The History of Dress Making and Early 20th Century Shopping

In this episode of Silhouettes, I took a trip to Leighton House in West Kensington to chat with curator, Hannah Lund, all about their brand new exhibition: ‘Out Shopping: The dresses of Marion and Maud Sambourne’
In this episode, we discuss the changing fashion landscape of the turn of the century, how personal stories can be unearthed through the study of fashion, and how to preserve and conserve historic clothing for use in museum exhibitions.
‘Out Shopping: The Dresses of Marion and Maud Sambourne (1880-1910)’ unveils the Sambourne House collection of dresses belonging to the mother and daughter, showcasing hardly seen, rare surviving examples by leading dressmakers of the era. For the first time in the history of the museums, the exhibition spans across both Leighton House and Sambourne House, inviting visitors to embark on a immersive journey.

Exhibition Highlights: Highlights in the exhibition include the exquisite blue skirt and jacket with lace cuffs made by eminent court and society dressmaker Sarah Fullerton Monteith Young, which Marion wore to her daughter’s wedding (1898); Maud’s brown velvet embellished chiffon day dress by Mascotte (1906), and the crepe silk lilac tea gown (c.1899-1904) which she wore during her pregnancy, the only maternity piece that has survived in the collection.
★★★★ Evening Standard Leighton House, the fabulous home of Lord Leighton, the artist, has a fascinating little exhibition of clothes owned by the wife and daughter of the Punch cartoonist, Linley Sambourne. This is brilliant social history!
Book your tickets here: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/out-shopping





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