Victoria and Albert Museum, London

On one of my final days in London The Boy and I went our separate ways. He went off to the Imperial War Museum (zzzz) and I headed over to the Victoria + Albert Museum to check out their legendary fashion exhibition.

Source

The V+As fashion exhibition is jaw-droppingly amazing and spans the last four century's. The first dress that greets  you as you enter the gallery is from the 1750s and it's hard to fathom how any women would've negotiated life (or the loo) with its enormously W-I-D-E petticoat underneath.

I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take photos - but everyone seemed to be taking happy snaps with the smartphones...so I followed the crowd.

One thing that really struck me about the exhibition is how modern some of the clothes looked, despite being really quite old. The green dress in the second photo below (on the right) could very well be in the shops today though from memory it dates back to about 1920. I also adore those boots...they are pretty modern looking and I'd wear them in a heartbeat.

As there is just SO much to take in with this exhibition, and the museum in general, I decided to buy a copy of the exhibition book - it has a picture of everything on display and I've loved pouring over it since I've been back home. It's kinda heavy though, so I ordered it from Book Depository for a bargain price and had it shipped home.

You can find the V&A South Kensington on Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL. If you're at all interested in fashion, sewing or textiles it's well worth a visit (make sure you head up to the jewel room - WOWZERS)!