For decades, Paris and New York have engaged in a (mostly) friendly rivalry for cultural dominance. In its newest exhibition, the Museum of the City of New York examines how and when the battle started (1925–1940)—and weigh in on who might win it today.

Fashion

THEN Paris had Coco Chanel, Hermès, Jeanne Lanvin, Paul Poiret and Valentina. New York had department stores importing Parisian couture.

NOW Designers like Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs prove that Americans are just as stylish as their French counterparts (especially when it comes to yacht wear), but France still has Chanel. And Yves Saint Laurent. And, okay, Christian Dior and Christian Lacroix. Oh, and our buddy Marc? He’s the head of Paris-based LVMH.

WINNER! PARIS.
Seriously: We’re talking about the city that gave birth to the little black dress and is now home to wackadoo eccentrics like John Galliano and Karl Lagerfeld.

Art

THEN Surrealism originates in Paris when André Breton pens 1924’s “Surrealist Manifesto,” inspiring fellow freaks Salvador Dalí and Marcel Duchamp. In NYC, both the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney open between the two World Wars.

NOW Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art—with figureheads like Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, respectively—pushed New York to the forefront of modern art. In many ways, it has remained there.

WINNER! NEW YORK.
“Particularly with the founding of MoMA, New York has become the center of the contemporary art movement,” says Donald Albrecht, the museum’s curator of architecture and design. “In that period, New York came into its own.” Take that, Louvre.

Design

THEN Art Deco rules in New York, as the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings are completed (in 1930 and 1931). But the Paris Exposition in 1925 introduced that style to the world—Gotham was just a copycat.

NOW New York took the skyscraper concept and ran—see the U.N. Building, the former World Trade Center complex, etc. While Paris has its notable structures—like I.M. Pei’s Louvre Pyramids, completed in 1989—the city has been outpaced.

WINNER! NEW YORK.
“New York invented the skyscraper, but Paris added decorative touches,” says Albrecht, citing the “Parisian way” that the plaza at Rockefeller Center is set up (a long gangway leading to a large building—in this case, 30 Rock), and the Beaux Arts tradition it follows. Ultimately, though, New York has the more memorable structures. (Have ya seen the lines at the ESB?)

Culture

THEN It was all about sharing: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker and Gertrude Stein all flocked to Paris, while French gourmand Henri Soulé inspired legions of Francophile restaurateurs when he opened La Pavilion in 1941.

NOW New York has the Metropolitan Opera and Mario Batali. Paris has the Paris Opéra and Alain Senderens.

WINNER! DRAW.
Not just because both cities have made huge cultural contributions to modern society, but because both are in danger of being usurped. “In the interwar period, Americans and Europeans were finding cultural supremacy,” says Albrecht. “Now, with cities like Tokyo and Dubai, there’s a more crowded field.” The takeaway: Paris and New York need to make sure they keep up.

OVERALL WINNER! NEW YORK.
Paris may have given a thorough ass-kicking to New York in the past, but the Big Apple came into its own after World War II. “This period was pivotal in New York’s history,” says Albrecht. “Paris was the great capital of the 19th century, and New York became the great capital of the 20th century.” (Not that we’re biased or anything.)