The de Young’s latest exhibit — Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style — invites us to glimpse even more rarified creations that ladies wore and continue to show off at fancy affairs during our city’s many high society soirées. A description on the museum’s second floor reminds us when department stores like I. Magnin & Company and City of Paris served as go-to suppliers of couture gowns for San Francisco’s latest galas.
These pieces are quite clearly works of art deserving of this showcase, and I hope to return during its run through August 11. But I suppose any good exhibit also provides a lot to ponder, and I left the de Young deeply considering San Francisco’s local fashion scene. First let’s look at some pretty dresses: