Star Jones, Kathy Griffin, and Joan and Melissa Rivers may have already handed down their verdicts on Oscar red carpet fashions. But here on the East Coast, the season for glitz is just revving up. Those still unsure of what to wear to the season’s social events, like the Met Costume Institute gala on May 2, may want to pick up some pointers at two related museum shows celebrating the history of glamour: “Glamour, New York Style,” at the Museum of the City of New York, and “Glamour: Fashion, Film, Fantasy,” at the Museum at FIT.

When you enter the Museum of the City of New York’s exhibit, don’t be put off by the rather dispiriting collection of photographs peppering the show’s entrance – portraits of nominally New York glamour pusses such as Marlon Brando and, perhaps more convincingly, Leonard Bernstein.

Instead, head straight into the main gallery, where curator Phyllis Magidson has assembled a small but powerful collection of gowns from the 18th century to the present. Fashion enthusiasts will find the entire pantheon here, from a Madame Gres Grecian gown to a Charles James confection and even Karl Lagerfeld’s more recent reinterpretation of 1930s-era Vionnet. (Men, alas, are merely spectators at this ball.)

Making the show more remarkable – and broadening its appeal – are the rich histories tying the resplendent artifacts to defining moments of New York sophistication.

Front and center is the Halston dress (plus furry rabbit mask) that Candice Bergen wore to Truman Capote’s legendary Black and White ball. The 1966 event may be the modern archetype of New York glamour, but it’s only one in a long line of events that have made New York the repository of our most shameless aspirations. Other historically notable gowns on display were worn to George Washington’s inaugural in 1789, the Vanderbilt ball in 1883 (the Gilded Age’s marker of conspicuous consumption), and the opening of the Metropolitan Opera House (then at Broadway and 39th Street), also in 1883.

But not all the outfits are dusty historical relics. My favorite piece was a fantastic hologram-covered skintight catsuit worn by Miss Trinidad and Tobago to Brooklyn’s “Parade of Carnival Costumes” in 1998. A “Bladerunner” fantasy run amok, it also reminds us that not everyone’s version of the high life is identical (and will make you want to mark your calendar for the next West Indian Day Parade in indelible ink).

The exhibit ultimately becomes less a fashion show than a lesson in New York City cultural history, with a little bit of sugar – the tulle and charmeuse – to make the medicine go down.

The costumes undeniably lose some of their magic when presented on static mannequins. But the wonderful thing is that, unlike in photographs, which only remind us of distance from the subject, these gowns put you in direct proximity to the women who wore them. Most of us will never meet stars such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicole Kidman, but here you can imagine their presences (and, if the urge strikes you, compare waist sizes; Ms. Kidman’s, for the record, is smaller – with the help of a corset.)

The finer moments at FIT’s sister show, “Glamour: Fashion, Film, Fantasy” similarly capture the traces of star aura. Valerie Steele and Fred Dennis, curators of the show, draw on Hollywood memorabilia to dazzle us with some watershed glamour moments, such as the outrageous scarlet gown Joan Crawford donned in “The Bride Wore Red” and the retro-Marilyn white sequined dress Madonna wore to the 1991 Academy Awards (escorted by Michael Jackson).

On the wall introducing the show, the curators explain that the word “glamour” itself comes not from the French but from Scottish, and originally meant “magic spell.” (A factoid that ought to give pause to future costume designers of Macbeth.) Glamour, the curators tell us, was traditionally defined by excess, not good taste or elegance.

In keeping with this definition, the curators haven’t just hewed to the 1940s-era Hollywood vision of glamour. In theory, this is a good strategy. In practice, the exhibit gets a little confusing. A strap-and-buckle gown from Versace’s legendary S&M-themed collection for fall/winter 1992-93 challenges the paradigm; but the curators give no more than lip service to how resembling a dominatrix hooker will make you glamorous. On the other hand, the tasteful and austere blue column dress that Julia Roberts wore to accept her Oscar for “Erin Brockovich” is exactly the type of gown that better fits the “elegance” than “glamour” category. (“A gorgeous dress, but I did not like it on Julia,” added one of my fellow museum goers for good measure).

Wall texts could have helped finesse some of the more bemusing choices, like the pairing of a Target denim shirtdress with an extravagant couture skirt. It’s probably meant to gesture toward the high-low look models like Kate Moss have made chic, but its presence is more easily explained by noting the exhibit’s sponsor: Target.

Further muddling the show was the glut of fashions from 2004 designer runway collections. Was 2004 a banner year for glamour, or were these just the most recent collections available for display? Yes, Carolina Herrera and Zac Posen both make a pretty frock and their gowns shown here are sure crowd-pleasers. But shouldn’t a museum challenge us with different versions of glamour – for example, an outfit worn to the Harvey Milk high school prom or to a premiere of the Beijing Opera? Something, in other words, that we didn’t already see in the windows of Bergdorf Goodman.

“Glamour, New ork Style” through July 4 at the Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave., 212-534-1672, www.mcny.org. Suggested admission: $7, adults; $5, students, seniors, and children; $15, adults with children. 290 1778 436 1789

“Glamour: Fashion, Film, Fantasy” through April 16 at the Museum at FIT, Seventh Ave. and 27th St., 212-217-5800, www.fitnyc.edu/museum. Admission is free.