By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER EAST SIDE — The Metropolitan Museum of Art's new exhibit traces women's liberation through the clothing they wore, showing that as the corsets came off and the hemlines crept up, American women slowly inched their way closer to political and social equality.
Fashion icon Sarah Jessica Parker narrates the guided tour of the Met's "American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity" exhibit through five defining eras in American history.
The show features turn-of-the-century ballgowns, Gibson Girl sportswear, Suffragists' banners and suits, Flapper dresses and 30s era Hollywood glamour.
The exhibit ends in a circular exhibition room with Lenny Kravitz's cover of "American Woman" blasting as images of cultural icons including Coretta Scott King, Helen Thomas, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and Alicia Keyes are projected on the walls.
"Today's American woman is the ultimate expression of the emancipated spirit of America," said Andrew Bolton, curator of The Costume Institute.
The exhibit will run through August 15.
