I like my couture well-done

The Chicago History Museum’s newest exhibition portrays the glamour of decades of Chicago fashion. Haute couture from Chanel, YSL, and Comme des Garçons are juxtaposed with the backdrop of a gritty, meatpacking Chicago. Escaping the Chicago of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, elite Chicago women frequently indulged in overseas shopping sprees. Visitors learn that these women, to counter the reputation of Chicago as hog butcher capital of the world, only wore the most upscale, high-end fashion. In the words of exhibit curator Tim Long, “If you were a Chicago matron who traveled internationally and wanted to prove to the rest of the world that you were sophisticated, you would buy not just Balenciaga, but the best Balenciaga.”

Chic Chicago: Couture Treasures from the Chicago History Museum runs until July 26, 2009.