Liberty Fest

Photo credit: Lazy Daisy Jones

Friday was a very happy day for me as it involved all things Liberty. First off I met up with fellow blogger Ashley from Lazy Daisy Jones to visit the Liberty in Fashion exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum. I've been wanting to pay a visit for ages and I'm so glad I made the effort. It was great to see the fabrics up close and be able to examine the beautiful, subtle design details of the garments on display. Here are a few of my favourites:

Early 1920's silk blouse

1930's dress in a bright floral print

1930's and 1940's dresses

1940's dress - love the waist detail

My favourite dress from the 1970's section

Liberty shoes!

There was also an accompanying display in a side room featuring the work of Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell, who designed for Liberty between 1961 and 1977. I loved the mood boards in this room - such an explosion of colour and print.

After the exhibition we repaired to the Liberty store on Regent Street for lunch, then hit the fabric and haberdashery section. A few things caught my eye...

Liberty print sewing machine

Knitwear with Liberty print cuffs

I have a beloved John Smedley cardigan that's badly frayed at the cuffs after almost continual wear for the past six years. A Liberty print cuff seems like a perfect solution.

We also saw this amazing Tilly and the Buttons Francoise dress made with peacock feather Tana lawn. Extra fabric peacock feathers were appliquéd onto the dress.

I wasn't planning on buying anything but Ashley twisted my arm right up my back and forced me to buy a metre of this Lilac print (not really!) I love the colours and I can see this turning into a cute summer top.

All in all, a fabulous day. 

The Liberty in Fashion exhibition runs until the end of February and I'd highly recommend a visit if you find yourself in London. x

Mademoiselle Privé

It seems fitting that the next blog post after my Little Black Dress post should be about the Chanel exhibition. The Mademoiselle Privé exhibition is now in its final week at the Saatchi Gallery in London, so on Sunday morning I decided to pay a visit. I got there 15 minutes before the gallery opened at 10am, but still had to wait a good hour before I got in - be warned, the queues are very long. The upside of the long wait was that I got to indulge in some top quality people watching. Mostly fashion types checking out bags and giving each other the side eye - highly entertaining!

I'd describe Mademoiselle Privé as a cross between a fashion exhibition and an art installation. It's described as "a journey through the origins of CHANEL's creations, capturing the charismatic personality and irreverent spirit of Mademoiselle Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld." But despite being spread over three floors, there was next to no information to read - it was very much a visual experience. 

An illustrated version of Chanel herself appears amongst the displays in the first couple of rooms as moving footage (see below), which was quite charming.

These rooms also focus on Chanel's early stint as a milliner and her visits to Scotland where she was inspired to design her jersey sportswear. 

Other rooms focused on her famous perfume and the "Bijou de Diamonds" - Chanel's one and only high jewellery collection which she created in 1932. 

Personally I didn't think there were nearly enough garments on display, and those that were exhibited were in darkened rooms lit up by spotlights. Visitors were herded through the Haute Couture and Jewellery rooms at quite a brisk pace, which was frustrating as I really wanted to spend more time studying the dresses. 

These rooms were also policed by security guards who gave you a good telling off for ventured too closely to the displays. This made it really difficult to see any detail in the garments and almost impossible to see the jewellery. 

At first glance, I thought the criss cross effect on the dress above was a fabric design. It was only when I got closer that I realised the dress was made up of hundreds of tiny ribbons of crepe sewn together. 

It was exquisite and I would have LOVED to have examined it in more detail, sadly it wasn't to be - I got a stern telling off just for standing close enough to take this photo!

One of the highlights of the exhibition for me was a ten minute movie showing the ghost of Chanel (portrayed by Geraldine Chaplin) visiting the modern day Chanel HQ and having a full blown argument with Karl Lagerfeld! It really made me laugh!

The exhibition was free, which I do appreciate, but I would have been equally happy to pay an admission fee and spend a bit more time examining the frocks! Grumbling aside, everything I did see was a feast for the eyes and I'm pleased I went. I was also given a free tote bag and poster, which was very generous! If you're a Chanel fan I do think it's worth making the effort to go and visit.

Mademoiselle Privé is on at the Saatchi Gallery, London, and runs until 1st November. Further details can be found here. 

