Pretty and Practical in a glass case.
Several small objects from the Henfield Museum Costume Collection arranged ready for you to see when the museum reopens......
Sadly I do not know when we will be open again, but a check on the website
Henfield Museum will keep you up to date.
If you prefer to go straight to the costume collection, here's the link for that feast of gorgeous costume.
Henfield Museum Costume Collection
Henfield Museum on Facebook has weekly posts about the costume collection.
Starting on the left there is a fine example of a mid Victorian painted silk fan, complete with its own box. The box has a painting on silk lining the lid.
Pretty lace on a small hanky next. The hanky has its own voile sachet, complete with embroidered design and pink silk pad to keep the hanky safe. This is the smallest sachet of a set of three, the largest being a nightdress case. c1930s.
The final item on the left of the case is a tapestry style evening bag. c1900. The gold chain handle is just the right length to dangle from your wrist and the cut steel studs make the frame sparkle. Inside is just as lovely. There is a pocket for a mirror and a tiny champagne coloured silk purse has been handmade and added to the inside.
On the right hand side we are into practical territory, with the addition of a treasured fragment of a dress kept as a memento. The exquisite beaded panel, carefully cut from some long ago dress, sparkles and impress still. It is tambour work and carries the remains of coffee coloured chiffon as a backing. c1930s
A small but well stocked needle case is next. It has a label from Kirkby, Beard and Co. The picture on the front is of a dimpled young miss dressed in the style of the 1920s. Kirkby made Kirbigrip hair pins. In the 1860s they made more than twenty million a week!
Buttons are necessary and these cards of linen covered buttons reflect how many were used for shirts and undergarments. They were made flat so as to go through a mangle. 20th century.
And finally we come to a tiny shift. It is a sewing exercise and beautifully done. The button and button hole on the shoulder is perfect. The dress measures 22cm/9" from shoulder to hem. 20th century.
