On my recent jaunt to Bath I paid my usual visit to the Museum of Costume which is to be found in the basement area of the Assembly Rooms. This place is always a delight to visit: the staff are helpful and knowledgeable and the collection is magnificent.
Because of its situation-in the heart of the rooms peopled by the fashionable set of 18th century Bath- there are always examples of 18th century/early 19th century costumes on show to satisfy people obsessed with our era, but there are always many other interesting clothing related exhibits too. This year the exhibits (which are constantly changing to give the dresses time to rest and to provide different points of interest to frequent visitors) have no examples of costumes prior to the 18th century on show other than a marvellous exhibit of 17th century gloves,so I missed seeing my favourite 1660s dress made of shimmering silver tissue: but there were special exhibits of The Diana Dresses showing some of the late Princess of Wales’ iconic clothes, which brought back many memories, and as ever, the fascinating Dress of the Year exhibit, a dress chosen by the staff as being most representative of that particular year.
This picture shows the current winner for 2009 by Antonio Baradi. All the previous winners are on show: including the winner for 2005, by Versace and made famous by Jennifer Lopez
and this beautiful Karl Lagerfeld ensemble which won the accolade in 2008.
The museum was founded in 1963 by the scholar, designer and collector, Doris Langley Moore
She favoured a phorensic approach to researching fashion history and encouraged examining real examples of clothing to discover the truth about fashion from the pst. She also encouraged the collecting of modern classics, as well as collecting and preserving clothes from the past. She was friends with Anne Buck and C. Willet Cunningham and their combined scholarship has transformed our understanding of historic clothes.
The 18th and early 19th centuries were well represented in the galleries, and I would like to show you some of the dresses that were on show.
A marvellous sack dress made with silver thread: this would have surely fascinated quietly in the candle-lit assembly rooms of Bath of the 1760 and 70s
A pair of stays circa 1775, the year Jane Austen was born. Worn over a linen sift and made of stout linen.The corset was stiffened with whalebone and a rigid busk of wood or horn or even ivory was inserted into the centre front to keep it rigid. No, thank you…..
A sack back gown of silver-embroidered silk circa 1770
Some more dressed from the 18th century
A court dress of brocaded silk circa 1760-1765.
Though wide skirts of this very rectangular shape had passed out of fashion in the early 1750s the style was retained for court dresses. This is an example of such a dress made of French silk covered with a gold strip and brocaded with coloured silks and chenille thread.
A printed cotton dress of the circa 1795, fashionable at the time Jane Austen was writing her first draft of Pride and Prejudice, First Impressions. A late example of the 18th century style of dress, of the open robe and petticoat type which was to be superseded by the type of dresses seen below, a one piece dress, put on by placing it over the head of the wearer, unlike this style, which the wearer put on like a coat, sleeves first.
These are two embroidered cotton muslin dresses, one having tambour work embroidery , both circa 1800
The dress on the left, above, is made from plain and undecorated white cotton, which reflects a shot lived fashion for severe plainness in dress in England dating from around 1800. Cotton, grown in America was imported into England and produced in mills such as those owned by Samuel Oldknow of Stockport( more on him later in the year!)
This is a stunningly simple dress, circa 1806, made of cotton muslin embroidered with tiny sliced cylinders of white glass which produced a shimmering effect: marvellous in a candle lit room, don’t you think?
Additional fabric has been pleaded into the centre of the back of the dress to create a small train and to allow the skirt of the dress to drape gently around the legs of the wearer.
These are interesting dresses date from 1815. They are both made of brown silk gauze with yellow and blue stripes. They are reputed to have been worn by the Misses Percival at the Duchess of Richmond’s Ball held in Brussels in June 1815 immediately prior to the Battle of Waterloo. There is no conclusive evidence to support this claim but the museum ‘s curator did make the point that long-sleeved dresses were fashionable as evening dresses at the time so they could quite possibly qualify as having been worn at that event. If only they could talk!!
This is a wedding dress from America made at the turn of the 19th century which took my eye…
And because the staff understand that everyone likes to dress up, children’s sporting clothes from the 1880s are available for all to use…
As are some wonderfully swish-y crinolines and different types of corsets from differing eras. We had great fun trying them out and watching other people play….
