Visiting another London exhibition
Yesterday Mr Cee had the day off to accompany me to The Queen's Gallery exhibition about Style and Society: Dressing the Georgians. I was initially going to go with lilachigh but she wasn't feeling up to it, so I was a little bit worried that Mr Cee wouldn't enjoy it - however, it had enough stuff for him too.
Under the cut for photos and information about what we saw including spangles, uniforms, wigs and hairdos in the 1700s (apologies for the picspam, virtual cookies if you get to the end *g*).
The exhibition began by looking at the nobility of the time and the remarkable embroidery with precious metal threads used to show off their wealth and status. Clothing that reflected how much they were worth was a thing! So here we have a painting recording the marriage of George, Prince of Wales and Princess Caroline of Brunswick in January 1795:
And here is a collection of the fabric samples used in the clothing which still survives! The names of the aristocracy are listed against their chosen fabric, so it starts with the Queen, followed by the bride and then the other princesses. Can you imagine these glittery fabrics in the candlelight?
Men wore a simple linen shirt, and women a full-length linen shift (gown) next to their skin. This was to protect the more expensive fabrics and was washed regularly to remove dirt and sweat. This one belonged to George III in 1810 (and we know this because his monogram and crown with the date are embroidered on the left-hand side of the shirt:
Going back in time a bit - George I in 1720 is shown to be wearing quite a plain everyday dress. The wool coat has huge cuffs (the fashion of the day), with a matching waistcoat. Wealth is shown with the gold buttons and gold braid around the button holes and of course lots of handmade lace in the shirt cuffs and cravat.
Lace was incredibly expensive. A skilled worker could work 15 hours a day and only produce around half a metre (around 19") of lace in a year! The really complex patterns involved using up to 800 different bobbins with thread for complex designs. Ruffle cuffs were very popular as shown in this portrait of the Queen Consort of Louis XV in 1748 (the dress is dyed using cochineal to get the red colour)
David Garrick and his wife - she is wearing a new design of gown - The Robe à la Française. The gown would be open at the front with a separate 'stomacher' and matching petticoat underneath.
The exhibition also touched on the evolution of menswear from breeches, to tight-fitting pantaloons to trousers. Here we have Lord Byron ('mad, bad, and dangerous to know') sporting the new-fangled trousers in 1807:
Court dress was a form of dress only worn when invited to the Royal Court. It was extravagant, usually highly impractical and the style stayed the same throughout the 1700s. This is a mantua from 1760 with matching shoes - all embroidered by hand (ignore the blue reflection from the lighting in the room).
The gown was covered in 'spangels' to catch the light. These were made by coiling silver wire into a circle, and then flattening it out with a hammer to make a sequin shape. Worth clicking this for a close up....
Hair was part of the fashion and men wore wigs up until the end of the century when it was decided that you should allow your head to breathe. A wig was incredibly expensive and was often left to family members in your will. The most expensive would be made from human hair, but could also be made from goat, cow and horsehair. Dressed in flour and rendered fat they would be curled and would often have a tail at the back which might be kept in a bag tied around the neck (to prevent some of the powder staining the clothes) such as in this portrait of George III 1750:
However, women would use their own hair, padded with rolls of false hair and dressed with the rendered fat and flour mixture (pomade) and powder, and teased into extraordinary heights like Queen Charlotte in this 1776 painting with her daughter:
There was also a section on military dress. George IV (when he was Prince of Wales in 1803) designed a new uniform when the 10th Light Dragoons were renamed 'The Prince of Wales's Own' by his father. As a Colonel in the new troop, his expensive new uniform attracted fashionable young gentlemen to join the ranks (including George 'Beau' Brummell).
Lastly one of the highlights of the exhibition was Princess Charlotte's royal bridal gown from 1816 (although it's been altered from its original pattern the fabric is the silver embroidered cloth used in the gown). It is in the 'Empire' style:
It was an interesting exhibition - quite busy as it's not been open for long, and people kept walking in front of what I wanted to look at.... *sighs*. I found myself longing for the days of the semi-lockdown when numbers were strictly limited in exhibitions!!
We spent about two hours looking at everything (I've left quite a lot out of my 'tour'). Afterwards, we made our way back to the Strand and our favourite Greek restaurant for a very nice lunch, then wandered home. There was Pilates in the evening, so we slept very well last night!
Today I've been repairing the broken stained glass dragonfly and noodling about with another idea for a new thing in my Etsy shop. I'm not sure if I'll keep this one and make a smaller version for sale as this flower is quite large (photos under the cut)
This afternoon I've been vacuuming up the cat hair and Mr Cee went grocery shopping after he finished work. Now we can relax as it's Friday! Tomorrow Youngest Cee and GF(P) will be coming to spend the weekend here - they've been busy removing tiles and various other bits and pieces in the new house and filling all the holes in the walls.
There are questions I need to answer:
15 - Nature Photography Day: Have you ever enjoyed a photo of a flower? Or a close-up of a bee landing on the entrance to its hive? Have you taken any photos of nature that you're particularly proud of? Care to share it with us?
I shared a photo of a bee on a flower a few days ago does that count? I regularly post photos of the garden and that's about as close as I come to that kind of photography :)
16 - Take Back the Lunch Break Day: When you're at work (or when you worked or were still going into the office), did you fall into the habit of eating at your desk and continuing to work while eating? Did your working conditions include a proper lunch break? If you're mostly working from home, do you still eat at your desk and continue working during your lunch?
