This post covers some of the upstairs portion of the museum & gallery (which also houses a cafe!)
As I ended the last post with sandals from Ancient Egypt, I'll begin this post with Brighton Museum & Art Gallery's fashion section! It includes fashion through the ages, along with alternative fashion and - as above - international dress. I love the rich colours in the clothes shown above.
Such colours are quite a contrast to this skimpy, black and nude number! (And this is quite a contrast to the stiff-looking Victorian mourning garb found elsewhere in the fashion exhibition!). I like that, within a small collection, visitors can see how fashion has progressed through the eras, but also appreciate the dress of other countries. There is also a collection of outfits that cover alternative fashions. 80's goth, 00's goth, punk and skinhead stands alongside hippie, traveller and teddy boy!
These outfits are accompanied by pictures of the people who wore them, which I think makes the exhibit that bit more 'real'.
Accessories are not forgotten in the displays; I loved these embellished handbags.
Of course, when it comes to embellishments, the Pearly Kings and Queens are most famous for it. This child's outfit - seen here alongside a boy's ensemble from an earlier period - is covered in pearly buttons. These are in a different room, which covers performance and costume.
I particularly liked this embellished, vibrant outfit, also found in the section dedicated to performance and costumes.
Still bright, and rich in decoration, but perhaps a little more cumbersome--could you imagine working with this?!
Or how about this? This amazing costume lights up every six minutes. I think it's paper mache on a frame. A lot of talent went into designing and making it and I can imagine that seeing such a thing in a parade would have been a real treat.
If you fancy your parade costumes to look a little more solid, how about this? Note the triangle of mesh on the brow, to allow the wearer to see where they're going! This is one of the first things visitors see upon entering the room, so it makes quite a surprising greeting!
There was also a section of puppets, which I found interesting to look at. Once again, even these are covered in embellishments.
That pretty much concludes the post, though I have to say that when you visit Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, you have to look up and down as well as at the encased exhibits, lest you miss something within the architecture. If not for looking up, I would have missed the carvings above this doorway. As it stands, I didn't notice the plaster(?) monkey above until I edited the picture. No zoology lies beyond the doorway - it leads to an art gallery - but the carved surround itself adds to the charm of this museum.
If you plan to visit, be aware that the gallery is closed on Mondays. Entry is free, with a box at the door for donations.
No comments:
Post a Comment