A new exhibition of ladies vintage fashion is opening on Friday night:

From exquisite party frocks to warm woollen coats and even the odd fancy dress costume, this is a rare opportunity to view original garments hand-made by Mrs Dorothy Hart of Benga House. Mrs Hart, who together with her husband Dr Ian Hart designed and built Benga House, was an accomplished seamstress.

The original dresses and clothes were all handmade by Mrs Hart between the 1940s and the 1970s.

What: Hart & Hand – Stitching together the private and public lives of Mrs D. Hart.
When: 13 January – 10 March, Wed to Fri, 10am to 4pm and Sun 12pm to 4pm.
Where: Benga House, Heritage Hill Museum and Historic Gardens 66 McCrae Street, Dandenong 3175. Phone phone 9793 4511.
Cost: Gold coin donation

Further information is available at the Heritage Hill website. The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of related talks, including two by Patricia Begg and one by me. I’ll post about those soon.

I had the opportunity to view some of the gowns, to help with dating and I can report that they are very good examples of a highly skilled seamstress – the standard of Mrs Hart’s work would nowadays qualify as couture. In particular I was impressed by her structured 1950s ballgowns (an early example of which can be viewed above). The clothes have been well preserved by the museum and this is the first time they have been displayed for the public.

Next week a new fashion exhibition is opening at the NGV:

This exhibition drawn predominantly from the NGV collection, will feature fashion, sculpture, painting, decorative arts and photography from antiquity to the present day to explore the practice of draping cloth on the body in two dominant modes, clinging drape and elevated drape. Clinging drape relies on a direct interaction between the body and cloth, as in classical sculpture, while elevated drape shows drape theatrically animated away from the body as in the festooning of fabric over crinolines and bustles.

Within this historical framework, this exhibition will also explore the works of twentieth and twenty-first century designers such as Rei Kawakubo, Vivienne Westwood, Gianni Versace, Christian Dior, Balenciaga and Hussein Chalayan who have created works that reference the history of drape while extending the boundaries of fashion.

What: Drape: Classical Mode to Contemporary Dress exhibition
When: December 2nd to June 27th 2010
Where: National Gallery of Victoria International, St Kilda Road
Cost: free

Evening gown of silk and aluminium by Paco Rabanne, 1973.

More information can be found at the NGV page.

I’m pleased that the oldest piece in my personal collection is now on display at the City Museum for an exhibition on womens dress.

Details:
What: What Women Wore: Fashion at a glance 1820-1960
When: October 2009 – February 2010
Where: City Museum, Treasury Building, Spring Street (top of Collins Street) Melbourne
Cost: Adult $8.50 Concession $5

I acquired this in 1989 from a Sydney private collector, the crimson silk gown dates from the late 1820s – for twenty years I had thought it was the 1830s but when I recently unpacked it from the hundred or so layers of acid-free tissue paper in which I bedded it down in 1991, I looked at it with new eyes. I now consider that it is a bit earlier – it has the very full sleeves of the 1830s but not quite full enough and also a higher waistline and slight bustle at the rear formed by tightly stitched cartridge pleats.

Pre-dating the sewing machine, the entire gown is hand stitched and trimmed with piping. The lining is a fine linen and it secures up the back via hooks and eyes. Apart from a small bit of silverfish damage (which arrived before we met) and a fraying hem (suggesting it was too long for it’s last wearer) it’s in excellent condition. I have a few gowns from around 1860s-1880s and they haven’t fared as well as this one, which I find remarkable. The gown itself is both small and tall for the time – I suspect it was worn by a tall adolescent as it has very little bust shaping, it may have gone on to be worn by a second wearer, who was less tall. It’s currently displayed on a mannequin sized for a five year old child and it’s too small to do up properly at the back.

I’m still stunned to find such an early garment in Australia – even now with the wonders of collecting via the web, these items are hard to find. This is the first time it’s been displayed and I shall be keeping an eye on it – although the exhibition goes for six months, this gown will be evaluated for light fading and may not stay for the whole exhibition.

Next up in the small but striking display is an amazing blue and silver gown from the 1860s – this is from the wonderful collection of Seams Old. I love the strong colours of this one, and the condition is remarkable, almost perfect. It stands in glorious contrast to the simpler gown of the earlier time. Then we have an oyster silk gown from the late bustle era, 1880s. The detailing is wonderful, and it reminds me of the paintings of Tissot – this one too is from Seams Old, as is the 1890s silk mourning gown that you will see next.

In the next room you will see some gowns of the twentieth century – a silk devore from the ’20s (as featured in Love Vintage book) and a hand-embroidered Chinese silk coat. I wore this to the opening of the NGV’s Black in Fashion exhibition last year, where it caught the esteemed eye of Zandra Rhodes.

The 1950s are represented by one of my personal favourites: a couture silk twill polka dot dress from local fashion house Le Louvre. This dress is also featured in Love Vintage and has impressive quality and construction. I suspect it originally came with a matching belt – I love the way that pieces of spotted fabric are centred over buttons, and it has a self-cravat (which can be tied in a small bow or left loose like this).

As for the 1960s, you’ll have to pop down to the City Museum to see what’s in store!

