FIDM Museum: 6th Annual Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design Exhibition!

TV Costume Heaven:

Stewardess Fab: Costumes from ABC series "Pan Am", Pilot Costumes by Chrisi Karvonides, Series Costumes by Ane Crabtree, 6th Annual Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design Exhibition, FIDM Museum and Galleries (photo courtesy of Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

Where can you find Pan Am Stewardesses, a Dowager Countess, an Evil Queen, and Marylin Monroe-inspired "NBC's Smash" gold gown? Oh yes, in Downtown LA of course! Well, fashionistas and costume design aficionados, Tuesday was the Opening Day of the 6th Annual Outstanding Art Television Costume Design Exhibition at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising/FIDM, my alma mater, and college of which I am the Official Fashion Spokesperson.

6th Annual Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design Exhibition Party/Reception at Hope Park/FIDM (photo courtesy of Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

The exhibition, presented by FIDM Museum and Galleries and Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, was Guest Curated by Mary Rose, Costume Designer and President of the Costume Designers Guild. It features over 75 (!) costumes from a variety of TV shows (sixteen of them), period and contemporary, including seven nominated for an Emmy® for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design. This past weekend, a VIP reception/party was held at the FIDM Campus to "unveil" this fabulous new exhibition. Guests included:

(Left to right) Eduardo Castro, Costume Designer for ABC's "Once Upon A Time" (he was also the Costume Designer for ABC's "Ugly Betty"!) and Julie Weiss (love her oversized paillette tunic-dress!) Costume Designer for many films including "American Beauty" "Frida" "The Ring" and (my personal favorite) "Blades of Glory" (photo courtesy of Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

(Left to right) Chrisi Karvonides, Costume Designer nominated for FX's "American Horror Story", seen here with Mary Rose, President of the Costume Designers Guild and Guest Curator of the 6th Annual Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design Exhibition (photo courtesy of Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

Mandi Line, Costume Designer for ABC Family's "Pretty Little Liars" (above in front of her costumes for the show). Fun fact: Mandi is an FIDM Alumna (photo courtesy of Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

Now, let's get to the costumes at the exhibition. Like I said at the top of this post, there are over 75 costumes featured and some of the highlights include:

English Class: The Emmy® nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design Costumes from PBS' "Downton Abbey": Yes, that's Maggie Smith's "Dowager Countess" silk velvet and sequin ensemble on the far left--PS: She's Tall! (photo courtesy of Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

Costumes from NBC's "Smash" --The gold sequin gown is worn by Katharine McPhee's character and the one on the far right is worn by actress Anjelica Huston (photo courtesy of Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

The Emmy® nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design costumes from HBO's "Game of Thrones"--And yes, that's the costume worn by actor Peter Dinklage above (top photo courtesy of Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
 

 The Emmy® nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design costumes from ABC's "Once Upon a Time"--This tableau at FIDM Museum is HUGE--above photo is the "Rainbow Fairy" costume from the ABC show (photos courtesy of Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

The Emmy® nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design costumes from HBO's "Hemingway and Gellhorn"--Nicole Kidman starred in this and I have a fun fact from the costume designer, Ruth Myers: Kidman's inseam is 34". That's the inseam of well, a 6' 2" man ! (she's got fabulously LONG legs) (photo courtesy of Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

Nick Verreos and KTLA-TV's Gayle Anderson, 6th Annual Outstanding Art of Costume Design Costume Design Exhibition, FIDM Museum

On Monday, I had the pleasure of filming some Morning TV segments for KTLA-TV Channel 5 LIVE direct from the FIDM Museum and the brand new exhibition with the always fantastic (and my TV Production Segment MUSE!) Gayle Anderson. We had such a blast filming these segments. Miss Gayle is my "sister from another mister" darlings! LOVE her. As a special VIP treat, two of the Emmy® nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design costume designers from this past year--Ruth Myers ("Hemingway and Gellhorn") and Chrisi Karvonides ("American Horror Story")--were there for some of the KTLA-TV Morning Show interviews at FIDM Museum so I had the honor of meeting them and of course, getting some behind-the-scenes costume design DISH.

Costume Designer Ruth Myers and Nick Verreos, FIDM Museum

Nick Verreos and Costume Designer Chrisi Karvonides: I had such a ball chatting with Chrisi---she also designed the costumes for ABC's "Pan Am" series pilot so she gave me such great behind-the-scenes dish on the Pan Am stewardess uniforms (you know I LOVE me some Stewardess Uniforms!!).

Coffee, Tea...or Fab Uniforms: ABC's "Pan Am" TV show stewardess uniforms

Stewardess Dish: Costume Designer Chrisi Karvonides and Nick Verreos, 6th Annual Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design Exhibition, FIDM Museum

As you can see from the photo above, Costume Designer Chrisi Karvonides and I were in some SERIOUS "Wait, how many pattern pieces to that Pan Am pill box hat? And the Pan Am logo was actually GOLD!!??" conversation. LOVED every minute of it!



