The surreal fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli (1890 – 1973) pushed boundaries as a fashion designer, transforming functional items of clothing into unique style statements. Her evening suits embody the height of 1930s haute couture,…
New Mexico State Fair ribbon quilt now on display in Smithsonian
Ribbons are a big deal. Carol Johnson has won hundreds and hundreds of them over the past 43 years. “My father was an alcoholic and I heard all the time,…
Getting Dressed as a Medieval Queen
In this video, historical interpreters go through all the stages of dressing for medieval women, both for wealthy and poorer working women, to create an outfit fit for a queen…
Get Ready With Me | Working in Henry VIII’s Kitchens
When we think of Tudor fashion at the court of Henry VIII, we probably imagine the lush gowns and shining doublets that we see in portraits. But what did ordinary,…
Catherine of Aragon’s Bedchamber Servant | Get Ready with Me
Catalina of Motril was a former servant to Katherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII. Likely enslaved, she was brought to England at the age of 15 to serve…
King William III’s underwear | Fashion unpicked | V&A
Serving as underwear in the 1700s, shirts were usually worn out and then recycled to make paper, but this one has survived for centuries. It is made of the finest…
100 Years of Fashionable Womenswear: 1830s – 1930s | V&A
Discover changing silhouettes and key fashion developments across 100 years of British and French womenswear: from a Victorian wedding dress inspired by Indian textile motifs, to an Edwardian lace day…
Weaving on an 1840s Hand Powered Loom
Bernadette Banner
Inside Buckingham Palace’s Queen Elizabeth II Exhibition
Hamish Bowles, Vogue’s Global Editor-at-Large, alongside Caroline de Guitaut, Surveyor of the King’s Works of Art, tours Buckingham Palace for the Royal Collection Trust’s “Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in…
Marvel at dramatic silhouettes and intricate embroidery of Saudi Arabian dresses from the 1940s and 1950s.
Join V&A curator Fuchsia Hart as she unboxes two spectacularly embroidered traditional Najdi thobes (dresses) from the Najd region of Saudi Arabia. Traditionally worn to celebrations such as weddings, Eid…