So there it is, my impressions of a trip to the Costume Museum in the summer of 2010. Do go if you ever have the chance, for you will not regret it. And of course you can also visit the Assembly Rooms at the same time. More on those next week ;-)
17 comments
August 14, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Kelly
Oh, this looks like heaven! You can probably tell from my latest blog post that costume history has always fascinated me, so I would love to go to this museum. I had no idea that all-over beadwork was done during the Regency period and that dress looks like it wouldn’t be out of place on a modern runway.
Thank you for another place to add to our list for our next visit to the UK!
Kelly
August 15, 2010 at 3:57 pm
jfwakefield
Kelly, you would adore it.I do hope you go to get to see the museum soon.And if anyone wants a treat, go here to see Kelly’s report of her Jane Austen inspired picnic.Her costumes are lovely , and her husband is SUCH a good sport. Mine would refuse in a very George Knightley way, I know!
August 16, 2010 at 12:10 am
Kelly
Thank you so much for your kind comments both here and on my blog! I’m lucky that my husband has always been a bit of a dandy, so getting him to dress up in a Regency costume wasn’t that difficult. Getting him to dance though was a real accomplishment!;)
Kelly
August 16, 2010 at 11:29 am
jfwakefield
My pleasure, Kelly. It was a great post ;-)
August 17, 2010 at 1:16 pm
imogen88
I loved Kelly’s post, Julie! The photos are gorgeous, the food, everything. What a lovely husband to follow it all through, and a handsome couple. Picnic time like that must have been dreamy, hard to get back to reality! Thanks for sharing, Julie.
August 14, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Karen
Such beautiful things! I love the “sack” dress — such an elegant silhouette.
August 15, 2010 at 3:58 pm
jfwakefield
It is, I agree, Karen -and kinder than the Empire line of the Regency I think ;-)
August 14, 2010 at 6:06 pm
Karen
I was just there last week and saw the same things. It was worth doing. I went in for the regency dresses and loved them. I was also thrilled with the Diana exhibit. I look forward to what you have to show us of the Assembly Room as I was just in awe of them.
August 15, 2010 at 3:59 pm
jfwakefield
They are spectacular ,aren’t they? Im so glad you enjoyed visiting the museum too.
August 14, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Sue S
Oh I love the dresses etc. I do so wish I could visit the U.K. to see these things. Thank you so very much for sharing your pics with us. I was fascinated to see the recent outfits as well as the ones more closely to the time period that I love reading about. It would take a lot to get a person out of there. I could stare at the shimmery ones for a long time. And yes candlit rooms would have been perfect dramatization. Wow, you can picture being there even more clearly. Did you have a time limit at the museum, did they rush you around or were you at your leisure to stroll thru the costumes?
August 15, 2010 at 4:01 pm
jfwakefield
Oh my goodness, there is no time limit at all: you can simply wander around at your own pace,and even retrace your steps if you need to , in order to re examine something. And you can also make an appointment to study particular articles of clothing in great detail ;-)
August 15, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Cathy Allen
Ah, Julie, there are so MANY things I could comment on, but in the interest of trying to be concise I shall limit myself, and reply here.
It is wonderful that one is not rushed through the museum, AND that one can make an appointment to STUDY the clothing! As an amateur seamstress/needlewoman, I would LOVE to get to examine them, not just look at them! And I’m also mindful of how the embellishment would appear in candlelight; Lovely!
Also, I am always taken with “Court” dresses. I can’t imagine how one maneuvers in them! (Well, obviously, very carefully, and practice, practice, practice! :-) Even so…!
Thank you, dear lady, for including us in your trip,
CEA
August 15, 2010 at 7:53 pm
jfwakefield
I think you would need more than one visit here Cathy ;-) I am sure you would love it. Great fun accompanied with great scholarship. Perfect really.
August 15, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Anna
I went there, too, last month. Was really interesting to see the collection. My favourites were the 18th century sack and court dresses and the glimmering dress from 1806.
August 15, 2010 at 4:02 pm
jfwakefield
They are great: but then the whole museum is such fun and so engaging. And the shop is very difficult to pass without spending vast amounts of money ;-)
August 17, 2010 at 1:18 pm
imogen88
Loved it all, Julie and made sure to check all the links, being a long time fashion fanatic. Loved the glass embroidered dress, and as you say, how the candlelight would have shown it shimmer. How wonderful, and did enjoy the tour of the Bath Fashion Museum. Divine!
August 17, 2010 at 11:01 pm
jfwakefield
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post, Moni. I do hope one day you will be able to visit it in person.