"Please Put Away Your Camera, Ma'am."

I know the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston does not allow you to take pictures with a flash; there is a sign prominently displayed at the front desk.  I enlist the help of a nice young employee when I walk in the front door.  He helps me to turn off the flash attachment of the camera.  (I love my digital camera but can never figure out all the buttons and settings.  I can't work my VCR either but that's a subject for another article). 

I am visting the museum to see a fabulous exhibit "Fashion Show Paris Collections 2006" and really want to take some photos of the dresses.  It is probably the only time in my life when I will get to see genuine haute couture up close and personal.  I can buy a $50 book about the exhibit but it's beyond my budget right now.  I want to take my own photos.

The collections are by several major designers, some well known and some newer to the scene with an edgier fashion sense.

The exhibit did not disappoint.  Oh my God, to be up close and personal to these garments!  It's easy to see why they are so expensive because they are impeccably tailored and impossibly beautiful.  Well, some beautiful and some weird.  

I am happily snapping away pictures.  Check out this goat hair dress by Assedine Alaia.  I wonder if they have it in a size 14?  All right...all right...size 16.  I know it would look good on me!

Goat Hair Dress by Azzedine Alaia

John Galliano designs for Christian Dior and I am drooling over this exhibit.  The clothes remind me of the movie Roulin Rouge with palettes of black, bright red, and white.  

 You can get quite close to the garments to examine their craftsmanship. 

Y

 A Special Red Dress

 A Nice Red Pant Suit

Suddenly a uniformed man walks over to me and says quite sternly (which makes me suddenly want to laugh hard), "Please...put...away...your...camera...Ma'am."  Slowly, emphasizing each word.

I look at him, startled.  "I thought it was okay to take pictures as long as I didn't use my flash."

"Oh no," he replies, "the designers own the rights to these garments and you cannot take pictures of them."

I sigh, put away my camera and turn to my friend Barbara.  "Damn it, I only got a few pictures.  I wonder what's the big deal?"  Barbara patiently explains to me that maybe they thought if I took pictures I could go home and make up one of the dresses for myself.  This really got me giggling.  I am the world's worst seamstress.  I could no more make one of these fancy couture garments than I could scale Mt. Everest in my bathing suit!

I did get a few shots which are posted with this article.  Now I am feverishly trying to design a pattern so that I can make myself a goat dress and a special red dress.  A goat outfit would look so couture-ish on me.  I can see it at work.  "Clare, what in God's name do you have on?  Did you run over something on the way to work today?"

I think Christian Dior and Azzedine Alaia can rest easy even though I have a few pictures of their designs.

P.S.  The photographs included with this article are all take by me, me, me and I have copyrighted them.  So there, John, Christian, and Azzedine!!!