Hollywood Costume Exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum

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EVMB_Angela_PhxArtHollywoodCostume

When my daughter saw Dorothy’s ruby slippers on the commercial for the Hollywood Costume Exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum, she knew she had to go – a must see for any shoe lover, right?  I’m embarrassed to say, going to the art museum has been on my To Do list since we moved here five years ago, I’ve just never made it.  But this exhibit was the perfect excuse to get out of my East Valley bubble and head downtown.

I loved the exhibit!  My anxiety ridden 6-year-old, not so much.  The room is dark except for spotlights on each of the costumes and the mannequins are faceless, two things she has trouble with.  They were also showing clips from the films the costumes were worn, and if you know where I’m going with this, she doesn’t like film clips.  I was trying to divert her attention, focusing on the costumes and reading her the information about each one.

This seemed to work for a while and we enjoyed seeing Indiana Jones’ fedora and bomber jacket, as well as the costumes worn in “Ocean’s Eleven.”  Umm, hello, the “Sexiest Man Alive” is represented three times with just this one film {Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and George Clooney.}  She was less than interested.  I tried.

Next, there was a fabulous section on Queen Elizabeth I, with several dresses worn by different actresses who have played the Queen, including Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench.  This section also has other costumes from that time period, including one worn by Gwenyth Paltrow from “Shakespeare in Love.”  My daughter loved this area!  We laughed at the fancy, embellished neck pieces and we ohhed and ahhhed over the detail put into each costume.  Our favorite was “Marie Antoinette” worn by Kirsten Dunst.

Then we saw Darth Vader’s costume, and the fun was over.  She covered her eyes, started crying and said she wanted to go home.  I settled her down and she waited somewhat calmly as I looked at the costumes as quickly as possible.  Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro have their own small section with costumes from the “Iron Lady” and “Frankenstein.”  It was Robert De Niro’s face in “Frankenstein” that really set her over the edge, and I knew we had to leave soon.

Luckily, we moved fast, but we still got to see Reese Witherspoon’s suit from “Legally Blonde,” Keira Knightly’s famous green dress from “Atonement” and at the very end, Dorothy’s ruby red slippers and gingham print dress.  There’s also the white dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in “The Seven Year Itch.”

Once we were out of the exhibit, everything was fine.  We headed to the café for a quick snack and then up to the second floor to the children’s area.  It’s not a very big section, but there is some beautiful artwork, and the way it’s presented is kid friendly and really gets their imaginations going.  She got to drawn a couple pictures, we checked out some modern art, and it was time to go.

The Hollywood Costume Exhibit is ongoing until July 6, 2014.  I think it’s awesome for kids who are a little older than six, or aren’t anxious about movies.  There’s even something for the little guys out there as Superman, Spiderman and Batman were all represented.   Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children  6 – 17 {this also includes admission to the museum so you can really make a day of it}.

For more information on the Phoenix Art Museum and the Hollywood Costume Exhibit, click here.

**This is not a sponsored post.

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