Monday 31 December 2012

The Art of Dress: 18th Century Frocks & Finery

The Collection is hosting an exhibition of18th Century clothes and other finery from 26th January to 24th March 2013.  The centre piece of the exhibition is a rare black mantua gown and petticoat, that has managed to survive almost 300 years.  Experts are perplexed on how it's managed to survive in such excellent condition, as dying silk black in those days was exceedingly destructive and the gown should have rotted to nothing years ago!  Please go visit the exhibition, entry is free.

Also, Sheila Landi of the Landi Company Ltd who did the preservation work on the gown and restored it to its original 1735 design will be giving a talk on the work carried out on 7th February starting at 2:30 pm.  Tickets are £6.00 and available from The Collection.  Tel: 01522 782040 for more information.