RISD: Read More, Ask Someone, Go There

Having decided to pursue my bundle 3 in the direction of the RISD museum's exhibit on Cocktail Culture, I decided to do a bit more research to familiarize myself with the concept of cocktail fashion. Considering I am a textile merchandizing and design student at the University of Rhode Island, this theme was extremely interesting to me. I checked out some of the books I own for further reading such as Wearing Vintage, Confessions of a Window Dresser, and 20th Century Fashion. I also looked online for some reviews and descriptions of the RISD exhibit, all of which were nothing less than positive raves about the show. I hadn't thought about the effects that the socialization of cocktailing has had on fashion. Of course most people have in the past and present dressed up for cocktail occasions, however, I hadn't thought into the idea of the status symbols and wealth that their dress represented and maintained in dressing and presenting themselves in a certain way.

I visited the exhibit with my mom, sister, and good friend & fellow fashionista, Merideth. The woman at RISD's front desk had nothing but great things to say to us about the exhibit in preparation for our viewing. The exhibit was breathtaking. Upon entering, your senses are bombarded with colors, details, beading, and magnificent works of fashion art delicately placed on simple mannequins. Cocktail flasks and glassware are neatly organized around the room, as well as small handbags, shoes and accessories placed within display cases. As I went through each piece of apparel and walked through the eras of fashion history, I was amazed at the very clear changes that occurred over the decades. The beginning featured very pretty, simple, conservative, and fashionable apparel, with over the top accessories to play up the quietness of some of the looks. As you went through time, the apparel and accessories quite obviously got more loud, seductive, and showy as you neared the disco era and present day fashions. The walls featured concise and descriptive summaries of the time that involved you within each decade, and took you back in time. Movies were playing in the entrance, that showed just how far we've come in terms of technology and culture. The cocktail culture shows how the integration of the sexes socially has come to be today. The exhibit was an excellent demonstration of how fashion is and has become a cultivation of the times, and a representation of the past and present styles that will forever influence the future of fashion.

What I Know: Cocktail Culture Exhibit at RISD

    I'm currently en route to the RISD museum's "Cocktail Culture" exhibit in Providence Rhode Island. I've been wanting to visit since I read about the exhibit in the paper and am excited to have been cut from work due to poor weather to be able to visit. From what I have read, the exhibit is an excellent portrayal of some of the most amazing fashion's and styles of past decades, and a representation of the style-icons and impact that 'cocktailing' has had on the social scene. In the past, fashion has been an extreme depiction of money, power, and social status across the world. Cocktail parties, an American and worldwide pastime, became a  representation of these things by gathering a group of individuals in a relaxed setting, with expensive glasses, bottles of wine and champagne, to create a socially desired atmosphere. Typically it was a sign of wealth and high class. The women of these social groups would dress to the 9's, covered in diamonds and pearls and parade around the party discussing who was wearing the latest from Emilio Pucci, Balenciaga, and Elsa Schiaparelli. The exhibit is said to be a representation of the social change in classes over the decades and the impact and power that the cocktail scene had on these styles, fads, and fashions, as well as personal expression. The exhibit is held from April 15- July 31, 2011, Tuesday-Friday.

Photo from RISD Exhibit