COLLECTION: Fashion

See costumes spanning generations – what would you wear?
See costume from across the centuries in The Bowes Museum’s fashion and textile gallery.

With exquisite lace, shoes and garments from the 17th to the 20th centuries, you get a sense of time as you weave your way around the display, seeing clothing surrounded by other objects from the era it was fashionable.

Transparent acrylic mounts also give you a glimpse into the making of the garments with view of the linings and labels normally hidden from sight.

Take in the craftmanship as you explore.

Book Tickets

HIGHLIGHTS

A fashion icon ‘The Countess of the Crinoline’

Empress Eugenie (1826-1920), wife of Napoleon III (1808-1873) the Emperor of France.

Poor Clares

Vestments gifted to the Museum by a silent order of Nuns.

The Blackborne Lace Collection

One of the largest and most important lace collections in the world.

From the blog

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image of a dress

A unique dress

In The Bowes Museum dress collection there is an evening gown designed by Paquin in 1911. Inside the bodice is a sturdy twill waist stay woven with Paquin’s signature in pink and ‘Hiver 1911’, indicating it was from her winter collection.   Madame Paquin (1869–1936), was a French fashion designer, known for her modern and innovative designs. In
2 Feb 2022

100 Years of Wedding Dresses

1829 Before lockdown the Textile Conservation department at The Bowes Museum was working on The Tullie House fashion project, which includes several wedding dresses.. These dresses are so interesting as they span a hundred years from 1820 to 1920 and are so different from what I’m sure a lot of us have in our heads
28 Sep 2020

The #frow in the past

Today, if we want to know the latest fashion trends we just buy a fashion magazine, follow brands on social media or simply switch on Fashion TV which offers catwalks 24/7. In the past,it was slightly different. Print for fashion purposes only started at the end of the 18th century,  later becoming the glamorous fashion
15 Feb 2020

Shoes, glorious shoes

My recent visit to the Conservation Studios at The Bowes Museum introduced me to an enchanting pair of early 18th century lady’s shoes. Unlike some of the shoes in the Museum’s own collection (particularly those of the Empress Eugenie which look too narrow ever to have been worn!) these fabric covered, heeled shoes are, though
28 Oct 2019

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