Day 2 of my NYC Adventures with Lauren started with a walk through the flower district to the subway station. We love staying in this neighborhood at the Cambria.
We had to get a selfie in front of the gorgeous hotel wallpaper.
Next was a subway ride to the Museum of Arts and Design, for what turned out to be our favorite exhibits of the trip (and we decided likely at least in the top 5 of all exhibits we've seen on our many years of traveling to NYC together).
We started on the top floor with Queer Maximalism x Machine Dazzle. We marveled at the themes of the different costume collection, the construction, and the amazing use of trimmings (you can see more photos on my Instagram Account).
This costume was from Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music (2016), a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. The audience wore blindfolds during this part of the show, so he wanted it to be the most visually interesting design (that they never go to see). We truly marveled at his use of balloon, foam, and other relatively cheap inputs to achieve such amazing overall designs.
I loved this Halloween costume, which was made almost entirely of shredded and curled aluminum drink cans.
And we loved how almost every single costume had an elaborate head piece.
Next stop was the third floor for Chris Schanck's Off-World Exhibit for furniture, mirrors and other items made of foam, resin and OMD (which we always called particle board).
I love how I accidentally captured both Lauren and me in this mirror photo.
You can see how the dyes were absorbed differently by the different wood particles.
And here is a more intentional mirror picture of the two of us.
Next we headed back to the Subway, only to discover there was a food court tucked away underground as well. We shared a box of delicious Empanadas from Criollas Baked Empanadas.
After that, we headed to The Fashion Institute of Technology Museum for the Dior and Balenciaga Show.
It was fun to compare their styles and methods of creating designs.
The next Exhibit at FIT was all about SHOES – Anatomy, Identity & Magic (yes, I know … it was like it was there just for me).
I love the somewhat hidden Donald Duck in this pair of shoes.
And how fun are those rainbow platforms.
and there was a red shoe store in the middle of the exhibit.
Next stop was Dhaba for supper where we remembered dining on delicious Kurkuri Bhindi (fried Okra) years ago … and it was indeed as good as we remembered (which is why we also remembered to each get our own order this time). I had even tried recreating this dish at home last year, but was unsuccessful (likely couldn't get my oil as hot as a commercial kitchen/deep fryer).
And you know we went back to Milk Bar for round two of ice cream to end the day (and their delicious Cornflake Marshmallow Cookie).