Its not often you go to a costume exhibition and come out raving about the transparent thermoplastic mannequins.
But that is what happened
after my visit to the Bowes Museum in County Durham
Their costume and textile displays have see through acrylic
mannequins and innovative peninsula cases, so you can see inside and through
and the back of the clothes. What a difference this makes. Seeing something in
the round gives a much better picture of a costume. No longer do you have to
trade the detail of the back for the detail of the front or vice versa. And you
can step back and see the costume from all angles at a distance. This excellent
system was developed by Bowes and is now being copied by other museums. I
believe that the inspiration for this layout was based on clothes shops
in 
The clothes displayed are arranged chronologically
to guide you through the display. A walk through time as it were.
Having by good fortune visited on Bowes 125th anniversary,
not only was admission a snip at £2.50, but there was a programme of talks,
tours and music on that day as well. So it was that I had the pleasure of
meeting Hannah Jackson, Assistant Curator of Fashion and
Textiles, who gave a talk in the fashion gallery about the exhibits
(just 2% of their collection is on show) and shared with us her favourite
items.
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| Curators choice.1858-1860 Paletot and carriage boots which belonged to Empress Eugenie |
Here’s a selection of my favourites.
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| 1815-1820 Scottish Whitework |
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| Day Bodice 1857-1860 |
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| 1863 |
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| 1880 |
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| 1919-1920 |
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| 1932 |
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| Utility blouse 1941-8 |
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| 1964 Jean Varon (John Bates) |
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| c1965 |
I often just walk through a museum to get to the costumes and walk
straight out afterwards. At Bowes you cant do that. I was drawn into rooms
filled with furniture and paintings and curios and porcelain and a very clever,
very famous silver swan. Case after case full of exquisite things. Yes I know
that all (most?) museums are like that, but Bowes is really special.
Light airy rooms, quiet nooks with chairs, a wealth of marble staircases,
wooden floors and a great sense of space.
And
there is still another story to tell from Bowes…the history of Joséphine Bowes
and her husband John. The tale of his enormous wealth, a life in Paris 
Tying the two areas of costume and founders together is a replica
of a dress worn by Joséphine Bowes, taken from her portrait and meticulously
recreated by Luca Costigliolo. A video of its construction shows in the costume
space.
Bowes is exceptional. I have wanted to visit this museum for
years.
It did not disappoint.
