Pick of the Bunch

In 2007 the summer exhibition at the Fashion Museum  looked at one of the best loved garments in any woman's wardrobe - the floral frock.
 
The exhibition brought together 50 printed floral dresses from the last 100 years selected from major UK museum collections including the Fashion Museum in Bath, the Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, and the Gallery of Costume at Manchester City Galleries. It also included dresses from private collections.
 
The exhibition incorporated archive film and photographs of women and girls wearing floral frocks throughout the 20th century, whether at home in the garden or on holiday at the seaside.

 

The show was the culmination of a three-year research project run in partnership with Bath Spa University’s School of Art and Design, who produced a stand-alone web site as part of the floral frock project.
http://www.floralfrocks.org/ allows viewers to see 360 degree views of a number of dresses featured in the exhibition.

 

Image: mounted dress, white with bright pink, yellow and orange flowers, belted with a pleated skirt

Early 1960s silk print frock, from the American store Lord and Taylor

 

Image: model shown in a garden of bright flowers, wearing a green dress with white floral print

Our model wears a late 1950s dress, by Sambo Fashions. Photography: Colin Hawkins