Though I really do try not to be, I’ll admit that sometimes I am one of “those” New Yorkers. You know, the ones who believe that the sun shines directly on their city, with its better museums, restaurants, etc., and that every other city in the universe just gets the spillover.

Friday, however, I spent the day in Boston, a place I visited often as a child, but haven’t really experienced since college. I enjoyed fabulous local company, an evening walk through the narrow streets

pretty views of the harbor from windows high in the sky,

great seafood in a creaky 17th century restaurant, and visits with inspiring retailers like Long’s Jewelers (more on that in a later post).

But the main purpose of my trip was to visit Boston’s Museum of Fine Art, specifically for two new fashion-related exhibits.

What I found in all these distinctly New England experiences was not just reason to remember what a great town Boston is (and not just because it is home to my beloved Red Sox),

but also reason to encourage anyone in the area to get to the MFA before these exhibits close in March.

The first is Fashion Photography.

The exhibit traces the history of fashion photography as an art form from its start in the early 20th century until the present. On display are the works of some of the genre’s greatest photographers. The breadth of the timespan covered provided both perspective and inspiration that I will use in planning photo shoots for all our JCK publications. Anyone in the business of jewelry or fashion–especially anyone involved in the photography and presentation of it–would benefit from this inspiration for creating truly mesmerizing images. (For more on this, watch for this Friday’s JCKstyle e-newsletter.)

The second fashion exhibit at Boston’sMFA right now is Fashion Show: Paris Collections 2006.

In this, the museum offers immersion into the current season’s couture collections from Paris. On display are the clothes, background, and explanations of what inspired 10 of Paris’s finest couturiers. While the exhibit is all about the clothes, several show the jewelry that complete the outfits, and the overall impact of viewing fashion as true, functional art made me consider the similarities it shares with jewelry and the way the two blend seamlessly and beautifully.

So, I say, get ye to Boston, because fashion’s sun is shining directly on Beantown right now, and these exhibits are not to be missed (oh yeah, and the chowdah’s not too shabby, either…)

JCK