Museum of Costume
17 July - 27 August 2007




A burst of colour and an enduringly pretty summer style will be celebrated at Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Fashion Museum in Bath in Pick of the Bunch - the UK’s first ever exhibition documenting the long-running popularity of the floral printed frock.

Dresses to capture everyone’s imagination, whether they love vintage fashion, or have fond memories of wearing floral frocks in days gone by, will be displayed in this colourful summer show running from 17 July to 27 August 2007.

The Fashion Museum - run by Bath & North East Somerset Council and formerly known as the Museum of Costume - is set in the world famous Assembly Rooms, in the heart of Georgian Bath. The array of 50 frocks, which span the decades from the 1920s to the 1970s, will transform the Ballroom of the Assembly Rooms into a riot of joyous summer colour.

From modest sprigs to bold acid print flower prints, the show features iconic examples of textiles and designs. It is the culmination of a three-year research project run by Bath Spa University’s School of Art and Design, in partnership with the Museum. Other major UK museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Manchester City Art Galleries and the Harris Museum and Art Gallery in Preston, have been key partners in the initiative and generously contributed by loaning key dresses for the exhibition in Bath.

Rosemary Harden (Ms), Manager of the Fashion Museum, said: “This will be a joyous and exuberant show. There has been a real sense of delight in working on the project. Floral frocks hold a special affection in people’s memories of the past, whether you are pouring over old photograph albums, or because you can remember your mum or your granny wearing a floral frock, or indeed because you wore a crisp cotton shirtwaister dress yourself when you were younger.

“These floral designs are also relevant in looking at the fashions around today, every summer you will see floral fabrics in the shops, it’s a fantastic time of year to celebrate them.”

The exhibition is certain to bring a smile to people’s face as it takes a light-hearted and affectionate look back in time over this unassuming, but at the same time, instantly recognisable fashion . The dresses will be displayed in an eye-catching way, and holiday fun activities for children and families will be organised during the run of the show.

A specially-made film will be included in the exhibition at the Fashion Museum. This has been made by the University as part of its Artsworks scheme, and includes footage of bygone floral frocks and their wearers. Much of the material has been sourced from the South West Film and Television Archive in Plymouth, who have most generously supported the floral frocks project from the start.

The fascinating development of the floral frock, from elegant day dresses to the flower power revolution has been documented in this collection.
Rosemary explained that until the 1920s, floral fabrics were commonly used for women’s workwear and as lining materials, the advance of printing and dye technologies helped to popularise the designs and bring them into the mainstream. The progression from using roller printing to screen printing influenced this change.

In subsequent eras, the styles developed alongside the technologies; the 1930s saw a trend for dense floral patterns, while during the Second World War and right up until the end of the 1940s, florals continued to feature highly but tended to use drab colours.

Rosemary added: “In the 1950s there was an explosion of bold prints and colours, designers started to leave more space between the floral motifs and also to show the stems of the flowers. Floral print was a popular choice for shirtwaister style of dresses, and women wore them to go the seaside, on picnics, going about their day to day work, and they can still be seen today.”


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Museum of Costume
Bennett Street
Bath BA1 2QH
United Kingdom
TEL : +44 (0) 1225 477173
costume_enquiries@bathnes.gov.uk
www.fashionmuseum.co.uk