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I SHALL go to the Ball

The exhibition has been on for almost half of this year…but I finally managed to fit in a visit to the Ballgowns exhibition at the V&A in London. Maybe I put off going because I knew I would kinda be overcome with amazement and glee at the mere sight of all those dresses in one place….oooooheeee, it was, as I expected, breathtaking.

‘Ballgowns; British Glamour Since 1950’ is a dream to view. Ballgowns are pretty much my favourite thing in fashion and Sonnet Stanfill who curated this exhibition, did so to utmost perfection. The ground floor of the exhibition showcases 30 ballgowns from the 1950’s up to the 1990’s, and on the upper area there are 30 dresses from recent seasons of the best British designers. Each and every gown is visually stunning, and the way they have been displayed is gorgeous. Grouped in colours on the ground floor, the sense of grandeur and vintage sophistication is ripe, the dresses all behind glass like an untouchable nostalgic memory. Upstairs is white and spacious with holograms on the ceiling and giant pearlescent baubles and modern white wooden chandeliers gathered around the mannequins. I adore the contrast between the two areas, each wholly elegant and magnificent but with totally different atmospheres. This exhibition shows British fashion designers off to their best. The textures, silhouettes, fabrics, colours, effects and glamour are indeed wondrous.

I loved both areas, but as a vintage loving gal, I was more in awe of the older gowns, my very favourite was the chartreuse coloured satin gown by Worth, London, 1960. Oh my….! And upstairs I loved the 2012 black and white silk tulle Marchesa gown. There were two other dresses in the upstairs area which I adored, the silver leathered dress by Gareth Pugh, 2011 with a great big high neck, I also rather loved the Atsuko Kudo lace printed lurex dress from 2011, amazing construction on both of these. Goodness me, all the dresses were spellbinding and I’m pretty pleased that I finally got to go and see them…be still my beating heart…..an utterly dreamy exhibition.

 

  The exhibition is on until 6th January 2013, for more information visit http://www.vam.ac.uk/

 

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Diana’s Dresses

Diana: Glimpses of A Modern Princess, is a small but dreamy little exhibition at Kensington Palace. The exhibition, curated by interior designer Finola Inger, showcases 5 of Diana’s evening dresses, oooh what a delight! The whole thing has been beautifully designed, with the most stunning brightly coloured wallpaper lining the walls of the room. Artist Julie Verhoeven was asked to sketch some copies of famous Diana photographs, the deliciously vivid result is a great modern tribute.

The dresses are, as you would expect, well out of touching reach, safely behind glass and gently lit. It’s great to see the dresses up close though, I love seeing dresses that hold great provenance and these are pretty iconic pieces.

The five dresses displayed are;

  • Pink & Purple dress by Catherine Walker. Worn during official visit to Thailand, 1988, and at a London film premier

  • Ivory crepe evening gown by Catherine Walker. Made especially for a state dinner for the King & Queen of Malaysia, 1993. Also worn for iconic portrait by Mario Testino

  • Black taffeta evening dress by Emanuel. Worn to Goldsmiths Hall in London for her first official engagement, 1981

  • Black & white cocktail dress by Bellville Sasoon-Lorcan Mullany, 1989. Worn at charity gala performance at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, 1990

  • Black cocktail dress by Gianni Versace, worn at Apollo 13 film premiere, London, 1995

This exhibition has now ended, for more information visit http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace

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Getting Fashionably Hitched

On the most sunniest day of the year, Saturday 18th August, my very good friend Guy got hitched to his gorgeous gal Cristina, and they, quite frankly, couldn’t have done it more perfectly. It was a very stylish affair, both work in fashion and Cristina’s taste and eye for detail is just glorious, a London wedding of pure sophistication! Cristina’s Italian roots meant she opted for the utterly beautiful St Peter’s Italian Church on Clerkenwell Road. I had heard whispers of this church that was simple from the outside and amazing inside…jeepers, I was gobsmacked by it….divine. Cristina looked faultless, arriving in a black cab, her 1950’s style dress was immaculate, with a pink frothy petticoat and hot red patent Jimmy Choo peep-toes. This gal sure has style.

