An occasional round-up of links, events, exhibitions, and other information of interest. This week, we share a new exhibit that caught our attention, and free downloads from Costume, the journal of The Costume Society of Great Britain.
Costume‘s current issue is a special edition on fashion and royal image. Through the month of October 2013, the entire issue is available for free download here. Be sure to browse past issues; any article with a blue F next to it can be downloaded for free. In the royalty issue, “Diagnosing the Dress of the Queen’s Train-Bearers at the Coronation of George III” by Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, examines an eighteenth-century bodice from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection. Worn by Lady Mary Douglas, one of six unmarried earls’ daughters who
attended the Queen during the 1761 coronation ceremony of George III, the cloth-of-gold bodice is the only known example of English ‘stiff-bodied’ court costume to survive today. To learn more about this bodice, we had it X-rayed at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles.
Court Bodice, 1761,The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection.
The Cheapside Hoard: London’s Lost Jewels, now on view at the Museum of London, showcases a remarkable collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewelry and gemstones. Though the objects themselves are stunning, they also have a fascinating history. In 1912, workmen demolishing a building discovered this collection of over 400 pieces of jewelry and loose gems, including stones sourced from South America, the Middle East, and Asia. Though it’s unclear how and why the Hoard was buried, it may have been the remnants of 17th century gem dealer Gerrard Pulman’s stock-in-trade. In 1637, Pulman booked passage on a ship from Asia to England; his luggage included several crates of gems and jewelry. Pulman died onboard the ship, and his treasure-filled crates were plundered by the ship’s crew, some of whom who used the gems to fuel drinking binges. If you can’t make it to London for this exhibit, take a look at these images of The Cheapside Hoard.
Speaking of exhibits, don’t forget to see the 7th Annual Art of Outstanding Television Costume Design exhibition before it closes. And don’t miss Gatsby’s Women: 1920s Evening Dress from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection, which features stunning examples of evening wear from a fascinating decade. Both exhibits are on view Tue-Sat, 10-5, at the FIDM Museum & Galleries through October 19.
Gatsby’s Women: 1920s Evening Dress from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection at the FIDM Museum & Galleries.
