John Bright Collection

Front view of Horrockses printed cotton sun dress with short matching jacket, early 1950s. Bright yellow & white alternate as grounds for delicate stripes & flowers executed in short black hatched lines, JB

😎 ‘Horrockses Fashions’ printed cotton sun dress with short matching jacket, early 1950s. Background information, full description & additional images via @jbrightcollection.bsky.social here: www.thejohnbrightcollection.co.uk/costume/sun-...

Front/side view of Paul Poiret coat. c1921. The silk fabric has an overall quilted effect to its weave, is scattered with medallions in lustrous thread, JB

Close up showing label on the c1921 coat which reads ‘Paul Poiret à Paris’, JB

Coat by Paul Poiret, Paris, c1921. More here, including additional images, via The John Bright Collection: www.thejohnbrightcollection.co.uk/costume/5054/

Front view of mid 1840s one piece day dress, cotton calicos printed in purple a popular choice for practical day dresses, JB

Close up view of print, a simple design of small purple flowers on trailing stems on a ground of lighter mauve jagged-edged vertical stripes, JB

Mid 1840s one piece day dress made of white printed cotton with a simple design. Read more @jbrightcollection.bsky.social www.thejohnbrightcollection.co.uk/costume/dres...

Front view of late 1950s printed cotton sun dress, Horrockses Fashions. The trimming at the centre of the bust has been added later, JB

This week’s Friday treat comes via @jbrightcollection.bsky.social Cotton sun dress, late 1950s, Horrockses Fashions. Read more here: www.thejohnbrightcollection.co.uk/costume/dres...

In their free time, our assistant curators Sage & Annie have come up with an exciting project. Follow them and their collaborators on instagram at @uncovering.dressmakers to learn more! #19thcenturydressmaking #whomademyclothes #historyofdress #historyoffashion #victorianfashion #vintagelabels

Worn #onthisday in 1931 by Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, at a dinner for the African Society at London's Mayfair Hotel. She accessorized the gown of gold mesh woven with floral motifs and turquoise beads over silk chiffon with her Diamond Palmette Tiara. #OTD @jbrightcollection.bsky.social

How exciting to learn which tiara she is wearing in the picture with our dress!

We are excited that our dress now graces the cover of this new book:

Thrilled that our collection items feature in the new book ‘Artistic Dress at Liberty&Co’ @yalebooks.bsky.social - including the one on the cover: www.thejohnbrightcollection.co.uk/costume/turquoise-dress-by-liberty/. #bookrecommendations #libertydress #artisticdress #fashionhistory #1910sfashion

This fancy dress from our collection is presumably based on this ‚Pierrette‘ fashion plate from January 1884 ‚Der Bazar‘ that was also featured in ‚La Mode Illustrée‘ as ‚Folie‘ (Folly). #1880sfancydress #historyofdress #costumehistory #victorianfancydress #fancydressinspiration #cosprop

Mid 1920s wedding outfit. On the left, crêpe de chine underdress, on the right fashionable contemporary cream satin wedding dress with matching veil, headdress & shoes, JB

Close in view of 1920s cream wedding underdress or petticoat, showing crocheted cotton yoke, JB

Mid 1920s wedding outfit, dress, underdress, veil, headdress & shoes @jbrightcollection.bsky.social. Detailed description & additional images here: www.thejohnbrightcollection.co.uk/costume/wedd...

Russian art critic and ballet impresario Serge Diaghilev was born #OnThisDay in 1872. He staged The Sleeping Princess in 1921, in which this velvet and crepe de chine dress with laced bodice and patterned skirt was worn by a Village Maiden. John Bright Collection. #fashionhistory

A little bit of #Frockingfabulous #fashionhistory by #Liberty, 1913. Via the John Bright Collection.

'Her riding habit almost swept the ground' - so Charlotte Brontë describes Jane Eyre’s rival, implying the elegance of overlong skirts. Our 1900 habit skirt and the 1898 patent show a new concern for safety over 'dangerous elegance'. More here: www.thejohnbrightcollection.co.uk/costume/riding-habit/

Thanks for sharing, it was lovely to see this concept used recently by the designer Alex Byrne on her fabulous production of Emma, we made several outfits at #cosprop for the show that made use of this inspiration from our collection.

Two mannequins, one wearing a white high waisted embellished gown on the left and the other in a bright yellow underdress on the right

The effect of a coloured under dress worn beneath a sheer white muslin gown is demonstrated to good effect here, bright yellow satin muted by the sheer layer on top. The cotton is sprinkled with metallic sprigs & braid for additional sunny sparkle @jbrightcollection.bsky.social #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡

Cheerful stripes swing gracefully as a lady turns towards her friend in a plate from 1831 'La Mode', illustrating how our bodice might have looked before its skirt was cut off. www.thejohnbrightcollection.co.uk/costume/bodice-and-inner-sleeve-supports-2/#1830sfashion #1830sdress #costumehistory

The abundance of satin stitched flowers around the pocket flap of our #1790s court dress coat reminds us that #mensfashion was not always as restrained as it should become from this time onwards. www.thejohnbrightcollection.co.uk/costume/court-dress-coat/ #historyoffashion #embroidery #1790sfashion

Thanks for sharing! A little side note from revisiting the dress for cataloguing: the ground stripes are also set apart by different basic weaves (plain and twill). Such a typical feature of printed cottons around that period to have another ‚layer‘ of pattern in the weave itself…

Bodice detail of a long sleeved floor length dress with dark horizontal stripes overprinted with leafy tendrils and red flowers

The black and brown horizontally striped background, all sombre shades, allows the floral foreground to zing so that the red flowers almost glow. It is an example of the new print technologies that revolutionised the era, late 1840s @jbrightcollection.bsky.social #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡

Almost certainly based on the Lily Window in St. Catherine's church in #Oppenheim on the Rhine, our #1850s skirt pattern is linked to both the #gothicrevival movement and the 'Romantic' Rhine tourism that had become popular earlier in the century. www.thejohnbrightcollection.co.uk/costume/skirt-3/

Three dimensional flowers blossom on Louise-Marie de France's stomacher in her 1763 Drouais portrait, as if her dress's floral silk had come alive. Our stomacher from a rich British farming family illustrates how widely the styles of the French aristocracy were copied across Europe. #fashionhistory

Striped silk gown with non original petticoat, 1775-80, JB

This striped silk gown, 1775-80, is a new addition to The John Bright Collection website. Full description & additional images here: www.thejohnbrightcollection.co.uk/costume/dres...

Lovely to see this painted 1770s dress and compare it to this one from our collection that was re-modelled in the 1840s: www.thejohnbrightcollection.co.uk/costume/dres...

Indeed! I’m the curator of the collection and it was even uncannier to me personally: I had a print of the painting on my wall as a teenager. I instantly remembered and made the connection when cataloguing but when I brought up the painting on the screen it was still surprising!

Thanks so much for your support!

This week's #TwentiesTuesday garment is this bold block printed salmon pink crepe de chine dress with a black scarf-style collar. The avant-garde inspired dress was acquired by The John Bright Collection from the estate of costume designer Shirley Russell. #fashionhistory

1860s cotton promenade dresses. Images via The Met & The John Bright Collection.

18th century women’s riding jackets. Left, worsted wool, trimmed with brocaded silk & silk satin, 1740s, via The John Bright Collection. Right, silk & goat hair, 1760s/70s, via The Met.

It will be lovely to see your result, thanks for sharing!