Right at the top of my list of least favourite styles of architecture is Late 20th Century Crematorium Brutalist. The grey skies, ominous dark trees and bare grounds all add to the gloom. If I hadn't known what was inside I would have been running in the opposite direction. However, a great treat awaited me.
This is the Museo del Traje, the Fashion Museum in Madrid. The permanent exhibition shows the history of fashion in Spain, with garments displayed in glass cases with minimal lighting so as to preserve the fabrics. It is a feast for the eyes, showing the costumes and styles seen in old paintings. Seeing the influence of French fashion in the 18th century was particularly interesting.
Also running was a temporary exhibition, La Vie en Rose, which concentrated on the colour pink, showing how it came into vogue once reliable dyes were developed and how strongly it used to figure in men's fashion.
The detail on the back of this dusky pink coat must have helped its original wearer to cut a dash.
As for the embroidery and outsize buttons on this French style outfit, surely only a dandy with extremely expensive taste could have carried this one off.
More my style was this beautiful Chinese silk embroidered shawl from the late 19th or early 20th century. It just shimmered.
My ultimate fantasy ensemble was this fuchsia pink dress and bolero, dating from the 1970s. If only I had the looks and the figure, but that's all behind me now.
I'm with you on the horrid structures! But wow gorgeous photos! That embroidery on the dandy jacket! Wonderful when you happen upon such unexpected beauties in the museum. Thank you for sharing, Muv.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of visiting the Fashion Museum in Bath again to see how it compares. That will be a few quid, whereas I got into the museum in Madrid free because there is no charge on Saturday afternoons.
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