Lifestyle

La Belle Époque

Peterborough Museum’s latest exhibition showcases some of its impressive collection of Edwardian outfits, as well as borrowing a few famous items too

Are you an avid aficionado of Downton Abbey? Have your Sundays recently been dominated by Mr Selfridge? Do you yearn for a lost age of elegance when no ensemble was complete without a wide-brimmed hat on top and a severe corset underneath, or a starched collar and formal waistcoat if you were a gent? If so, then make a date – or several – to visit Peterborough Museum’s springtime exhibition, La Belle Époque: Edwardian Fashion 1900-1914.

This trip back in time to a more glamorous era allows the museum to delve deep into its rarely seen collection of early-20th century outfits, focusing on the period following the death of Queen Victoria up until the First World War changed the world – and fashions – forever. Alongside the genuine clothing from the period will be a selection of modern recreations, albeit ones that have already been seen by millions in TV shows such as Downton Abbey and at the cinema in movies such as Finding Neverland and The Secret Garden. The staging is in response to public demand, following feedback gathered from museum visitors.

“It was rather a romantic age looking back,” says Rachel Walmsley, the Exhibitions and Communities Officer for Vivacity, the charitable trust that runs many of Peterborough’s culture and leisure facilities. After the rather staid, upright and outwardly moralistic Victorian era, for over half of which Queen Victoria was in mourning for her husband Albert, the ascendancy of her son Edward to the throne marked a major change in British perspectives, ushering in a more relaxed attitude. The playboy prince disapproved of by his mother proved a very popular monarch with his subjects.

He introduced much of the modern way the monarchy works now, but it was also a time when a lot of exciting things were happening; the growth of cinema, cycling, motoring and sports, and the suffragette movement coming to prominence, so there was the start of the emancipation of women, with dress and fashion evolving to allow them to have more freedom and movement, although they were still wearing corsets. It was the last time that women wore very long skirts; they just got shorter from here. It was a definite transition period

Rachel’s viewpoint is that the Edwardian age has been somewhat forgotten until recently, and now that certain period dramas have reawakened public consciousness about the time, it seems a great opportunity to revisit what was going on in the fashion world of a century ago.

Until those TV series came along in the last few years, everybody knew the Victorian era and everybody knew the First World War, but that short period in between sort of got passed over in history. At the time though, there was still this sense of empire and optimism, which all came to an end in 1914 of course. It was a final age of innocence really; the French call it La Belle Époque, and that’s what we’ve taken the name of the exhibition from

While much of the exhibition will be made up of genuine Edwardian clothes and accessories, there will be a few familiar replicas hailing from more recent times. Among these will be the purple dress worn by Dame Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess of Grantham in the first series of Downton Abbey, as well as items from the wardrobes of Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) and the Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern). There’s also one of Johnny Depp’s suits from the 2004 movie Finding Neverland; “That’s one for the ladies,” laughs Rachel. “Those are the ones that people will recognise, but we also want them to discover the real things as well.”

The museum’s large clothing collection dates from the 1700s to the present day, and the exhibition will be a rare outing for the infrequently-seen Edwardian items, which cover all social spectrums from working class togs and servant uniforms through to the haute couture of the upper classes. An example of the latter is represented by an exclusive (and expensive) dress by Voila, a bespoke dressmaker based in London’s Mayfair with a further outlet in Paris, as well as a Royal appointment.

The problem with costume a lot of the time is that if it’s kept on display, it ruins, under lights or direct sunlight

says Rachel. It’s not since the early-1980s that the museum last held such a dedicated costume exhibition, she believes, so this is something quite special. The aim is to keep a Peterborough theme, so there will be images of the Edwardian city on show as well. Underwear maker Symington, manufacturer of the famous Liberty bodice, based one of its factories here, so there will be items of corsetry typical of the type that Peterborough once produced, as well as the uniform of one of the company’s workers that she had to make herself in order to be employed.

There will also be a series of events surrounding La Belle Époque including a talk on the suffragette movement – entitled Strong-minded Women – on March 8, which ties in with International Women’s Day.

Three days have been set aside during the school holidays on April 10, 11 and 12 for family fun, when the museum will have an Edwardian butler in attendance, and Stuart Orme will be repeating his popular talk on one of the most infamous events of the era, the sinking of the Titanic, on April 13.

School groups can also find out how the Edwardians lived through a series of museum-led activities.

Admission to La Belle Époque is free, although there will be charges for the event days, and the exhibition runs from Saturday, March 2 through to Monday, May 6. Opening times are 10am to 5pm on Tuesdays to Saturday and 12pm to 4pm on Sundays.

The museum will open on Mondays during school holidays from 10am to 5pm. For more information, see www.vivacity-peterborough.com,

email , or teIephone 01733 864663.

For school bookings, call 01733 864700.

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