Last weekend I visited the Chertsey Museum where they hold the Olive Matthews Collection of Dress and Textiles. This collection is described as “A spectacular collection featuring many items of national significance. It contains over 4,000 men’s, women’s and children’s fashionable clothes dating from c.1700 to the present”. As a result they often have exhibitions relating to clothing and textiles.
The exhibition I went to see was a small part of The Regency Wardrobe Collection from a Fashion House/Fine Art Studio called The House of Embroidered Paper. This establishment was formed in 2017 by an artist called Stephanie Smart who creates life sized garments and footwear using only paper and thread. She has developed the use of paper as a medium for garment construction with embroidered and applied decoration.
The full Regency Wardrobe Collection consist of 11 life sized outfits, 12 accessories, four wall hangings and an item of furniture.
The small selection on display at the Chertsey Museum were mostly pieces inspired by items from the Olive Matthews collection held in the museum.
If you are interested in reading more about Stephanie’s work, go to stephaniesmart.net. For information about the Regency Wardrobe specifically go to the Home page, choose Collections then Regency Wardrobe where you can click on any piece from the collection.
Gosh what a lovely write up . thanks Vernice for sharing this with us.
ann
Yes Ann, it was great to hear about Vernice’s day out. Hopefully other members will consider sharing their experiences. Ros