Style Icon: Grace Kelly Exhibit

Everyone knows who she is. One only needs to whisper her first name and an image of cultivated beauty arises. An exquisite style and integral woman of Hollywood, she embodied elegance and well fulfilled her namesake.

I am speaking of course, of the charming Grace Kelly.

The Victoria & Albert Museum in London is exhibiting a spectactular collection of her wardrobe. Dresses from some of her movies, High Society and Rear Window, as well as couture gowns from her own personal wardrobe. Her favorite designers were Dior, Balenciaga, Givenchy and Yves St Laurent.

This exhibition explores, through her surviving clothes, the story of her transformation from Hollywood actress to a princess of one of Europe's oldest royal families. Examining her enduring appeal as a style icon, it features her film costumes, the much-publicised dresses made for her trousseau and wedding, and the French haute couture - a different kind of costume - that she required for her subsequent role as Princess of Monaco.

I hear the ash cloud has dispersed enough to allow air travel again in Europe. I would go just to see this!