1920's Costume at the Costume Archive

I visited the costume archive in Colchester for reference and inspiration for my final major project. The clothing from all the different era's is gorgeous. Its a shame that these pieces are kept in boxes and now shown to the world, however they are so old they need to be protected.

Bolero jacket, with fringe shoulder.

The beaded dresses from the 1920's are my favourite pieces, the detail is impeccable. Glass beads are used on these garments, therefore it makes the piece very heavy. As a result the silk is disintegrating.

Beaded pattern


I love the romance of this dress. The colour and floral pattern makes this very feminine and pretty.



This dress amazed me, the principle of hanging beads is very simple, however it looks amazing when it is hung up, and would look even better on. It has inspired me to make some samples similar to this, however i have been experimenting with longer lines of beading.

This beaded section would look great on the edge of a dress and even though it is from the 1920's it is still fashionable today.

The amount of work that has gone into this beaded dress is amazing. There are hundreds of sequins and beads that make it. The coloured sequins form a art deco style pattern and the black beads are used as the main part of the dress. The fringe beading is a really nice idea, I would like to look into this further and develop for possible sampling further down the line.

Sequins

The detail is stunning, the sequins are so tiny yet all in place perfectly, and you can see the back of the dress where the sequins are sewn in place. The detail can be seen on the back of the dress

The historic costume archive is a great place to visit for inspiration and establish different methods of working. Its also interesting to see how many 1920's styles are big trends today.