Yesterday I was lucky enough to go to London and visit two
shows; Hollywood Costume exhibition
in the Victorian and Albert Museum and the Valentino exhibition in Somerset House.
Firstly I went to the V&A to see the Hollywood Costume exhibition and I have
to say it was amazing! I didn’t expect them to have such a large amount of
costumes-they filled 3 separate rooms! And there were costumes from all types
of films and eras, I loved it!
They were spread out in the middle of the rooms where the
public could literally go right up to them, they were not behind any glass so
you could see them properly and they were so close you could have touched them.
Of course you can’t do that! You couldn’t take pictures or even sketch which I
found a bit harsh but where there’s a will there’s a way!
Royal section of exhibition.
As I was walking around the “Royal” section where they had
costumes from Shakespeare in Love and Elizabeth, I couldn’t help myself but try
to take a few sneaky pics! I love period films and I am obsessed with Tudor fashion
(doing my final project in Spain based on Elizabeth I) so this was the perfect opportunity
to see them up close. And they didn’t disappoint-the fabric and the beading on
them were astounding. The headpieces and ruffles looked so pristine and
beautifully made; I remember looking at one gown that has pearls that where
sewn all the way around the hem of the outer skirt-It was beautiful.
Another costume I loved was Cruela DeVil from the Disney film
of 101 Dalmatians. They has two costumes there which demonstrated
the two sides of Cruela; one where she had become nice and loved animals and
other when she returns to her usual evil self. I loved looking at them both and
noticing the difference between them even though they were very similar. The
bad version had a longer skirt, the pointy shoes were shinier and even though
the print was virtually the same print although the bad version had a metallic
thread through it so it gave it another edge.
Cruela DeVil.
Other costumes I loved were Audrey Hepburn out of My Fair
Lady, Kate Winslet from Titanic and Vivienne Leigh from West Side
Story.
But it wasn’t until the end that I thought I was
going to explode! Right at the end of the last room, the last two costumes were
Judy Garlands dress from The Wizard of Oz and Marilyn Monroe in the
Seven Year Itch!!(The white one!) They were amazing to see and analyse
while standing there. Even the Dorothy’s red shoes were there and were
beautiful. I especially took a while analysing Marilyn’s dress-her waist and under
bust were tiny! And then comparing them to her boobs they looked so big for her
size! The dress hung beautifully and it was lovely to be able to see such
iconic costumes.
Judy Garland's dress from the Wizard of Oz.
The shoes!
Marilyn Monroe dress from Seven Year Itch.
There was so much more of the exhibition; there was a Robert
Deniro area, they had costumes from Cleopatra, Gladiator, Indiana Jones, The
Addams family, Dracula, Die Hard, Rocky, Spiderman and Cat woman as well as
loads of others. I would defiantly advise anyone who is interested in costumes
or even just an enthusiastic film fan to go and visit the exhibition. I loved
the really old costumes such as Audrey and Marilyn but I would be confident in
taking my fiancé there as well as there was loads of newer and action films. I’m
defiantly going to try and get back there again and try to take my Mum as I’m
sure she would enjoy it as well!
Some of the other costumes in the exhibition.
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