Gentry celebrate one of our favourite buildings: the New York Public Library at 42nd Street.

It's one of the great Beaux-Arts buildings, designed by Carrre & Hastings who won a competition to design it when studying at the cole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and they drew heavily on French architectural ideas.

Borrowing themes and ideas from such iconic Paris buildings as L'Opera, the architects adapted these for New York to create this a masterpiece.

Currently on exhibition at the Library is "A Rakish History of Men's Wear" (showing until April 07). It provides an opportunity for viewers "to trace the social, cultural, political, and aesthetic influences that have shaped the development of men's fashion," according to Paul LeClerc, President of The New York Public Library. "The Library's rich trove of historical costume and fashion plate materials are an invaluable resource for anyone interested in understanding the forces that have shaped styles of dress from antiquity to today." One of us at Murdock was in New York last week and recommends the small exhibition highly — full of great illustrations of classic, gentlemanly style.

We suggest you visit the exhibition late in the day, and head round the corner to the Bryant Park Hotel for a cocktail when you're done. If it happens to be NY fashion week, you'll see the entire fashion world all at once.

http://www.nypl.org/press/2006/rakish.cfm

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