Fashion Museum, Bath - A History of Fashion in 100 Objects

Whilst at the Bath Fashion Museum we looked at their new exhibition; A History of Fashion in 100 Objects.  Looking at these 100 items in this collection they show the story of fashions development from the 1600's until the present day.  This dress to the left is a Georgian design that would have been seen worn by the women of Bath during the mid 1700's.  What I found surprising about this dress is the striking yellow colour of the fabric.  I would have thought that this was too bright a colour for the period and would have been a hard colour to make.  

The dresses below look much more like the Robe a La Fransaise's that were typical of the period.  The decoration on these dresses, particularly the first white dress, is very fine and small which shows the wealth of the wearer as it would all have been done by hand.  

This yellow cotton dress of 1800 has been decorated with the Paisley Print that was very popular during the Regency period.  This dress is the complete opposite of the dresses above showing the sudden change in direction that fashion went in half a century.  These dresses below would have been made and worn during the 1880's and 1890's.  It was during the Victorian period that new dyes and making processes were being developed and so people were able to play with their clothes and the colours became darker and more varied.  I find that the dresses of this period appear very busy with a lot of decoration and frills appearing around the cuffs, neck and base of the skirt.  

 This dress from 1903 would probably have been worn for an evening party and includes lots of decoration.  As this dress includes several metres of fabric and much embroidery it would have cost an awful lot of money and would have been used a status symbol for the Lady to show to her friends.  The silhouette of the dress is typical of the Edwardian era and highlights the females waist and accentuates the curves created by the tight corset worn underneath.  

No 1 Royal crescent

The Royal Crescent marks the end of a series of buildings in Bath built by John Wood the Elder and John Wood the Younger.  They started building 1734 with Queen Square and finished with the Royal Crescent, built between 1767 and 1774.  This street was the first street to be created in the crescent shape anywhere in Europe and so it became one of the most popular addresses in Bath.  

Although the houses on this street were originally designed to be rented out to the wealthy who required a place to stay when in town, many people would often stay in these houses for many months at a time.  Many of the houses, except for No. 1 were able to benefit from stables, coach houses and gardens.  

The first known resident of No. 1 Royal Crescent was Irishman Henry Sandford from 1776 until 1796.  Sandford came to Bath when he was 57 after a 35 year career as an Irish MP.  

The Withdrawing Room

This room pictured above is located on the first floor of the house and is called The Withdrawing Room; in the Bath Journal in 1772 it said that this room featured "the most pleasing view of ... the whole sweep of the Crescent with the Country and Serpentine River."1  This room was used predominantly for entertaining and therefore it was the most lavish and highly decorated room in the house.  It was here that that the women would go to after dinner and would have been considered as their domain.  

The walls of this room have been decorated with silk damask that has been dyed to match the carpets of this room.  The Axminster carpet featured in this room was given to the Trust by Bernard Cayzer and in a 19th Century replica of an Aubusson design from the 1790's.  

The Lady's Bedroom

This is the Lady's Bedroom where she would sleep, dress and even receive visitors.  During the 1770's the heavier woollen or silk bed hangings were replaced with a lighter material such as cotton chintzes so that they are more easily washable.  Featured in this room, as with many bedrooms of the period, is a jib door that is concealed in the wall to keep the symmetry in the room whilst also allowing servants to come and go quietly.  The wall paper in this room was taken from a sample of wallpaper from the 1760's.  

The Gentleman's Bedroom

This would have been the bedroom of Henry Sandford and several pieces in this room take style elements of George Hepplewhite whose neoclassical style was popular in the 1780's.  Hepplewhite thought that the bed was the "an article of much importance" and the four poster design meant that the curtains could completely surround the bed for privacy.  The carpet and the wallpaper in this room are replicas of actual 18th Century designs.  During the Georgian period many favoured small and delicate patterns that were based on the architecture of the time in order to show elegance and neatness.  

1 - No.1 One Royal Crescent - Guide book 

Fashion Museum, Bath - The Archive Part 3

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This dress was from 1885-1889 would also have been worn as a day dress and it was made from silk.  Looking at the dress laying flat on the table the back of the skirt is much longer than the front of the skirt.  This is because a bustle would have been worn under the skirt and so the extra length is to accommodate for this.  

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The buttons that run all the way down the front of the dress have been covered this thin brown thread and they are then decorated with a simple white flower pattern.  

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The sleeves on this dress have a lot of puffed and gathered fabric around the armhole to create the iconic large puffed sleeves of the decade.  The sleeves are also cut with a bend in them to accommodate for the natural bend in the arm.  

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The front of this dress is very boxy with the high collar and the straight lines of the lace.  To give the impression of a jacket an over section is sewn into the collar to make the dress look like it includes a jacket.  

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Fashion Museum, Bath - The Archive Part 2

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After looking at the corsets from the Victorian and Edwardian era we then looked in more detail at the dresses that would have been worn over the top of the corsets.  This dress pictured above and below is from about 1858-1859 and would have been worn as a day dress.  When I first saw this dress my initial thought was that the pattern quite unusual and not a design that I have seen before on a dress; I feel that this is because the colours and design on this dress are not popular today and would be considered busy on a television screen and so it wouldn't be used very often on replicated costumes.  

