Catholic Church fashions at the Met
Tiaras encrusted with thousands of diamonds, emeralds and rubies. Papal cloaks and vestments with golden embroidery so fine they took 16 years to produce. If you're going to wield power, you need to dress the part -- and it seems few have understood that better than the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church through the centuries. That's one of the key takeaways from the latest mega-exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, a look at the influence of Catholicism on fashion. It opens Thursday and runs through Oct. 8.