Detroit Historical Museum
I am not sure what I anticipated going into The Detroit Historical Museum, but I did not expect to see what I did. Walking in to the museum did not seem very special. Looking around I see this boring front desk and in front of the desk is a couch with no back. Going further inside we met Bob our Volunteer tour guide, and stand beside a large bronze beaver. Bob was so enthusiastic about introducing us to the museum. He told us about how the French settled Detroit originally. They did so because of the fur trade and the strategic location of the settlement. After 60 years the British fought France for Detroit. The British won. 1805 Detroit burned and was left with just one house standing. They rebuilt and Detroit thrived. I thought he did a fantastic job on our introduction to Frontier to Factory, our first stop of our morning.Frontier to factory was a small exhibit. It went trough the time where Detroit was just starting to blossom with industry and trade. You first see a Native American to your left. He is almost shown to remind you that they were still here before any of us were. There was many different sections explaining about the many industries and who was first to start them. If you pressed certain buttons character actors were taped to portray these wonderful frontier people. They really embodied this spirit or nostalgia that helped with the walk through tour.
Down stairs I was able to see the Streets of old Detroit. This was really amazing. It was a mini town set up like Detroit in the 1900’s. Everything from the very first K-mart, drug store, salon, shoe store, bank, etc… was in the basement. Some of the places you were able to go in to observe. They had mannequins in full costume dress performing certain everyday tasks such as shaving a man in a barber shop. Others had decorative store window displays set up. The actual street was made of brick, and as you make your way to the back it turned to stones. If you closed your eyes you could just hear the horse’s clip clopping, carrying the buggy, down the unpaved road.
On the second floor you will see the Digital Dress: Women About Town exhibit. At that moment I felt I really needed to sit down for a minute to collect myself. The garments were beautiful. Right above one of the dresses Matilda Doge wore was a quote by Paul Poiret, “To dress a women is not to cover her with ornaments, it is to underscore the endowments of her body, to bring them out and stress them”. To me, accentuating the body correctly is what true beauty in fashion is. That is what these dressed did. Sizes did vary for the items. All were put together with such accurate measurements and extraordinary precision to fit the many different body shapes. My favorite dress was the vintage Christian Dior gown that Elizabeth Park Firestone wore. I can see why, from just viewing a few of her items, she was named one of the 1950’s best dressed women in the world. My tour ended with a quote from the remarkable Bill Blass that was on the back wall above the 1960’s area, “Sometimes the eye gets so accustomed that if you don’t have a change, you’re bored, It’s the same with fashion, you know. And that, I suppose, is what style is all about”.
posted by -*K*- @ 3:10 PM
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