Fashionable Dreams, my visit to Liberty in Fashion

Well hello!

It's been an awfully loooong time since I last blogged. A lot has happened in the time that has passed, some good and some not so much fun. Life just happens to you sometimes, doesn't it? I lost my mojo for writing and blogging and then I fell out of the habit... But this morning I woke up with the desire to write again, so here I am!

Last weekend my husband and I spent the weekend in London (a total rareity these days, damn you mortgage payments!) and we had a lovely time just being us and bimbling about at our own pace, doing what we wanted. We did a number of fun things but what I really want to tell you about is the Liberty in Fashion exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum. Oh my goodness, it was wonderful!

This has been an exhibition I rather fancied getting to for a few months now and I'm so glad we went. Even Husand quite enjoyed it. Although, I think he more enjoyed chuckling at me proclaiming how I 'would SO wear that' every other minute! I've decided that the 1920s-1940s are my favourite style, and I lamented all the way around the exhibit that the dresses weren't available for purchase in the museum shop! Imagine if they were...! Sadly, the exhibition closes on 28th Feb, but hopefully it'll pop up again sometime in the future.

So let me get to it. This exhibition is dedicated to the influences that the now-world-famous Liberty London had in fashion since its inception. It went through from the 1870s up to the 1990s and showcased some of Liberty's most iconic styles and patterns of these decades. It was really interesting to see how ladies' fashion developed over the years and to see some elements that have definitely seen a revival over the decades.

Now, I could prattle on for ages about what I saw, but I figure I should let the pictures do the talking so here's a selection of the best bits from the exhibition. Sadly, I didn't make notes of the dates, designers or fabrics used but hopefully you'll get the idea of how lovely the pieces are. The lighting was terrible for photos (as is usual in museums) and I only had my iPhone, so these pics won't be the best but enjoy them anyhow.

One of Liberty's first capelets

This is the back of a beautiful velvet kimono

These just screamed 'Downton Abbey'!

The emboidery on this silk kimono coat was swoon-worthy

I HAVE to make a dress like this!

It even has a pocket!

Beautiful examples of hand smocking

This might be my top fave, check out the deep crochet lace trim!

Such a lovely print on this one, and hand smocking too

This is a velvet and silk pinafore, utterly gorgeous!

Hello 1960s flower power!

If only you could see how ORANGE this skirt suit was!

Velvet mini dress

I hope you enjoyed that little foray into fashion history. I don't promise to blog daily or even weekly, but I can say that I hope it won't be another two and a half years til my next installment!

Cheerio,

K x