I used to eat at my desk because there was nowhere else to go where I used to work. As our living area includes our dining table as well as our sofa and leads into the kitchen area we tend to sit at the table when we eat at lunchtime. Mr Cee takes around 45 minutes to an hour every day to get away from his screens. Usually, we watch Bargain Hunt on the TV so that defines his break.
Under the cut for photos and information about what we saw including spangles, uniforms, wigs and hairdos in the 1700s (apologies for the picspam, virtual cookies if you get to the end *g*).
The exhibition began by looking at the nobility of the time and the remarkable embroidery with precious metal threads used to show off their wealth and status. Clothing that reflected how much they were worth was a thing! So here we have a painting recording the marriage of George, Prince of Wales and Princess Caroline of Brunswick in January 1795:
And here is a collection of the fabric samples used in the clothing which still survives! The names of the aristocracy are listed against their chosen fabric, so it starts with the Queen, followed by the bride and then the other princesses. Can you imagine these glittery fabrics in the candlelight?
Men wore a simple linen shirt, and women a full-length linen shift (gown) next to their skin. This was to protect the more expensive fabrics and was washed regularly to remove dirt and sweat. This one belonged to George III in 1810 (and we know this because his monogram and crown with the date are embroidered on the left-hand side of the shirt:
Going back in time a bit - George I in 1720 is shown to be wearing quite a plain everyday dress. The wool coat has huge cuffs (the fashion of the day), with a matching waistcoat. Wealth is shown with the gold buttons and gold braid around the button holes and of course lots of handmade lace in the shirt cuffs and cravat.
Lace was incredibly expensive. A skilled worker could work 15 hours a day and only produce around half a metre (around 19") of lace in a year! The really complex patterns involved using up to 800 different bobbins with thread for complex designs. Ruffle cuffs were very popular as shown in this portrait of the Queen Consort of Louis XV in 1748 (the dress is dyed using cochineal to get the red colour)
David Garrick and his wife - she is wearing a new design of gown - The Robe à la Française. The gown would be open at the front with a separate 'stomacher' and matching petticoat underneath.
The exhibition also touched on the evolution of menswear from breeches, to tight-fitting pantaloons to trousers. Here we have Lord Byron ('mad, bad, and dangerous to know') sporting the new-fangled trousers in 1807:
Court dress was a form of dress only worn when invited to the Royal Court. It was extravagant, usually highly impractical and the style stayed the same throughout the 1700s. This is a mantua from 1760 with matching shoes - all embroidered by hand (ignore the blue reflection from the lighting in the room).
The gown was covered in 'spangels' to catch the light. These were made by coiling silver wire into a circle, and then flattening it out with a hammer to make a sequin shape. Worth clicking this for a close up....
Hair was part of the fashion and men wore wigs up until the end of the century when it was decided that you should allow your head to breathe. A wig was incredibly expensive and was often left to family members in your will. The most expensive would be made from human hair, but could also be made from goat, cow and horsehair. Dressed in flour and rendered fat they would be curled and would often have a tail at the back which might be kept in a bag tied around the neck (to prevent some of the powder staining the clothes) such as in this portrait of George III 1750:
However, women would use their own hair, padded with rolls of false hair and dressed with the rendered fat and flour mixture (pomade) and powder, and teased into extraordinary heights like Queen Charlotte in this 1776 painting with her daughter:
There was also a section on military dress. George IV (when he was Prince of Wales in 1803) designed a new uniform when the 10th Light Dragoons were renamed 'The Prince of Wales's Own' by his father. As a Colonel in the new troop, his expensive new uniform attracted fashionable young gentlemen to join the ranks (including George 'Beau' Brummell).
Lastly one of the highlights of the exhibition was Princess Charlotte's royal bridal gown from 1816 (although it's been altered from its original pattern the fabric is the silver embroidered cloth used in the gown). It is in the 'Empire' style:
It was an interesting exhibition - quite busy as it's not been open for long, and people kept walking in front of what I wanted to look at.... *sighs*. I found myself longing for the days of the semi-lockdown when numbers were strictly limited in exhibitions!!
We spent about two hours looking at everything (I've left quite a lot out of my 'tour'). Afterwards, we made our way back to the Strand and our favourite Greek restaurant for a very nice lunch, then wandered home. There was Pilates in the evening, so we slept very well last night!
Today I've been repairing the broken stained glass dragonfly and noodling about with another idea for a new thing in my Etsy shop. I'm not sure if I'll keep this one and make a smaller version for sale as this flower is quite large (photos under the cut)
This afternoon I've been vacuuming up the cat hair and Mr Cee went grocery shopping after he finished work. Now we can relax as it's Friday! Tomorrow Youngest Cee and GF(P) will be coming to spend the weekend here - they've been busy removing tiles and various other bits and pieces in the new house and filling all the holes in the walls.
There are questions I need to answer:
15 - Nature Photography Day: Have you ever enjoyed a photo of a flower? Or a close-up of a bee landing on the entrance to its hive? Have you taken any photos of nature that you're particularly proud of? Care to share it with us?
I shared a photo of a bee on a flower a few days ago does that count? I regularly post photos of the garden and that's about as close as I come to that kind of photography :)
16 - Take Back the Lunch Break Day: When you're at work (or when you worked or were still going into the office), did you fall into the habit of eating at your desk and continuing to work while eating? Did your working conditions include a proper lunch break? If you're mostly working from home, do you still eat at your desk and continue working during your lunch?
I used to eat at my desk because there was nowhere else to go where I used to work. As our living area includes our dining table as well as our sofa and leads into the kitchen area we tend to sit at the table when we eat at lunchtime. Mr Cee takes around 45 minutes to an hour every day to get away from his screens. Usually, we watch Bargain Hunt on the TV so that defines his break.