There’s something very grounding about that first grocery run after a trip overseas.

But it is lovely to be home.

Where skinny caps come with cocoa on top.

How they do a skinny cap in Double Bay.

As opposed to the strangely ‘topless’ affairs of LA and New York.  I wonder which country’s actually got it right.  Might have to get myself to Rome to settle this once and for all….

An LAX skinny cap.

Hasn’t the weather taken a turn for the chilly since I’ve been away?

Jetlag, be gone.  Nothing like a swim to nip jetlag in the bud.

It was probably just as well that I didn’t check the temperature before driving to the pool on Sunday morning.

While it feels like I’ve never even left Sydney, it also feels like New York hasn’t quite left me yet.

Book time with Toddler SSG over the weekend featured these board books I found at the Met Kids store.

The first outfit I got into when I got home was actually out of my suitcase.  Books from the Met, my Cotton On McQueen ‘inspired’ skull scarf – I reckon we’ve gotten ourselves a theme for today’s post.  Hopefully, this paragraph will start to make sense very soon.

I had a targeted approach to the three hours I had to browse the Met.  First on my list was China: Through the Looking Glass, a celebration of the way Chinese textiles and historical periods have influenced fashion designers in the west.  With Anna Wintour lending her wing of the museum to the exhibition and being the chief curator, you’d be right in expecting that the souvenirs would be top shelf.

A reworked McQueen skull scarf for $595 USD.

Cartier note cards at $95USD per box.

The special edition of Vogue (left) and fabric covered exhibition program.

There was even a special edition of Vogue devoted to the exhibition and the ball which opened it.  I have to admit that most of the dresses worn to the ball didn’t do much for me at all.  If it wasn’t cleavage, it was unflattering head pieces.

The exhibition, however, was blew me away with its depth, variety and visual impact.

www.thecultureconcept.com

Iris Apfel made a significant contribution to Through the Looking Glass.

Each room had a particular theme of both colour and historical period in Chinese art.

The collection of designers featured was eclectic and this is also testament to how powerful an influence China has been on the world of haute couture.

Dresses were displayed in context, using pieces from the Museum’s Asian artwork collection.

As well as the incorporation of large flat screens playing cult Chinese films in a continuous loop as a backdrop to the clothing.

It was like being on the streets of a modern Asian city at times.

Only to then find yourself taken to a different, ethereal world of religious statues arranged around golden, diaphanous gowns.

True to the theme of being seen through a looking glass, the couture on display ranged from European interpretations of Chinese art forms.

To Chinese interpretations of Western clothing.

It was breathtaking.  Simply breathtaking.

Predictably, I ran out of time.  So strolling through three floors of rooms and spaces crammed with some of the best examples of humankind’s every artistic achievement was out of the question.  I was almost running through centuries of our collective history, pressing exhibit numbers into my iPod audio guide as I went.

What I enjoyed most about the Met’s collections is the way they were displayed.  With the benefit of dozens of generous benefactors, whole wings have been built (or recreated) to display things to their best advantage.

A case in point is the Temple of Dendur in the Sackler Wing.

There were references to modern history in the shape of this Eames chair.

Interpretations of American history.

Sculptures that make you look twice.

Faberge eggs.

The Charles Engelhard Court is an oasis of American art (including the Tiffany glass windows in my photo).  The nearby American Wing Cafe is the perfect place to sit down and take stock of the beauty you’ve been feasting your eyes on all morning.

Have you been to the Met?  What were your favourite rooms or collections?