USEFUL MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES

• Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 - current exhibition – Black in Fashion – until March 2000

• National Portrait Gallery, St. Martin’s Lane, London - portraits and photographs of notable sitters throughout the ages

• Shambellie House, New Abbey, Dumfries and Galloway - costume collection in a country house setting

• Museum of Costume, Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street, Bath - permanent costume collection as well as changing exhibitions

• Museum of London, London Wall, London EC2 - costume on display within the context of the story of London. Large reserve collection.

• Gallery of English Costume, Platt Hall, Manchester - permanent display

• The Burrell Collection, Pollock Park, Glasgow - exceptional collection of embroidery, particularly 17^th century, domestic, as well as other textiles.

• The Textile Museum, Washington D.C. - changing exhibitions, with useful library and bookshop

• Pallais Galleria, 10 ave Pierre 1er de Serbie, Paris - changing exhibitions, every few months, relating to aspects of costume and fashion

• Musee de mode, Palais de Louvre, 107 rue de Rivoli, Paris - display changes annually to reflect a theme within fashion.

• Check your local county museum too – these often have useful collections that are not always on display.

TEXTILE FAIRS AND AUCTIONS

14^th May 2000 – Textile Fair, Bath

Christie’s – Costume and Textile Auctions – April

Sotheby’s – April

USEFUL PUBLICATIONS

Wedding Fashions 1860-1980, History in Camera, Avril Lansdell, 1992, Shire Publications

Victorian Fashion and Costume from Harper’s Bazar, 1867-1898, edt. Stella Blum, 1974, Dover Publications who also have useful similar books.

NEW PUBLICATIONS

18^th Century Costume in the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, Pauline Rushton, 1999

This is divided into three sections, for men, women and mixed costume including over forty examples. There is a brief and basic description of items worn in the 18^th century, including underwear and the development of fashion through the century. This is lavishly illustrated with colour photographs with useful captions. There are some close-up shots of details that help identify techniques used. It is a basic but accurate and useful guide to fashionable clothing of the 18^th century. There is however only one child’s dress and it includes only what is held in the collection, with no broader examples from other sources, as is to be expected in a book of this size.

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