As well as Circa having some gowns on display, the Love Vintage book will be available for sale at the gift shop and I will be doing a couple of talks about vintage – Friday February 19th at 6pm and Thursday February 25th at 1pm. More news about them will follow as details are finalised.

The Victorian Button Collectors Club Inc are holding a display day and sale.

When: Saturday October 17th, 930am to 4pm
Where: Burwood Heights Uniting Church Hall, corner Burwood Highway and Blackburn Road.
Cost: $3

Click on the image above to see in full size.

Wednesday next week, the Melbourne Festival Fringe starts and at Circa, we’ll be hosting an exhibition of art and sculpture in the front window. It will be running for the length of the festival.

Echo’s Lost – Exploring the fragile nature of memory
“Echo’s Lost focuses on the idea of memory and the spaces left behind when the memories fade. Presented in an antique cabinet in the window of Circa Vintage Clothing, Echo’s Lost is a poignant exploration of memory and its inevitable decay.”

Details:
What: “Echo’s Lost”, curated by Sayraphim Lothian
When: Wednesday September 23rd to Sunday October 11th (on view 24 hours).
Where: Front window of Circa – 102 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy.
Cost: free!

Many works will be displayed by different artists, and I think that some/all/most will be for sale as well. If you’re interested in a particular work, contact information will be on display, and we’ll have information in Circa as well. I hope you can pop by and enjoy!

Now showing on Gertrude Street – the 2009 Projection Festival.

“Our theme is Dream. Dreams can be anything you imagine. Aspirations and fantasies for peace, safety or possibly for endless rain…your dreams are screened at outdoor sites on Gertrude Street from 6:00pm – 12:00pm for a week. ”

Now in it’s second year, 20 artists are exhibiting their works on 20 sites on and near Gertrude Street, Fitzroy. There are also some events and you can download a map here. Or you could just wander along and see what there is to see!

More information at the Gertrude Association website. Festival poster image by The Gertrude Association. From last Friday night to this Friday night.

For those who are based in Sydney (or likely to go in the next few months) a great new exhibition is opening next week on the history of swimwear.

Exposed! the story of swimwear highlights the designs and designers, past and present, at the forefront of Australian swimwear fashion.

What: Exposed! The Story of Swimwear.
Where: Australian National Maritime Museum, South Gallery, Darling Harbour
When: July 2nd to October 25th, 2009.
Cost: free!

More information at the ANMM website. Image courtesy ANMM.

It looks like this is a travelling exhibition so those who live in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Wagga Wagga and Newcastle will see it later. Sadly, it’s not coming to Melbourne – perhaps a trip is in order?

UPDATE: nice article about the exhibition from The Australian.

Speaking of swimwear, if you’d like something gorgeous for this summer you might like to check out the website of Glamoursurf a vintage site that specialises in bathing suits. Here’s one of my favourites:

1940s jersey Hawaiian print swimsuit. Image courtesy Glamoursurf.

For this year’s Festival Fringe, Circa will be hosting an exhibition by Omnific Assembly entitled “Echo’s Lost”, focusing on memory and the space that is left behind once memory fades.

Echo’s Lost will present 12 to 15 small three-dimensional works. Due to the space requirements, each will be no larger than 200mm wide and be able to fit into the dimensions of the art deco china cabinet (seen below) in the front shop window. Applications are currently being received and close July 4th.

The exhibition will run for the three weeks of the festival – mid September to early October.

More information can be found at the Echo’s Lost website and the Echo’s Lost Facebook page.

This week the National Gallery of Victory unveil a new costume exhibition –
Persuasion, Fashion in the Age of Jane Austen.

The two earliest garments in my collection are from the 1820s – a white cotton chemise and a crimson silk gown with puffed sleeves and petal collar. I’ll see if I can dig up photos of them for you. In the meantime, go and see the beauties on display at the NGV.

Where: National Gallery of Victoria, International (St Kilda Road)
When: May 22nd to November 8th.
Cost: free entry.

From the NGV’s website:
Persuasion: Fashion in the Age of Jane Austen looks at the changes in fashion that occurred over Austen’s lifetime, with a focus on English women’s fashion during the first two decades of the nineteenth century. Drawing on work from the National Gallery of Victoria’s holdings of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century fashion, prints and drawings, decorative arts and paintings, and complemented by key works from other Australian institutions and private collections, Persuasion broadly surveys the years from the 1770s to around 1830, one of the most dynamic periods in fashion.

Photo courtesy NGV.

The last couple of days I’ve been busy at the ESMOD stand at the Craft Show – the brief was to drape Circa’s vintage mannequins in tulle and ribbon, as well as setting up the Darnell Collection mannequins, which are displaying garments from 1840 to 1990s.

It’s a great show: lots of things to do and see, free workshops on everything from fabric dyeing to knitting and scrap-booking. Today was pretty quiet, so there was lots of room and opportunity to talk with people. I bought some long strands of glass pearl beads for the shop, and met a lovely lady who can make hand mirrors for Circa, using some of the vintage fabrics I have.

I’ll be there tomorrow: if you’re in the neighbourhood, drop in and say “hi”. You’ll find the ESMOD stand in the middle of the main pavilion.

Apologies to subscribers who received an early version of this post, as a password protected file. I was trying out the security settings and found out what not to do!