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