Poiret and Gabriela's

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Poiret: King of Fashion

Given that my mom, a textile designer and artist, had recently seen the Poiret exhibit at The Met, I had to go see what she was raving about. My friend Lisa went with me. I really enjoyed the computer animation of some of fluid designs for a coat and dress that required little to no sewing - a sort of origami approach to fashion. What surprised me was how modern the patterns were and how large most of the cuts were. They really weren't form fitting but loose and fluid. The attention to the use of trim, accessories and textures really set the pieces apart from more basic interpretations of Poiret's structure that seemed more prevalently used in the 1980s. The more modern versions of his lines just don't have the elegance he had. While I didn't like all his designs, they all have a certain love for structure without complexity. I found them more interesting as architectural pieces than for feminine functional clothing.

Gabriela's
... Upper West Side Mexican?

I ventured up to Amsterdam in the nineties to meet Peter for dinner. Peter loves great food and I've really enjoyed finding new great places to eat because of him. I must admit my expectations were low given my disappointment with most Mexican restaurants in New York City, and my bias growing up around great, cheap Tex-Mex food in San Antonio. I arrived early so had a simple but good Margarita. Some of their margarita varieties cost over $15! Insane. I had enchiladas and Peter had chicken fajitas. Both were O.K. but Peter's was the better selection. So for NYC standards, Gabriela's serves its purpose but I'm not sure I'd go back ... just too many places to eat in the city.