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A few weeks ago, I received an intriguing invite from a member of the Royal Collection Trust, a charitable organisation established by the Queen to look after the Royal Collection of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It was an invitation to join her and her colleagues for a breakfast preview of the trust’s new exhibition called In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion. The exhibition looks into the costumes worn by the British monarchs and their court during the 16th and 17th centuries, and examines the ever changing styles of the times through sixty paintings, garments, jewellery, armour and accessories.
As someone who genuinely loves looking into how British fashion has evolved throughout history, and someone who loves the arts (particularly paintings) I was quite keen on seeing it. I spend a significant amount of my time inside our world class museums and art galleries, mainly to see historic art paintings. The added bonus to this event was the opportunity to be inside Buckingham Palace for the very first time, and have breakfast there.
Upon entrance, I had to go through security checks – with my bags searched, then having to walk through a metal detector much like you do at airports when flying off somewhere. The gallery staff were very welcoming, chatty and extremely polite. First we had a little mingling session and some breakfast, then shortly afterwards members of the Royal Collection Trust press team talked to us about the exhibition.
Anna Reynolds, curator of paintings at the Royal Collection took us on a tour and talked about the paintings, garments and accessories in detail. I could not help but envy members of the Royal family for all the grand and truly exquisite pieces they got to wear during their lives. The sheer level of details, through embroidery and embellishments just blew me away, and I loved how the men used to wear the most glamorous outfits imaginable. The 16th and 17th centuries were periods when men used to dress on par with the women, and this made me wonder why men’s fashion gradually became increasingly plain since the 18th century. My favourite bits includes seeing the leather gloves with silk applique and metal thread embroidery from 1610, which belonged to James I, and the Crimson velvet mules from 1651 which belonged to Queen Henrietta Maria. Well worth seeing if you love fashion.
The exhibition’s multi-media guide is free for all visitors, and children can pick up a free family activity bag from the Millar Learning Room.
The gallery’s shop is full of affordable little treasures including jewellery, fine china, scarves and lots more more.
You can go and see the In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace from Friday 10th May 2013 until it closes on Sunday 6th October 2013. You can book tickets via the official website by clicking here.
There is also a free interactive app for iPhone owners, in which you can try on outfits and accessories of the rich and powerful from the 16th and 17th centuries using photos of yourself. The app is called In Fine Style and is downloadable for free from the Apple store.
