A trip to London

Darling Hubby bought me V&A membership for Christmas and yesterday I took advantage of this and went to London with a friend to see the exhibitions that were on at the V&A for free. There were 3 separate exhibitions on and they were all good but for differing reasons.

Firstly we went to the Ballgowns : British glamour since the 1950's exhibition. I found this absolutely fascinating and loved all the different styles and fabrics on display. Photography wasn't allowed so I have purloined some of the pictures from the V&A website instead...

I was lucky enough to be given the book that accompanies this exhibition for Christmas from a friend and the pictures in it are equally great and will remind me of our visit.

 All of these gowns were on display along with a whole host more. We had some fun deciding which of our friends would suit which outfit! 














And after the ballgowns we had coffee and a cake in the Members room to give us a rest. Initially we headed for the normal cafe but it was so busy there was nowhere to sit and the queues for food and drink were so long that we decided to find the Members room up on the 4th floor. It was much quieter, although still pretty full, but certainly far more relaxing than the cafe down on the ground floor. If you go though and are fortunate enough to be a member be aware that the food in the members room is very limited - tea, coffee (no latte) and a snackette! As you can see from the picture the members room isn't very large...

Once rested and ready for the fray again we headed off to the Hollywood Costumes exhibition. There was lots on display, but, and it is a big but, it is so popular and so full of people you have to queue all the way round and it takes ages. It is a great exhibition though I have to say as throughout it explains the way costume designers work and how they have to fit the costumes to the character, even when it doesn't appear that much work has been done. I found all that side of it fascinating but got thoroughly fed up of the crowds and the queues. Anyway, once again no photography so once again I have purloined photos from the V&A website...

There were costumes from every era and every kind of film. Some were far better than expected, some as expected and even one or two that weren't what I expected. I suppose without the characters in them they are only clothes when all's said and done!

Dorothy's shoes from the Wizard of Oz sparkled, Captain Jack Sparrow's pirates costume was as expected not as exciting without Johnny Depp wearing them, but the most disappointing outfit for me I think was Marilyn Monroe's famous white dress. It was really nothing special at all. Aside from the outfits being famous it was fascinating to see how the outfits were developed by the costume designers.

After the Hollywood Costumes a rest was needed, feet were hurting and we were thirsty. This time we braved the main cafe and were rewarded with 2 lattes, a chelsea bun and a scone with cream and jam. Sitting at a table across from us there was a young man who had what appeared to be a sling round his neck, and yet both his arms were fine and in full working order. On watching closely it became clear that the sling wasn't for his arm, but for a tiny dog, maybe a chihuahua, that appeared to be quite young. He was obviously very attached to it, stroking it a lot, but we did wonder if a very noisy, very busy area was the best place for this young dog. 

Our final exhibition of the day was Light from the Middle East : New Photography, which was a selection of photographs, some in black and white and some colour images too. This collection of images with the information alongside them made for some serious thought about the middle east and it's people, it's image and it's culture. An exhibition worth visiting, even though it is relatively small.

A final visit to the book shop and we then wound our weary way home via the underground and Paddington station, very tired but thoroughly happy with a great day out...