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One thing that I find so surprising about this dress is that the fabric that it is made out of is so thin and the threads are quite far apart.  This makes the dress look very delicate and cool suggesting that it would have been a summer dress.  I believe that the reason it is made from such a thin material is to keep the wearer cool even when wearing all the petticoats and corset layers.  Hidden under the first layer of the tiered skirt was a pocket that had been stitched into the side seam of the skirt.  

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Down the front of this dress were sewn on some very nice, neat looking buttons that were added just for decoration.  Underneath the front panel by the buttons are several hook and eyes that would hold the dress closed and keep the finish of the dress looking smart.  

Fashion Museum, Bath - The Archive

The main reason for visiting Bath was to have a closer look at their archive to see how actual articles of clothing have been made in the past.  

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This corset, from 1904-1908, is incredibly thick and strong which is very surprising considering its age.  With it being in such good condition I would have though that it wasn't as old as it actually is and compared with some of the younger examples that we were shown this corset is really well kept.  I found that with this corset the padding an the quilting stitches on the gusset areas gave it a much sturdier appearance and made it all the more heavier.  

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I found that this corset was quite unusual and I was surprised to see that the panels were made up of separate strips of fabric rather than one piece.  I believe that this was done to create a softer corset and thus a softer appearance when worn.  

This corset was also really small and only appeared to start below the bust.

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This example of a corset from the 1890's is made from a light brown cotton material and it is decorated with pink embroidery and lace.  When looking at this corset, as well as many of the other corsets from the archive, I was quite surprised to see how decorative and embellished they actually are.  I would have thought that the corsets would have been made quite plain and simple.

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This corset is from the 1880's or 1890's and what I found so surprising is the condition that it is still in.  The red colour of this corset is still so bright and catching considering that it is about 130 years old.  The detail of the stitching and the cording to create the correct fit is so neat and even for a corset that would probably have been made by hand or on an early sewing machine.  

Stardust

www.watchkidsmoviesonline.blogspot.com

Based on the 1998 book 'Stardust' by Neil Gaiman.  The costumes for the film were designed by Sammy Sheldon and the film is set in Victorian England and the magical land of Stormhold.  

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The costumes from the image above are the first costumes that these characters wear.  The dress that Yvaine (Claire Danes) is wearing is quite plain and a shimmering silver Valentino silk fabric.  This dress works well for her character as the fabric catches the light and reflects it back off giving the impression that she is a star.  The smooth, shimmering fabric of Yvaine's costume drastically contrasts the costume of Tristan (Charlie Cox) as his is an earthy brown colour that blends in with their surroundings where hers stands out.  The cut and fabric of his costume is also much more realistic and accurate for the Victorian setting whilst Yvaine's costume appears more otherworldly; representing the fact that she is a Star and not actually Human.  

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This costume above is that of Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) the main villain and witch of the film.  According to one interview with Sheldon her costume is based more on a renaissance style and her costume is inspired by the Greek origins of her name: she is half human, half snake, intent on devouring children.  This link between her name and costume is seen in the colour green, which is often associated with snakes and the small pattern that gives the impression of scales.   

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When it came to dressing the seven princes of Stormhold Sheldon and director Matthew Vaughn didn't want to stick with the traditional images of princes; rather they wanted to give them a more cowboy, swashbuckling appearance.  To identify each of the individual princes each of there costumes has their respective number somewhere on their costume.  Prince Septimus (Mark Strong) on the left here includes his number VII embroidered in rows on his waistcoat whilst also including his number on each of his buttons.  

His brother here to the right, Prince Tertius (Mark Heap) as the third brother has his symbol III as a more simple decoration around the edges of his coat.  The colours on his costume show that  he is more of a showy prince and prefers being in the castle, unlike Prince Septimus who is more adventurous and unkind.  

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These costumes above are the costumes that Yvaine and Tristan spend the majority of the film wearing.  In an article with the costume designer she says that they "used blue because we felt that if Yvaine was faced with a row of dresses, she would be drawn to something the color of the sky".  This costume that Tristan wears is much better fitted and more fantasy based costume than the brown costume of before.  This choice was made to show that he is changing from a simple, clumsy village boy into an adventuring, dashing hero.  

Source - http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=4244

Private Lives - Digital Theatre

http://www.seatchoice.com/private-lives-digital-theatre/

After watching a live production of Private Lives in Bath I then went on to purchase a live production from Digital Theatre.  This version features Anna Chancellor and Toby Stephens as the divorcees Amanda and Elyot with Anna-Louise Plowman and Antony Calfe as Sybil and Victor. 

https://dealj.wordpress.com/2013/06/26/private-lives-gielgud-theatre-26-june-2013/

 This image above is very similar to an image of the production in Bath and so it is easy to see the comparisons between the productions.  One major similarity between the two versions is that Sybil is wearing a skirt/dress in both where as Amanda, who is a much stronger, more modern character, can be seen wearing trousers to highlight their differences.  One thing that I noticed that is different, and I'm unsure whether this was intentional, is that in the Bath production the trousers and skirt of married couple Sybil and Elyot appear to be made of the same material where as in this production above Elyot's colour scheme more closely resembles that of Amanda; which I feel works to show that these two characters are more suited to each other.  

http://www.digitaltheatre.com/production/details/noel-coward-private-lives/play

Similarly in this image both the characters are wearing dark colours showing the connection between them that occurs during this scene in the play.  On the other hand in the image below, of a scene that is between the two images above, Amanda and Elyot are in contrasting black and white colours as I feel that it represents the separation and differences that the characters are feeling in this scene.  

https://www.tumblr.com/search/sollocks