Beau Musée Bowes

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 Bond Street in London. Where ever it came from it is a triumph. 

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 125^th 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.

Curators choice.1858-1860 Paletot and carriage boots
 which belonged to Empress Eugenie

Here’s a selection of my favourites.

1815-1820 Scottish Whitework

Day Bodice 1857-1860

1863

1880

  

1919-1920

                                                       

1932

Utility blouse 1941-8

                               

1964 Jean Varon (John Bates)

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, meeting an actress, their love story, a marriage and a zeal for collecting that all came together with their great vision for a museum.  All this is beautifully depicted and described within the museum, along with some eye watering bills from Worth in Paris ‘ 1^st June 1872, Bill for Mme Bowes’ ‘Dress in gauze and lace, Scarf in white crêpe de chine and Valenciennes lace’ etc etc, to a total of 11,184.00 Francs. (£36k today)

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.

 

TRAINS AND TEXTILES

Spending time at 
TRAIN WORLD 
in Brussels

(trainworld.be) 

wouldn't usually result in a post to my blog. 

But gentle reader, there were gems to be found. 

Yes, there were trains. 

Lots and lots of trains.

But there were also some of the most fetching reproduction 1960s textiles and wallpapers I have seen for a while. And by going even further back in time, (sadly with regard to the exhibits only. I was in the 21st century the entire time) I saw train compartments featuring delicate and beautiful marquetry as part of their decor.

The genius thing here was the replica of the crossing keepers house nestled in the middle of the museum. Not only did it show how close to the tracks and how noisy their life must have been, it showcased a fab selection of textiles and wallpapers. The living room had gorgeous curtains, and on closer inspection (This inspection causing a museum guard to stride purposefully towards me...perhaps she thought I was going to make a dress out of them?) revealed that they had been woven by Arthur Sanderson and Sons. Various colours and patterns made the rooms jolly and attractive and very ‘60s.  My photos are dark, as the light levels were low. But I think enough is recognisable to be worth posting.

Living Room Curtains

Wallpaper

What the travellers wore and did whilst on the train that thundered past the crossing keepers cottage was beautifully displayed in another exhibit. 

This was a (thankfully) well lit 1960s commuters carriage, dressed with a MANS business essentials of the day, a typewriter, a filofax (est.1921), plus a cup and saucer. And of course his jacket, hat, spectacles and wallet.

Across the aisle were the female commuter's accoutrements. She  had left her jacket, hat, gloves and scarf by her seat, her chic handbag was at her side. Her magazine was left open on the table, along with her notepad and pencil, which was poised to carry on with her jottings. A modish tartan bandbox was perched on the luggage rack, packed no doubt with a stylish change of clothes.

Further back in train time, a belle époque sleeping compartment illustrated comfort and luxury from a lost era. 

Further examples of marquetry used in train compartments of the time were displayed alongside.

The exhibition halls were new, spacious and well laid out. Light levels were more in keeping with a textile display, but it did contribute to the overall atmosphere.

Le style industriel made for a clean clear backdrop to the walkways and staircases.

Visitors were shown out very promptly at closing time. I found out why in the next day's newspaper report of a visit by the King of Belgium and two of his children to Train World  the day before. No wonder they wanted to empty the place tout suite. 

Proof, if it were needed, that what I do today……..