Eclectic Threads

One of my favourite things to do on a rainy day (aside from sewing and watching my way through the Netflix catalogue in my pjs, obviously) is visiting a museum or two. So on the rather grey and wet Bank Holiday Monday last week I headed to Bath to have a look around the Bath Fashion Museum, where there were no less than three superb exhibitions on show that I’ve been wanting to see for a while.

Our first stop was the Great War in Costume exhibit, focusing on the dramatic changes to women’s lives and roles that took place during World War I. For the first time, women were required to do men’s work and fashion evolved accordingly. Restrictive corsets, elaborate dresses and dainty shoes were impractical for their new roles, so functional trousers and hard-wearing boots were introduced to women’s wardrobes to reflect their new (albeit not entirely accepted by some) status as a part of the workforce. The exhibition featured both work and civilian dress, memorabilia and propaganda, as well as some absolutely stunning costumes from Downton Abbey. It must be so lovely to be an actor and get to wear all those lovely outfits for work. Sigh.

The exhibition has finished, but no doubt there will be another equally fantastic one to take its place soon – there is also so much to see in the rest of the museum.

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