And in an era where people still dressed elegantly....
If you get a chance to get in to see this exhibit before it closes in February, you will not be sorry!
As an update, It's a Mystery, Pig-Face! has a real publication date - the first week of February, 2017! It is a long time away, I know, but I guess that's the publishing business. Meanwhile, I have been on a very tight deadline to complete and pass in my next book, which is a completely different middle grade novel. Busy times indeed.
How's my minimalist 2016 going? Very well. Thus far I have bought one thing - a black blazer that I needed to replace an old one. I am missing all the sales, but really, that's a good thing!
Hope you are all well, and if you can recommend any books about Jacqueline de Ribes, please do - I am dying to learn more about her! I did find this wonderful article here.
xoxo wendy
