12 August 2015

Mostly Cream with Coffee. Plus Pink and White.




Something Old Something New
Wedding Dresses from 1850-1980

Bexhill Museum
Until 6th December 2015


OLD AND NEW
Lots of cream satin and pearls. A coffee coloured silk chiffon and lace dress and jacket. A pink lace dress and jacket and of course some white lace.
There was so much to see and enjoy at this wedding dress exhibition. All the dresses were of exceptional quality and there were a great deal of accessories and extras to see…shoes, wedding favours and headdresses to mention but a few. The Star shaped case layout was excellent. You could see all the way round the dress. So much better than just the front. And there was a Catwalk display too. It was marvellous to see the clothes out in the air as it were. You could get up close and have a peer with out glass getting in the way. I have rarely seen such a collection of high quality, beautifully conserved garments as I did in Bexhill. All the examples on display were exquisite and some were more exquisite than others. (apologies to G. Orwell)
Rather than try to describe the feast for the eyes that all these dresses presented when you walked into this large, calm room…here are a few tidbits to tempt you to go to see it for yourself.

A ‘Second Day Wedding Cap.’ 1842  
CAP 1842
Silk and lace and pearls. Worn by the bride the day after the wedding.
I have to confess that this is a new idea to me. I hope readers can enlighten me as to some history of second day caps?


Waterfall. Tumbling. Two words that describe this fabric made ‘false’ bouquet from the early 19th century. (See Old and New photo above)

1857 FRINGE




Victorian fringes and an attached overskirt.             And not shown, but held by Bexhill, are the many love letters from the groom to his be fringed bride.
All together now. Ahhhh.
                                                
Veil

An Edwardian Veil in embroidered lace
From Bourne and Hollingsworth in London. A long time later it came back to the shop to be looked after. The shop closed in 1970 and as the veil was unclaimed, it was given as a memento to a staff member. 
1932 Rear View



This bride of 1932 has left us her silk crêpe de chine, cut on the bias dress with its draped neckline and long train. She also left long locks of auburn hair, which the museum has in store. Whether she sported said hair at the wedding is not recorded.






Proving chic is timeless, a pink lace 1940s suit that was worn by a 1997 bride can be seen in the photograph of the catwalk.



1960s Classic  



1960s Wedding Dress.
A classic. It’s all there. Full length. 
Nottingham lace. Under wired petticoat.

Catwalk
















The most recent dress (2007) was startling in style...Goth ...as well as colour. It was green and purple. (Although green and magenta were popular bridal colours in the 1860s)
The bolero jacket was worn over a ruched and beaded bodice, with some dramatic rear lacing to the bodice and a bustle and a train. A bridesmaids dress was a less elaborate purple version of the brides dress.The more I studied these, the more I liked them. The detail and the drama of these dresses was superb.

There are top class information sheets for the wedding dresses which are portable…greatly appreciated.

Don’t miss the fascinating social and dress history on permanent display in the room.

Thanks to Bexhill Museum for permission to use these photos.
Special thanks to Karen for her help.
Hello to the friendly volunteer staff I met.

 And finally. Can someone please tell me what Petal Dust was used for? A bridal ensemble from 1921 included a packet of this. The notes describe it as an accessory. Was it scattered like confetti? Used as rouge? Dusted over cocktails? ? ? ?

 

6 August 2015

Definately a voice for radio


CLICK AND GO.....



Click on this

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02x1683

And go to 2 hrs 40mins 

You will be rewarded with my interview on Radio Sussex on 5th August 2015

I am talking to the lovely Allison Ferns

You will find out all you ever wanted to know about

How fabulous I am
How extremely good I am on the radio
How mellifluous is my voice
How I bet you wish you had that husky chuckle
Volunteering at a museum.

I am lucky enough to be responsible for the costume collection at my local museum...so listen up and see what you might go on to do.....