On Saturday January 25th, twenty Los Angeles museums opened up their doors free of charge. I was absolutely delighted by Los Angeles Museum Day and the huge turnout at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (aka LACMA), and as an art history major, I couldn't help but to take advantage of free admission to an otherwise costly cultural institution.

The fact that the LACMA West was currently hosting "DVF: Journey of a Dress" only further inspired me to make Saturday one of culture and fashion, and my Big (sorority sister) and I ventured to West Hollywood to learn all about the wrap dress.

If you are in the Los Angeles area (or visiting before April 1, when the exhibition ends) I highly recommend stopping by the Diane von Furstenberg retrospective. It's free (!!) and it is very well done.

Filled with the punchy prints and bold colors that Diane is known for, the visitor is lead through a visual timeline of the iconic wrap dress, with a series of images from magazines and pop culture emphasizing the far-reaching power of the working woman staple.

A society girl and one-time princess (yes, you read that right - Furstenberg was married to a German prince once upon a time; when they divorced, she decided to keep the last name) may have been an unlikely candidate for everywoman fashion icon, but if the last forty years have taught us anything, it's that DvF knows how to make a woman look beautiful and powerful.

Her signature quote, "Feel like a woman. Wear a dress!" perfectly resonates with her iconic dress and the motto of the seventies, but the quote is just as relevant in the twenty-first century.

After walking through the timeline hallway, one emerges into an expansive room filled with archival dresses, punctuated by loud geometric patterns and prints that wrap around the floors and walls. The collection of wrap dresses is separated into five categories (black & white, animal print, geometric, nature, and multicolor) and includes both pieces from the past and present.

Another room served as an art gallery, with paintings, drawings, and photographs of Diane or her clothes. The standouts - a series of Warhol screens and a group of portraits shot by Chuck Close. It was all beautiful, though, and it made the point that I so often stress to others - that art and fashion are quite closely interrelated - perfectly evident.

Go see it if you have the chance. You won't be disappointed!

If Chanel and Christian Dior were inspired by the modern now, then other couture houses like Elie Saab and Alexis Mabille were inspired by the glorious past.

There was a decidedly Grecian influence to many of the couture collections, with an emphasis on elegant asymmetrical drapery and the manipulated form.

The models rocked these dresses like the classical statuettes that immortalized the traditional Greco-Roman dress, and the end result is incredibly elegant. The Elie Saab and Versace dresses in particular are sure to be all over red carpets in the coming weeks, and I cannot wait to see them in action!

There's a reason these looks are so classic!

When you hear the word couture, you probably think, "Gowns, exquisite craftsmanship, wealth, art." Couture isn't meant to be worn, really. At least that's what I've come to understand. The clothes are so outrageous and so fanciful that they transcend everyday life and that is indeed their purpose. The only people who could possibly wear these dresses are celebrities who are given these gowns on loan, or possibly a billionaire's wife. Maybe.

So why on earth did Karl Lagerfeld place his futuristic fairy models in tennis shoes of all things?

No doubt the Creative Director of Chanel was inspired by the style on the streets; sneakers are the new ballet flat, apparently (and probably better for your arches) and bloggers and editors alike have taken to pairing their Nikes with their Nina Riccis.

But Lagerfeld took the high-fashion sneaker trend to the next level by constructing shoes of the same fabrics of the dresses for the collection. A snow white twinkling tweed two-piece was matched ever-so-perfectly by a white tweed tennis shoe. I must admit, the concept is pretty genius. You must applaud Karl for taking a pretty popular street wear trend and pushing it to the sartorial limits in his fantastic couture collection.

The accessibility of the collection extended beyond footwear, however. Spritely models took laid-back strides around the Grand Palais in skirts that moved and flowed with them, with hands in functional pockets and shoulders held back, not stiffly but comfortably. Despite what the price tag will inevitably read, I see these clothes and can actually envision myself wearing them - not just to a gala at the Met or the Oscars, but walking around town with (very fashionable) friends.

That's not to say that the collection lacked on all the hand-sewn extravagances that make couture what it is - on the contrary, the handiwork at Chanel is some of the finest I've ever seen. There was an effervescent quality to the garments that were presented today, as if the cloth was created from droplets of water suspended in mid-air, or from millions of tiny diamonds. The clothes were brilliant even by Chanel standards, and it was the type of collection that made me smile as I flipped through looks.

And it wasn't all stuffy ball gowns and impossible designs. These are real clothes made up in fascinatingly intricate detail, but the mere possibility of wearing these clothes is tantalizing. These ensembles are pure fantasy, but an attainable one.