Acquired from Jenny Pearson Stomachers were flat, roughly triangular pieces of fabric that were pinned...
Timeline
1700s
Stomacher
1720s
Waistcoat
Acquired from Jenny Pearson Probably the earliest waistcoat in the John Bright Collection this example...
1730s
Apron
The apron is generally considered a garment of practical use today, but this 18th Century...
1740s
Stomacher
Acquired from Jenny Pearson Stomachers were flat, roughly triangular pieces of fabric that were pinned...
1750s
Coat
Made from unadorned practical wool fabric, this coat is characteristic of the everyday wear of...
1760s
Coat and Waistcoat
This coat and waistcoat would originally have been part of a suit with breeches of...
1770s
Coat
...
1780s
Coat
By the last decades of the 18th Century wool had taken over from silk as...
1790s
Court Dress Coat
Once part of a suit with breeches of the same fabric and a waistcoat, probably...
1800s
Shoe
Acquired from the costume designer Dinah Collin. Found abandoned in a theatre more than thirty...
1810s
Stole
The production of luxury accessories such as the fashionable stoles of the early 19th Century...
1820s
Stole
The production of luxury accessories such as the fashionable stoles of the early 19th Century...
This bodice was once a dress which has had its skirt roughly cut away below...
1840s
Dress
...
1850s
Dress
This is a classic example of a summer day dress of the period with its...
1860s
Dress
Fashionable garments made from expensive, richly trimmed materials, originally worn by the upper classes, survive...
1870s
Dress
...
1880s
Dress
After decades of fullness, supported by horsehair petticoats, crinoline cages and bustles, the skirts of...
1890s
Bodice
This bodice was used as a model by designer Hildegard Bechtler for that worn by...
1900s
Dress
Acquired from Margaret Wicks Label: ‘Manton Patrick Court Dressmaker 44 Baker St. W.’ The...
1910s
Shoes
...
1920s
Shoes
Acquired from the collection of the costume designer Shirley Russell. Stamped: Perugia, 11 Faubg St Honoré,...
1930s
Scarf
Printed scarves of bias-cut silk or rayon, worn knotted around the neck with the ends...
1940s
Shoes and Gas Mask Bag
Gas Mask Bag, Early 1940s Shoes, 1940s Bag acquired from costume designer Charlotte Holdich In...
1950s
Shoes
These pink leather court shoes, each trimmed with a leather flower finely piped in white...
1960s
Boots
Designed by Mary Quant. ‘Quant Afoot’ boots were being advertised in the winter of 1967-68...
1970s
Tunic Coat
Label ‘Bill Gibb London’ The Scottish fashion designer Bill Gibb collaborated with the knitwear designer...
These garments belonged to the late Chilean artist Mariella Phillips who moved to London to...
18th Century Overview
The silhouette of the early 18th Century is suggested here with a reproduction gown, made by Cosprop, that frames an original stomacher, one of the earliest pieces in the collection. Some fine examples of 18th Century dress, including gowns of brocaded silk, embroidered waistcoats and ornate stomachers, can be found in this section.
19th Century Overview
This dress dates from the beginning of a century which sees the evolution of the female silhouette from high-waisted tubular dresses, through bell-shaped skirts and full sleeves, to elaborate gowns worn over cage-crinolines and bustles.
An outline of these fashion changes can be seen in the Dresses section.
20th Century Overview
The relatively simple line of this dress marks the move away from fashions dependent upon unnatural understructures, such as the crinolines and bustles of the 19th Century, towards more practical clothing attuned to new lifestyles in which work, leisure, sport and two world wars played a significant part.
Garments in this section include costumes worn in Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes productions, which had a major impact not just upon the ballet world but also on international fashion, souvenirs from two coronations, and suits, dresses and accessories block-printed by the firms Footprints and Crysede.