Link Love #4

Valerie Steele, Director of the Museum at FIT, is coming to St. Louis next week and I'm kind of really, super, unbelievably excited. You may have noticed by now that I really love the sociological and cultural aspects of dress and fashion, and that I like to write about those topics. I love museums, libraries, history, anthropology, and research, but I also love fashion, so combining all of those things together for a career is something that's been important to me. So OBVIOUSLY I really admire Valerie Steele, seeing as she is one of the most important people in the field of fashion history and fashion studies. In honor of Valerie Steele, I've decided to dedicate this week's Link Love to some of my favorite articles about her, as well as some that will help you get know her and her career.

• "Valerie Steele Picks the Most Iconic Dresses of the Twentieth Century": Steele penned a book called The Impossible Collection of Fashion, in which she chose the 100 "most iconic" dresses of the twentieth century. The Cut posted a short slideshow previewing some of the dresses in the book, and they are, indeed, truly iconic! My favorite one from the slideshow is the white, sequin and tulle Christian Dior dress (designed while the legendary YSL was at the reigns). To know that Audrey Hepburn wore it only makes me love it more.
• "A Conversation with Valerie Steele About Fashion and Art": This short discussion is a great primer on Steele's ideas on the "is fashion art?" debate. As I said above, Steele is holding a lecture here in St. Louis in a couple of weeks, and the lecture is all about this very question. I can't wait to hear a more complete version of her opinion on this topic. But while we're here: Do you think fashion is an art form?
• "New York Social Diary": This article includes a look into Steele's home, and I love it! It looks like a museum or gallery, which is fitting for a curator. I'm currently drooling over photos of her library...In addition to loving her home, I really loved this interview. It felt like a real discussion rather than a dry, Q&A. Plus, there are so many great quotes and ideas to take away. For example, "We have to remind ourselves that that is one of the good things about fashion, that it has that rebellious and anarchic, artistic quotient." That's certainly one of the reasons I'm so drawn to fashion; I have an extremely rebellious nature.
• "Valerie Steele, Director of the Museum at FIT, Visits St. Louis": I did a quick write up of the events that Steele will be attending here in St. Louis, as well as a bit of background on her, for my Examiner column.

I will be attending Steele's lecture here in St. Louis, so expect a recap in a couple of weeks. Happy Friday!