Jackie Kennedy and the biggest dinosaur

Today I ventured over to the Field Museum, to see the Jackie Kennedy exhibit. I also saw the giant T-Rex fossil named Sue, the Tibetan exhibit, Gemstones and Jade exhibits, and Pacific Island cultural exhibits. I had to skip the rest, because I was pretty pooped.

The Jackie exhibit was a historical look at Jackie's famous dresses during the Kennedy years, and how her grace, diplomacy, and style influenced America and the world. All the dresses were exquisite, and the stories and letters were enchanting.

If you can't make it to Chicago anytime soon, you can see the featured dresses at the Marshall Fields site. Each dress was presented in context of the events that she wore them to. The exhibit also included audio and film footage, as well as written letters from Jackie to foreigners. She was fluent in at least Spanish and French and would address other countries in their language whenever possible. I found her devotion to her family and to the preservation of art and culture very touching. It's hard for me to imagine another First Lady with that kind of grace again in our future.

Going through the exhibit, I am amused by the shrewdness of the museum to take advantage of how some of Jackie's style is in vogue again. Of course when you finish looking at the dresses, they spit you right out into the gift shop. This was very effective on me, as I purchased a poster and a replica Jackie Kennedy button. Also I didn't buy this, but I thought this little decorative tile was very clever. I think it would make an awesome Mother's Day gift.

Even though I was utterly pooped, I trudged on to make my $25 entry worthwhile. I checked out the other exhibits and figured I'd be back another time to see the animals. Afterward, I taxied over to Marshall Fields at Water Tower.

They had even more Jackie Kennedy souvenirs, so I bought some greeting cards with fabric mini-replicas of Jackie's dresses on them. Feeling inspired by the exhibit, I tried on a silky pink suit by "Nipon Boutique" on sale. It was cute, but when would I ever get to wear something that nice? Easter? For a wedding? Plus I do already own at least 3 pink coats. But I don't have a shiny one! Hmm...