What will she wear?

One wonderful exhibition I saw at Bath Fashion Museum was What will she wear? Continuing till 8th January 2012, the exhibition focuses on the timeless appeal of the wedding dress. Some may roll their eyes, but I think most girls, and some sympathetic males, understand the allure of the wedding dress. It doesn't make one a 'bridezilla' to imagine what yours might be like. It's a fabulous discussion to have with your best friend, making this exhibition the perfect afternoon visit with the girls.
This year there has been a huge furore over the Royal wedding dress of Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge. The exhibition opened back in February when her dress was still shrouded in secrecy. The unveiling of the Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen design was watched by millions and has now inspired wedding dress trends worldwide.
With designs from the last 200 years the exhibition is also fascinating from a historic point of view. It was fun to try and guess when each dress was made, and where more modern designs had taken on period design features it was actually quite tricky! It just goes to show how styles come around. A wedding dress is for your special day and whether you want it short and sweet or with the longest train you've ever seen, what's important is that it satisfies you and your girlish daydreams.
Last year of course I was so lucky as to wear my own bridal gown, though without heading anywhere near a church aisle whilst in it, when I was a debutante in the Queen Charlotte's Ball 2010. I must admit my gorgeous Pronovias gown was not the dress I had in mind, but as soon as I tried it on at my fitting I loved it and gave it up most unwillingly at the end of the ball!
Tomorrow the debutantes of 2011 will be stepping out at the event, this year held at the Savoy. Having seen a preview of the Phillipa Lepley dresses for this year I am incredibly excited to see them finished and on the girls! Staying true to my photography addict and art geek ways I will be taking plenty of shots and then hopefully turning them into beautiful paintings following on from my series of last year's debutantes, many of which can be seen over at Florrie's Art Spot.
If you'd like to see my full account of the Queen Charlotte's Ball in addition to exploring my blog posts here on Intrinsically Florrie you can visit the new and official London Season blog.

Bath Snapshots and Snacks

I've already posted the movie costume exhibition I saw, but there is so much more to show you of the beautiful city of Bath. I went with my wonderful friend, Emma. One of the best, or worst if you're trying to avoid temptation, things about Bath is the number of delicious little shops, tea rooms, patisseries and cafes. Here's where Emma and I munched:




We discovered Fudge Factory near Bath Abbey last year and the fudge is truly scrumptious. My favourite is vanilla with a caramel centre, but I also spied a pretty new flavour called Strawberry Swirl. They stock the cutest candies that would make perfect gifts too, chocolate cat anyone?








On our wonderings we also discovered a little place called The Canary Tea Rooms on Queen Street which apparently only opened on 24th August. Though the tea rooms closed in 1998 they have quite a history, which is being built upon with the reopening. I thought it was lovely in cheerful shades of blue and yellow, with delightful mismatched crockery. I love the fact that my tea pot matches my outfit!
I ordered a cream tea, but requested peppermint tea, for a very reasonable £6. Emma meanwhile ordered a scrummy looking meringue desert and sparkling water.




What trip to Bath would be complete without a stroll on the Royal Cresent? I must say I've never seen a chap in historic costume there before though! We spotted another by the Jane Austen Centre, I guess it must be quite a pleasant job. One year Emma and I would love to go to one of the events where everyone gets dressed up and dances Jane Austen style!

Dressing the Stars, British Costume Design at the Academy Awards

I love visiting the city of Bath, but hadn't been since last year and was well due a summer visit. When I found out about the Dressing the Stars, British Costume Design at the Academy Awards exhibition on at the Assembly Rooms I could not resist any longer. However, I only just managed to schedule my visit in time as sadly the exhibition's last day is tomorrow, 29th August! I did take a lot of photographs so I hope you will enjoy them. If you're so lucky as to live nearby or can hop on a train I really recommend a visit as it is a wonderful display and a treat to see the clothes from the movies we know so well!







I was most excited to see the costumes from The Duchess designed by Michael O'Connor, as worn by Keira Knightley as Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire, Ralph Fiennes as the Duke, Charlotte Rampling as Countess Spencer, Hayley Atwell as Bess and Dominic Cooper as Charles Gray. I'd already seen the fox hat from the film in Stephen Jones's Anthology of Hats exhibition at the V&A and was not disappointed by the designs on display. It's such a shame I couldn't study them for my Rococo coursework project last year! No amount of essay writing could kill my love of Rococo and 18th century fashion though, so they're still a delight to see. One cannot beat the detailing that went into the dresses of the time, the little roses, the rows of bows and the layered sleeve cuffs- I adore it all!
Also on the Rococo front is a gorgeous red dress worn by Swoosie Kurtz as Madame de Volanges in Dangerous Liaisons. Then some of you ladies might be a teensy bit excited about the costumes for Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow and Orlando Bloom as Will Turner from the Pirates of the Carribean series! There's also another costume for the latter from Troy.



The other costumes came from the following films: Death on the Nile, Hamlet, Henry V, The Last Emperor, Gladiator, Ben-Hur, Tess, The French Lieutenant's Woman, Restoration, A Room with a View, Howard's End, The King's Speech, Sense and Sensibility, Shakespeare in Love, The Young Victoria and Elizabeth. See if you can spot them in my pictures!














The Fashion Museum and Assembly Rooms at Bath fascinate me on every visit, so though it's a shame this exhibition isn't sticking round, as I really could have spent hours more taking in the clothes, I know it will be replaced with something wonderful. I will be sharing with you the rest of my visit it upcoming blog posts.

Do you have a favourite film for costume design?