Back so soon! Here I am camped out at the Moe’s next door to my Laundromat. It has come to my attention that it is hotter than the surface of the sun in there, so it’s nice to find another spot to sit during the forty-minute wash cycle. And for those worried about thieves and hooligans, the Moe’s is literally right next door, so all I have to do is set a timer, and the machine stays locked till I get there.
So, burrito and drink in hand, my first “week” of classes is over. I technically haven’t had one of my classes as Monday was Labor Day, but my professor for that class is also my professor for textiles, my advisor, and she interviewed me before I was accepted, so I have a pretty good feel for her (I think).
Orientation was last Thursday, and my program came to a grand total of 13 people, one of whom is male! The jury is still out on whether I like that or not, but there is an awful lot of talent in this group! One young woman was the milliner (hat maker) for an (I forgot the name…not proud) Elton John produced show. I imagine that the hats and headpieces were amazing. Once I get a little bolder, I really want to ask her for pictures! Well-endowed in the head department, I have always had a desire to make hats for big-headed people. Maybe she will make me a hat.
Another woman is/was (not sure if she stepped down for school) the manager of the Ralph Lauren Editorial Archives. The company is working on archiving all of his designs from the beginning, and it is her job to help keep up the library.
Then of course, there are the people who are looking for a life change. Another woman worked at the Irish embassy for the last five years, but wants to pursue her love of Costume History.
And before I go any farther, “costume” is another word for dress or fashion. When I took history of costume at Meredith College, Andy asked, “so, is this the history of Halloween? The history of disguise? The history of things that happen at the end of October?” Wanted to set the record straight before we moved on.
This program is a little bit daunting because hearing my fellow students talk, they had actual positions in their life. Not so much “sales associate” in a gift shop. But I am no country bumpkin, despite my propensity for being barefoot!
These classes truly will be fascinating! Let’s go day by day:
Mondays: Literature and Methodology in Costume Studies. Haven’t had it yet, so I can’t tell you much, HOWEVER I was attempting to get ahead in my readings. I was so very proud of myself. Highlighter in hand, I went to town, when I come upon a word: “bildungsroman.” No big! I’ll make a note to look it up later. Keep reading. The author repeats it eight times in the next two pages. I had nobly decided to read in the park, so I had no way to look it up either! I had to quit and go back to my apartment just to look it up!
And the Verdict! A bildungsroman is a novel about the psychological and moral growth of the main character. Ta-dah!
Tuesdays: History of Costume: Prehistory-18th Century. The Meredith College equivalent of this class was the reason this program sparked with me. So I had the bar set pretty high! The teacher, who previously worked at Parson’s under Tim Gunn, was very nice, and seemed genuinely interested in our story, and what led us to this point. You can tell she loves the subject very much. Our big semester project is to choose a work of art from a NYC museum and write a 10 page paper, and a twenty minute presentation about the costume in this piece. Another project involved chronicling how one aspect of dress (textiles, jewelry, hats, etc) develops over time. It will be a weekly assignment where we bring in images of that particular piece of dress from each time period we are studying. And lots of reading. Lots and lots of reading.
Wednesdays: History of Textiles in the Ancient World. While this class sounds fascinating, it is the teacher’s mission to have every student leave the program with a solid grasp of textile identification. As such, she is making this a part of the class. For those with a design background, this will be mostly review. So in that sense, the jury is still out on this class, but in regards to the rest of the class syllabus, it sounds fantastic. One project will be finding modern day equivalents to the popular fabrics of a time period. Our linen is vastly different from the linen of ancient Egypt, for example, so this class will explore that concept in greater detail. The teacher, also my advisor, is great. Nice, well-spoken, funny, but you can tell she is also no-nonsense which is the sign of a good professor: approachable, but expects the best.
Thursdays: History of Fashion Photography. ONCE AGAIN, I felt out of my element at the first class. After introductions and passing out the syllabus, we started our first lecture, and upon presenting the first picture, the professor says “Now, I bet you all can tell me who shot this picture…” And almost in unison, a large portion of the class chants “Avedon.” Now, if I don’t even know if I spelled that right, what does that tell you about my knowledge of this person’s existence?? But once again, I told myself, I’m here to learn, and that’s what I’m doing!
So those are my classes. They are only once a week, but they are all two and a half hours long. Across the board at NYU grad students have Fridays off, so once my laundry is done, I am taking my readings to a park to get started.
That’s all for now, but I have decided at the end of each blog post I am going to include a recipe I tried this week and my pedometer count.
C-hoo-linary Cuts:
Throw Trader Joe’s frozen Broccoli, artichoke hearts, and sliced pre-made bacon onto a cookie sheet, with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. While that is roasting, make some pasta (any kind in your cabinet), and mix in a hunk of goat cheese and some anchovies (FOR REAL!). All in all, it’s awesome. It’s better when you don’t set off the smoke alarm. Working on that one.
(basically as good as a cook book, right?)
Pedometer count: 243,180 steps. To give a point of reference, when I was training for my 5k (3.12 miles), I averaged around 6,500 steps. I’m including this because in the last month, I do believe I have walked more than I did in the previous six.
Exciting, fun things! Dalva invited me to come see Wicked with her if she won tickets in the lottery this afternoon. I should know around 5:30 if I will be seeing it. AND, Vicki won Stephen Colbert tickets for next Tuesday. She can invite two people, and one spot is taken by her friend, who went with her to see Jon Stewart. I politely informed her that she doesn’t have to take me, but I wouldn’t speak to her for a week if she doesn’t, haha! But really.
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