Lorna Irvine reviews 'an absolutely beautiful and very much recommended' exhibit at Kelvingrove Museum.
It's astonishing how scruffy everyone feels in modern clothes when stepping into the exhibition space at Glasgow's Kelvingrove.
This stunning new collection, featuring around 15,000 objects which has taken three years to put together and conserve, is a visual delight—but fascinating too, as it puts into context the 19th century's vast economic and social changes.
The influence of fin de siecle style can be seen in disparate ways nowadays—from the brocade of scrappy indie band The Libertines and their military chic, to Top Shop's recent Bohemian Summer collection featuring lace dresses. The revival of Burlesque and the cabaret scene isn't complete without top hats, feather fans, long boots and corsets, as Gypsy Charms, Jonny Woo and many, many others would attest, as they are still regarded as the epitome of theatrical high-glamour.
Colour is the uniting factor of the collection, which features around forty outfits. Greys and browns were simply practical shades due to Glasgow's industrial smog, dirt and dust, but as production became more sophisticated, so too did dyes, such as the new aniline dyes. The techniques involved in weaving, embroidering and embellishing were reflected in increasingly detailed clothing.
It is fascinating, too, to see some myths around colour being dispelled. Lilac and soft purple, for example, became the colour of mourning around 1863. Red was a masculine colour, such as military coats and hunting coats dated from around 1841-3. Bright blue, dyed using the lapis lazuli pigment represented feminine fidelity—some of the most gorgeous dresses are the azure blue ones on display, covered with intricate detail in the beading and tailoring.
The have and have-nots were more conspicuous, as evinced by the contrast in everyday muslin gowns and walking or going-away gowns; the former worn by ordinary girls and women, the latter—silk velvet of the upper-classes such as Madame Hayward's sumptuous dress for a Honeymoon, created in London in 1899.
Of course, the trend towards cream and white wedding dresses is synonymous with period clothing—Miss Armour's opulent cream wedding dress from Paris, created for Jessie Morrison Inglis, the mother of John Logie Baird (1878), is displayed in a separate case, as it is one of the most expensive and significant. Reigning monarch Queen Victoria started a trend for women wearing white wedding gowns—and also in sharp contrast funeral black gowns long after the mourning period as a mark of respect to their much-missed husbands, and as a symbol of loyalty.
But it's not all adult costumes—there are many, many children's clothes too, and the tiniest shoes gathered together. Accoutrements such as little capes and bonnets accompany the small shoes.
Accessories are well-represented—reticules, or small bags, purses, fans and evening gloves, hats and Japanese jewellery boxes, which are not merely decorative but practical. A lounge is recreated with a gorgeous purple chaise lounge and dressing mirror and table.
The luxurious velvet gowns are my personal favourites: in red, blue and black—so tactile looking you could almost touch them. Rich widow Mrs Isabella Elder's mourning dress is especially lovely, in spite of its sad history. Her portrait by Millais from 1886 stands next to the dress, bringing her story to life. She, like Queen Victoria, chose to wear black long after the mourning period.
What is most striking in this era is the size of the costumes, with tiny cinched-in waists, minimal bustlines, small satin shoes and large bustle skirts, worn with around six petticoats underneath. It is easy to see how such restrictive clothes made women faint, when frames were squashed into such exaggerated ideals of perfect femininity. If one thing was learned in the twentieth century, it was how to free women from such impossible standards.
This exhibition is absolutely beautiful, and very much recommended as a slice of Glasgow's rich fashion history, with a dazzling array of designs and shades—but if anything, it makes us value our freedom of movement in the twenty first century.
At Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow September 25, 2015 until February 14, 2016, £5 adults, £3 per concession
www.glasgowmuseums.com
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