Night at the Museum

Are you an art museum type of person? I never really thought of myself as a die-hard art lover, but last year I joined the Dallas Museum of Art on a whim–and last Friday night made that all worthwhile.

It was one of their monthly Late Night events. Vikki and I met after work and drove downtown to the Museum. We members can park free in the Museum garage, but that night the garage was full so we had to park several blocks away in the garage we use for symphony concerts. But the weather was fine so the walk was pleasant and besides, we got to walk past this:

Check it out! Food trucks in Dallas.

Food trucks are a fairly new phenomenon here so it was fun to see them and the crowds of people lined up for their goodies. After gawking like tourists, we wandered on down past a Chinese dragon taking shape in the middle of the street (different museum, different event) and into the DMA.

Where we found this:

Chocolate shoes. Seriously. Chocolate.

Did I mention this was a fashion-themed event? We were a little early for the milliner’s hat-making class, so we went upstairs to eat here. Sadly, that night the staff appeared to have been kidnapped and replaced by people who had never eaten at a restaurant, much less worked at one. But that’s a rant for another day…and at least the food was pretty good.

Vikki had duck flatbread; I had blue cheese risotto w/asparagus & beef

We eventually escaped and ran downstairs to the lecture called “Fear and Clothing” by “culture critic” Cintra Wilson. 1 She was acerbic, brilliant, hilarious, and thought-provoking.

Cintra Wilson mid-lecture

Once that was over, it was time to weave through crowds of people dressed like Madonna and Lady Gaga (there was a costume contest) to the main event: The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier. As the live band (Brave Combo, woot!) started the dance party–at this point it was about 10 pm–we entered the world of haute couture.

Did you know “haute couture” can only be presented in Paris and must be completely hand-sewn? It was a fascinating exhibit. Not clothing…some of the, um, outfits were far from street legal…but definitely fashion. The garments (and I use that term loosely) were on dummies that had real people’s faces projected onto them, so at first you had to look closely to make sure they weren’t real. We wandered through room after room of garments, several worn by Madonna and a couple I wouldn’t have minded wearing myself. All in all, quite the cultural experience!

It was also popular. I didn’t get a headcount, but there must have been several thousand people there. It included all ages, from a variety of economic statuses, with various levels of fashion sense . . . all enjoying the museum together. Definitely worth the price of a membership!

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