#okcmoa

Glass art by Dale Chihuly, Oklahoma City Museum of Art

Recognize this dress? I gave a happy giggle when I saw that it was on exhibit at the Edith Head special exhibition at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art when I stopped in last week because I felt like it was an ‘old friend.’ (I’d seen it on display at the Cine y Moda exhibit at the Caixa Forum in Madrid 2 years ago only even better, this time it wasn’t behind glass!) It’s not my top fave of the gorgeous costumes Grace Kelly gets to wear in “Rear Window,” but it’s way up there. Honestly there are no wrong answers when it comes to picking a favorite, but mine is the black and white number (black top, floaty white layers of foamy tulle? silk? with accents of black feathery fronds. Not on display, but the designer’s sketch was, so not all bad.

Street in Sanois

Oklahoma Persian Ceiling Glass Art by Dale Chihuly, 2002 Oklahoma City Museum of Art

Glass art by Dale Chihuly, Oklahoma City Museum of Art

Glass art by Dale Chihuly, Oklahoma City Museum of Art

Glass art by Dale Chihuly, Oklahoma City Museum of Art

Oh to be able to wear a slinky little number like this one! Here’s what the exhibition card had to say:

Known for her portrayal of “bad girl” characters, actress Jean Harlow was a leading sex symbol of the early 1930s. For the 1968 biographical film “Harlow,” starring Carroll Baker, Edith Head employed many of the same designs that were in vogue during her early years at Paramount, including Harlow’s signature look slinky white satin gowns that exposed everything they seemingly covered. Since fabric cut on a diagonal angle (the bias) has a gentle stretch quality, the slip dress, which was worn with no undergarments, clings to every bodily curve, as it does in this period costume.