Address: 33 Windsor Street, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 8AT, Tel. 01932 565764
Chertsey Museum has now fully re-opened. We request that visitors continue to wear face masks, use sanitisers and socially distance. For more information please go to: https://chertseymuseum.org/covid
Fashion Accessories Gallery: featuring shoes, fans, hats, bags, lace, shoe buckles, hosiery and jewellery with items from the 17th century to the present day.
Fashion Exhibition: THE ROARING TWENTIES, FASHIONS OF THE JAZZ AGE – Closes Saturday 4th September 2021
It is over 100 years since this fascinating and ground-breaking decade began and Chertsey Museum is celebrating with a glittering display of 1920s fashions. Dazzling evening dress, wedding clothes, underwear, sportswear and accessories are on show; all carefully selected from the Olive Matthews Collection of dress. We have recently added some significant items to our 1920s collections, and these are displayed for the first time. They include a stunning Paul Poiret ‘Goddess’ gown and a beaded tunic from the height of the ‘Egyptomania’ craze.
Forthcoming Fashion Exhibition: BLOOMING MARVELLOUS, FLOWERS IN FASHION, 1700s – 2000s. Opens Saturday 18th September 2021. Closes Saturday 3rd September 2022
Whether sculpting cloth to resemble flower heads, weaving blooms into dress fabrics, printing or applying them in the form of embroidery, designers of dress and textiles have long used flowers in their work. The fleeting beauty and unending complexity of the flower has been a constant inspiration; resulting in pieces of huge visual appeal and endless variety. This exhibition will feature gorgeous garments selected along a floral theme from the Olive Matthews Collection. Men’s, women’s and children’s dress from the 18th century to the present day will be displayed in our fresh and fragrant fashion gallery.
Further dress-themed exhibition: THE REGENCY WARDROBE, SCULPTURES BY THE HOUSE OF EMBROIDERED PAPER. Opens 6th November 2021. Closes 26th February 2022
We are teaming up with talented paper sculptor Stephanie Smart, whose House of Embroidered Paper has created wonderful pieces inspired by Regency and Victorian fashions. The exhibition will see pieces from the Olive Matthews Collection of dress alongside sculpted paper garments, some of which have been inspired by our own collections.
Admission to the above displays is FREE
Audio tours are now produced for our exhibitions. These can be accessed during a visit, but can also be listened to at any time using the izi.TRAVEL app
Events:
Events associated with the Regency Wardrobe exhibition:
Date for your diary: Stephanie Smart will be running a paper quilling workshop on Saturday 11th December 2021 from 10am till 1pm. Details and prices to follow.
Date for your diary: Stephanie Smart will be giving a talk about paper sculpting and historic fashion on Saturday 22nd January 2022 from 2pm to 3.30pm. Details and prices to follow.
Booking for the above events is not yet available, but please check our website for updates. Further dress events associated with the Blooming Marvellous exhibition will also be listed there shortly.
For those who are unable to visit the Museum in person at this time, we have created an immersive Virtual Tour of The Roaring Twenties. You can explore it here: https://chertseymuseum.org/1920s
During Lock-down 1 Grace Evans, Keeper of Costume, produced a blog entitled ‘Unbreakable Threads – Dressing Through Adversity’. Key survivals from the Chertsey collection have been explored in the context of significant historical events. Use the following link to access it on our website and scroll down to Part 1:
https://chertseymuseum.org/fashion_blog
A group of study resources has been produced which focuses in detail on key garments from our 19th century collections. These are on our YouTube channel. Please click Chertsey Museum – YouTube
If you missed our previous fashion exhibition, we have also created a Virtual Tour of Folded and Moulded, Pleating and Draping in Fashion. You can explore it here: https://chertseymuseum.org/folded_and_moulded
To receive notifications about new online content and future events relating to the fashion collection please send an email with the subject line: ‘Fashion Email List request’ to: enquiries@chertseymuseum.org.uk
50th Anniversary Project
The Olive Matthews Collection Trust celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2019 and to mark this important occasion the Trust commissioned very special group of educational replicas. Our 1780 wedding ensemble, which featured in the Folded and Moulded exhibition, has been faithfully reconstructed by historical costumiers Past Pleasures. The originals were worn by Jane Bailey on the occasion of her wedding to James Wickham Esq. at Holy Trinity Church, Wonston, and the replica group is a wonderful resource for interpretation. The group was launched in November 2019 and was also the subject of a short film. This takes the replicas back to Wonston church and allows us to see the pieces in their full glory on a real body once more.
The film is now available to view on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhlRkXsvTK4&feature=youtu.be
Publication: Fashion in Focus, 1600 – 2009, Treasures from the Olive Matthews Collection by Grace Evans. A beautifully illustrated 152 page book featuring in-depth information about the very best pieces from the Olive Matthews
Collection of dress at Chertsey Museum. Price – £11.99. Available from our website: www.chertseymuseum.org
For further information on any of the above contact Grace Evans, Keeper of Costume on 01932 575373 or email grace.evans@runnymede.gov.uk or See www.chertseymuseum.org for more information about Chertsey Museum.