i am running - not walking!

i love her story, i love her style, and more than anything- i love her -my new favorite word: MAVERICK attitude about fashion- she embodies everything that i am & i am running out the door as we speak to see this exhibit!

Valentina: American Couture and the Cult of Celebrity Feb 14 through May 17

Valentina Sanina Schlee (1899-1989) – known professionally simply as Valentina — was a fashion pioneer, clothing such luminaries as Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Cornell, and Mrs. Randolph Hearst and helping to invent American couture in the process. Hers was the quintessential New York success story: she arrived in the city as a young immigrant and reinvented herself as the epitome of style and glamour, becoming a fixture in the fashion pages and a major celebrity in her own right.

Her designs, while intricate in cut like Vionettes, had the grace of Alix Gres’ designs and look deceptively simple. ”Simplicity survives the changes of fashion,” she said in the late 1940’s. ”Women of chic are wearing now dresses they bought from me in 1936. Fit the century, forget the year.” (New York Times)

Valentina: American Couture and the Cult of Celebrity is the first exhibition to trace the career of this legendary designer and features never-before-exhibited gowns, accessories, photographs, and printed matter from the collections of the Museum of the City of New York, the Valentina family, and other major collections.

Valentina had an unwavering view of personal style and once declared, "I hate fashion!" implying that while trends often bullied women, true style was immutable. (MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY!!!)

Bill Blass once said about her that ”She made many wonderful clothes, but nobody looked as well in them as she did” (New York Times); and that is because she always stood out and took fashion risks: when everyone was wearing shorts skirts during the roaring 20s, she wore long gowns. When everyone wore low-cut blouses, she went covered up, defying fashion and trend. (i AM the modern day valentina - -maybe i will re-name myself??1!)

The exhibit runs from now until May 17th, and the Museum is open from 10am - 5pm, Tuesday through Sunday. For more information on the exhibit, visit the City Museum’s website. and if anyone goes, I would love to hear your feedback!

T.F.A - aka: Valentina!!