You can click HERE to see the segments I did with Gayle and KTLA-TV!! (scroll on the videos to find all the FIDM Costume Design Exhibition segments).

The Dish:

WHAT: 
The 6th Annual Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design Exhibition, over 75 Costumes, including 2011-2012 Emmy® nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design costumes 


WHERE: 
FIDM Museum and Galleries, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising
919 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90015

WHEN:
July 31 through October 20, 2012
open 10am-5pm Tuesday through Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday

Admission:
FREE!!

Flight Attendant Love: "Pan Am" Homage--My First Style Muses & my "Connection": UPDATED!

Pan Am Fab!

Ready to Board: ABC's "Pan Am" television series cast

You might have noticed by now (from all those commercials and ads) that a new television series, called "Pan Am" is debuting tonight on ABC. Well, being a person who:
A) Loves flying
B) Was barely 2 months old when I flew my first of many Pan Am flights
C) And who LOVES those Old-School Flight Attendant Uniforms (those Pan Am stewardess of the late 70's/early 80's where my first "Style Muses")

you know I am excited to watch!

The series stars Christina Ricci (above), Kelly Garner, Michael Mosley, Mike Vogel, Karine Vanasse, and Margot Robbie. It focuses around the pilots and flight attendants (then called stewardesses) who worked for that iconic airline, Pan Am during 1963.

A Little History:

Pan Am was founded in 1927 by Juan Terry Trippe as a US-Cuba mail service. And by 1950, when it changed its name to Pan American World Airways, it began the first concept of "economy class" (until then, it was all First Class) and was operating routes all over the world.

In 1958, it brought in the beginning of the "jet age" with its Boeing 707 (above) and the first transatlantic jet service New York to Paris. Of course, this also began the era of the Glamorous and very Fabulous Pan Am Stewardesses. As the new ABC series showed, they lived the life!

Back in the day, it was a much sought after job: The chic uniform, white gloves and pill box hat; the traveling around the world--one day Paris, the next London, the next Beirut! And not to mention, a potential escapade with a traveling diplomat or who-knows-who. They were the "Supermodels" of that era. Little girls wanted to be them and certain little boys who would later be inspired by them (Me!!).

Coffee and Cocktails: Pan Am First Class "lounge", Boeing 707, early 1960's

Caviar and China: Pan Am First Class Service, Boeing 707, early 1960's

Also, traveling was, well, much more of a special experience, as seen from the photos above. Economy Class was much nicer than what it is today (they actually served food!) and the First Class section of that Boeing 707 even had a mini-lounge where passengers could socialize, get their aperitifs or post-dinner coffee.

And yes, can I just say how much I LOVED those uniforms they wore! So fabulous. The light blue Pan Am fitted suit, "glove-length" sleeves, Revere-collar jackets, "respectable" below-the-knee pencil skirts. And THOSE hats: My favorite, I admit is the late 70's/early 80's Bowler style (on the left photo and on the Pan Am flight attendants below)...

Since of course, that's the one I remember. I long for those days of Flight Attendant Uniforms.

Maybe that's why I LOVE those Asiana Airlines (above) and Korean Air flight attendants--their uniforms are so "retro"...

My Connection to Pan Am:

As I said above, I first flew on a Pan Am jet when I was about 2 months old--or so I am told by my mom and dad. I was born in St. Louis, Missouri (because my father was also born there and he wanted his first born to be born in his hometown) but yet, as soon as I was able to leave, I was put on a plane (with my mommie, of course) to fly all the way to my mom's birthplace, Panama so her family could meet her new son! And then, it was off to Caracas Venezuela (all on Pan Am of course!), where my father had gotten a position in the US Embassy. My mom just told me the story that on that Pan Am jet I first flew in (St. Louis to Panama City Panama), her and I flew First Class (very flossy-flossy!) and they actually had a crib (in First Class) for me to sleep in!

Mr. and Mrs. Verreos: My Mom and Dad, early 1960's

Also, several years before my mom married my father and became a "Diplomat's Wife", she almost became a Pan Am Stewardess. Back in the late 1950's, Pan Am went to Panama to recruit some of the first Spanish-speaking flight attendants for their upcoming jet services to Latin America. My mom--who attended an American University and was bilingual in Spanish and English, went to apply, along with some of her girlfriends. She was picked:

Panama's Top Pan Am Stewardess Are: Panamanian President Ernesto de la Guardia invites the first bilingual Panamanian girls to be Pan Am Stewardesses (My mother, Raquel, is to the right of the President in the flower-print dress)

She was then flown to Miami for health tests and training. And guess what happened: She failed the health exam because she didn't have 20/20 vision. So, she returned back to Panama. Imagine if she would have gotten the position, she would have probably not ever met my father and well, I would have not been born...Thank You Pan Am!

Click Below to see a Video from Pan Am "Introduction to the Jet Age", late 1950's: