Unveiled: 200 Years of Wedding Glamour

My oh my, my dream of a quiet holiday (read: lying on the couch for a month) has fast become replaced with more social outings than I could poke a stick at.  I guess it is, however begrudgingly, much improved upon my plan of hermiting alone at home.  My annual tradition of visiting the museum got the better of me though, when we received an invitation to attend the opening night of the WA Museum's newest exhibition.

On Saturday night, Sinead (S's official proxy whilst she's away) and I had the pleasure of attending "Unveiled: 200 Years of Wedding Glamour".  On loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum of London, "Unveiled" showcases wedding garb and glamour from the past 200 years.  Work by top couturiers is also featured in the exhibition, from the father of couture - Charles Frederick Worth - right up to Christian Lacroix.  Enough to make the fashion folk, history enthusiasts, and bridezillas froth at the sight of Honiton lace, satin booties, and socialite Margaret Whigham's extravagant train (which takes up about a  3x5m space on the exhibition floor).  Scroll on down to see pictures from the night, and learn a few fun wedding facts.

For richer or for poorer: both dresses from 1841 - the one on the left in cream silk, and the one on the right in a washable printed cotton so it could be worn again.  Practicality clearly went out of vogue at some point after this.

Notorious: Margaret Whigham's extravagant wedding dress.  Too naughty to tell her story here, so here's the link to her wiki page.

Hmm I wonder what era this creation was from?
No prizes; it's obviously something from the sixties.

Dita: Ms von Teese's violet taffeta wedding dress by Vivienne Westwood.  Interestingly enough, we also learnt a thing or two about the history of the white dress (and it doesn't have much to do with being virginal on your wedding day!).

Costarella: Perth's own Aurelio Costarella's masterpiece sits out in the foyer, enchanting all with its layers of ruffles.

Of course, obligatory outfit shots.
It was the first debut of my 3.1 Phillip Lim dress - will whip it out again for better shots at some point in time!

There are a few more photos on our Flickr, if you feel so inclined to peruse the exhibit in hi-res detail.
Otherwise, make your way down to the museum to see the exhibition, which will run until March.

Just be sure to keep the inner bridezilla in check - there's already one there.



A big thanks to the team at the WA Museum, who made the opening a wonderful event!

xx T