Both the church and the reception, which was held at Chandos House, London, were pure decadence. Stunning. Cristina’s palette of vintage pastels for her flowers, were complimented to perfection by the sugared almond pinks, yellows and blues in the decor of both venues….so classic, feminine and pretty. It was quite possibly THE most gorgeous wedding I have ever been to, city location, utter charm and splendour and with a genuine informal atmosphere. I wore one of my most special dresses, a 1950’s dress, nude rayon with black layered lace, I teamed it with a jumbo 80’s clutch and some killer 80’s heels, and a 1930’s paste and silver bracelet. James wore a 1930’s 3 piece wool suit…he got very hot! The sun shone harder than it had done all summer, we were all very hot but very happy. We chatted, we drank, we met new friends, we ate great food, we danced and we got a cab at the end of the night, a most perfect day.

The whole weekend was pretty superb. We stayed with good friends in east London, met a dog called Archie, and on the sunday we walked and talked through Brick Lane market, Columbia Road flower market, and the streets of Hackney, under the beaming sun. We don’t have many weekends like that, it was damn good.

Congrats Guy and Cristina, may true love be yours forevermore. xx

 

Cristina’s dress from http://www.candyanthony.com

Cristina’s shoes from http://www.jimmychoo.com

Guy’s suit from http://www.paulsmith.co.uk

The Prim Girl’s dress, shoes, bag, bracelet from http://primvintagefashion.com

Most perfect London venue http://www.chandoshouse.co.uk

 

 

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The Divine Jean Patchett

It aint no secret that I adore Miss Moss, I’m a bit of a sucker for beauty, aesthetics, I love to gaze at images of undeniable gorgeousness, and in my view, it doesn’t get much better than fashion photography. Get a great girl in a great dress, get her shot by a great photographer and ta-daaah, beauty, it’s right there.

I have a fascination with many models from different eras and the very lovely Jean Patchett has to be one of my most favourites. Her face became the very definition of 1950’s glamour, her trademark natural beauty spot and perfect red lips made her inimitable. Working as a model for Vogue, Life Magazine, and so much more, Jean’s career spanned from 1948 through to 1963. Jean died in 2002 at the age of 75. Irving Penn, the legendary Photographer who worked closely with Jean said of her; ‘She was a young American in Paris Couture’.

I am quite literally dazzled by the elegance of these images, the fashion is beyond dreamy and Jean has an unspeakable allure. Absolutely divine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Prim & Proper Exhibition

A delighted gal was I, when my shop Prim Vintage Fashion was asked by The Forum in Norwich to dress the set for an upcoming exhibition! Jubilee Journalists, in the Fusion Digital Gallery at The Forum, showcases the Diamond Jubilee as seen by Norfolk’s younger generation. Over 30 young people received journalism training from The Eastern Daily Press, BBC Radio Norfolk and BBC Voices in a Norfolk County Council organised venture. The resulting films, stories and images are then projected on the huge digital screen that wraps around the walls inside of the gallery.

To add a little extra to the exhibit, I was asked to display a selection of dresses which would have been typical of young women in 1952 when the Queen took to the throne. I spent a fair while stressing about how best to show the era, short dresses, long dresses, daywear, cocktail gowns….I am pretty fussy when it comes to showcasing my shop and my style, but alas, when I arrived to dress the mannequins the dresses I had planned were too small for the slightly larger than described mannequins! So after a very quick rethink I opted to show 4 versions of the same classic 1950’s silhouette. Knee length dresses with nipped in waists and full skirts, lovely! 3 brightly printed cotton ones, I like the clash of the patterns next to each other, and one prom style sugared almond pink dress, so, although not the dresses I originally planned, the exhibit adds a pretty cool extra dimension to the work on the screens, without distracting from it. I ruddy adore dresses and putting them on display, my favourite part of owning a shop is the window displays, so taking part in this is a real big Yipppeeee!

Jubilee Journalists is free and is on until 25th August http://www.theforumnorwich.co.uk

Dresses from Prim Vintage Fashion http://primvintagefashion.com

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