I know, you just tuned out. But it was a lot of fun. I went with Chelsea Gunn, a friend from Simmons who was also nice enough to let me crash on her couch while I was in town. We had a great time catching up with each other and listening to presentations on the more difficult aspects of archiving- those little, interesting things that are never really meant to last: ads, posters, buttons, billboards, etc. The speakers were all very good and I came away with some good ideas- although most of them involved buying very expensive equipment that I won't get at the IVDM. Maybe at my next job.
Then to top things off, RISD had just opened an exhibit we both wanted to see: "Artist, Rebel, Dandy"
focusing on men's fashion from the Regency and Beau Brummel up to the present. I was surprised to see modern clothes in the exhibit as well, but it worked. The Regency era clothes were some of what I liked best, since I like that time period, and the exhibit included newspaper cartoons of the time making fun of dandies, as well as magazines and ads in favor of the different styles of clothes. It was a good mix and included the tux Fred Astaire wore in Top Hat and a film clip of a dance scene from the movie, a shirt of Mark Twain's, and the only known surviving shirt belonging to Oscar Wilde (one of my favorite authors!). It has the initials "SM" for Sebastien Melmoth, which is the name he used at the end of his life when he moved to France after being released from an English prison for being homosexual. It was a good exhibit, with a nice mix of things. If anyone's in the area I'd recommend checking it out!
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| Banyan dressing gowns worn by the Prince Regent, later George IV |
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| Fred Astaire's Top Hat tuxedo |
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| Oscar Wilde's shirt |
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