1920s Jazz Age Fashion Exhibition at the Fashion and Textiles Museum
I've had a strong interest in period costume and vintage clothes for several years, so I was obviously drawn to this exhibition as soon as I heard about it. I like seeing these garments up close to take in every little detail of the construction and the embellishment. I am always in awe of how much work must have gone into the production of these pieces. What I like about 1920s fashion is the combination of the simple and the elaborate - simple lines and construction techniques, combined with painstaking hand embellishments, such as the example in the top two photos. The flower shapes were created from metallic ribbon attached onto the fabric. I also loved the detail on the yellow dress in the bottom left. The little hanging beads were covered in a soft thread - it reminded me of cocoon strippings.
As I walked around the exhibition looking at the couture dresses, I did wonder why there were no dresses that were worn by ordinary women in the 'Jazz Age', save for a maid's outfit and an usherette's uniform. There was also a lack of menswear, which was a bit disappointing given that there were a lot of interesting tailoring styles from that period.
References:
1920s JAZZ AGE Fashion & Photographs (2016) [Exhibition]. Fashion & Textiles Museum, London. 23 September 2016 - 15 January 2017.