Marilyn Exhibition

On Friday, I visited the Getty Images Gallery, just off Oxford Circus in London, to see its Marilyn exhibition.  The exhibition is to commemorate 50 years since the death of Marilyn Monroe, and showcases some amazing, behind-the-scenes candid photos of her at work and at play.  But that's not all…. exhibited alongside the photos were a number of original dresses and costumes worn by Miss Monroe herself. The beautiful, beautiful dresses were amazing and a real sight for sore eyes.  There was so much to love about them: the 1950's styles, the tailoring details, the fabrics, the handcrafted beading and the fact that they were all indisputably Marilyn Monroe-shaped.  It really was a privilege to see such gorgeous vintage tailoring up close. Here are a few of my favourites:

 Red sequined dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Flapper dress from Some Like it Hot

White silk and chiffon gown with handcrafted beading from The Prince and the Showgirl

Costume from Bus Stop

Negligee from Niagara

Black silk with an appliqued pink rose at the bodice.  Up close, you could even see that the straps had worn away to reveal something that looked a bit like actual horsehair.  Would that kind of material have been used to strengthen straps in the 1950's do you think? I'd love to know if anybody is knowledgeable about such things.

Pink Linen Halter-Neck Wiggle Dress worn in Niagara

This was the most casual dress and I totally fell for it.  It's quite unprepossessing on the dummy, but just look how different it looks when worn by the lady herself....

It's a fab exhibition and is on until May 23rd, so definitely worth a visit if you're in central London.

In other, slightly less glamorous dress news, I've almost finished my Mad Men Challenge dress.  I've made my covered buttons and matching belt (oooh) and just need to sew the buttons on and hem it. Wahay.  x

New friends, new sewing space...

Two exciting new things to share with you today.  My new sewing space!!!!!!! and my meet up with new sewing friends.  Friends first, I met up on Saturday with a bunch of fellow bloggers at the Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion exhibition at the Barbican.  This was kindly organised by Karen from didyoumakethat? Along with Karen, I met Nancy who doesn’t yet have a blog (but may do soon now we’ve all been nagging her) and Danielle who is an illustrator with a background in fashion design who blogs at Final Fashion.  Sadly Kate from M is for make couldn’t join us because of engineering works on the line (bloody trains).  But I had such a great time meeting the others it’s made me determined to make the effort to reschedule with her.

I’ve never met any other bloggers (sewing or otherwise) in real life so I was completely over excited.  In everyday life, I try to temper my sewing talk when I’m with my friends so I don’t bore them to death.  On Saturday though it was no holds barred so I was in my element.  It was SO lovely to meet them all and the exhibition itself was amazing.  If you get the chance do go and see it, (it runs until 6^th Feb).  There were no cameras allowed so I’ll just skim over my personal highlights:

Beautiful single lengths of knit fabric draped around the body to create garments

Honeycomb skirts made from organza (polyester, not silk!)

Issey Miyake’s Pleats series

... all completely gorgeous to look at

Now for my other big news, my sewing space is officially up and running.  Hip hip hoorah. 

Until now I’ve been working on the kitchen table, which is fine, but I’ve had nowhere to put my stuff and it’s slightly annoying having to put the sewing machine away every day.  We’re lucky enough to have a converted loft room, which we’ve never done much with.  It’s a great guest room/computer area but it’s so huge up there there’s still space to make a sewing nook for me – which is exactly what I’ve done.  Or to be fair what my husband has done since he’s done all the donkey work.  There’s still room for guests and all the overflow books from downstairs (which I colour coded when I was bored one afternoon, aren’t they lovely?!)  

Spot my dummy modelling the crepe dress in the corner

There’s also still room for all Jon’s ‘man’ things:  his LP’s and turntable which he refuses to throw out and his James Bond villain chair.

We repainted the room grey (predictable, me?) and super hubby made me some bespoke shelves for all my sewing bits and pieces.

My patterns and smaller sewing books with the beloved tailor’s ham and seam roll acting as bookends.

A small but growing collection of buttons 

Smaller pieces of quilting fabric.  

I don’t quilt but I make a lot of things for craft fairs from quilting cotton and they’re so pretty to look at.

My other fabric has to be stashed under the bed to create the illusion of perfection, but at least it’s all in the same room and I’ve categorised it all now (dressmaking fabrics, heavy fabrics, linings, dots and ginghams etc).  I still have to use the kitchen table for cutting out, as there isn’t a big enough surface in my new gaff (well maybe the floor if I’m feeling lazy) but I can live with that.

It’s so lovely and light up here, I just potter away listening to the radio and it’s like I’m in another world.  I absolutely love it.  I do need a pinboard for fabric swatches, sewalong schedules(!) etc but that can wait until another day… x