It’s hard to believe that summer vacation is a thing of the past now. Ten free weeks to travel between home and upstate at my leisure was amazing, and I enjoyed it while it lasted. Though it wasn’t a crazy exciting summer, it was restful and definitely something I needed. I tried to make the most of the time I had, and as August drew to a close, I took advantage of having one more long weekend off from work to get in some last minute summer activities.

The Friday of Labor Day weekend, I finally made my way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the Camp: Notes on Fashion, the latest offering from the Costume Institute. Based on an essay by Susan Sontag (which I really need to read), Camp explores “Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay “Notes on ‘Camp'” provides the framework for the exhibition, which examines how the elements of irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration are expressed in fashion” (from The Met’s website).

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Though the exhibit was lovely to look at, it was not laid out well. First off, it was relatively small – a few (very crowded) hallways led up to a large room with outfits displayed in two tiers. This was relatively disappointing as you couldn’t really see the ones on the upper level up close. The room looked fabulous, but I would’ve liked to have seen more of the fashion.

Despite it not being my favorite exhibit at the Met (I think the Charles James exhibit from five years ago still holds that title), I always like to go see the annual offering from the Costume Institute. There’s always a new and interesting theme to explore.

Here are some images from the day, some of my favorites from the exhibit:

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We polished off the day with dinner at Maison Pickle, which allowed us the opportunity to get a good walk through Central Park in.

Oddly enough, I found myself in Central Park twice in two days when I headed into the city again on Saturday. I returned to the Mrs. Maisel exhibit at the Paley Center (which is also now closed) to meet up with some fellow sewists!

I cannot say enough good things about the afternoon I spent with these ladies! It was such a treat to explore the exhibit and the garment district with other people who sew, and therefore know exactly what I’m talking about! We talked sewing projects, Mrs. Maisel, and fabrics!

After enjoying the exhibit, we walked around Central Park for a little while before heading out to do some shopping in the garment district. We ended the day at the West Bank Cafe for drinks and snacks. The weather was perfect for it, and it was a great end of the summer activity. I definitely need to get to more sewist meet ups!

It’s definitely sad to see summer come to an end, but I am happily situated at work and can’t wait to audition the kids for Frozen Jr. on Thursday and Friday!