So, I was real bummed that I missed out on all the things I had hoped to do in London, but I was lucky enough to be able to change my flights so that I could have a few days in London. On my own. Staying in somewhat sketchy hostels with 7 other random people. As a kid from a small town (not really a town - we've got a post office and 2 farm stores, that's it), I thought that being murdered in a back alley was not an insignificant possibility (I did end frequenting some fairly dimly-lit, untouristed areas of London, but we'll get into that later). This post is evidence that I did not get murdered (not even close!), and was totally fine on my own; if I can do it with my horrible sense of direction and absolute lack of experience in large cities, so can you!
My first day in London was the least sketchy. I actually ended up staying at a hotel with my friend Jeannie, though she stayed at the hotel and did not come into London with me. A few words on the hotel before I move on to my adventures: we stayed at the Thistle Hotel in the
airport. "In" might be a strong word, for we had to take these pods to the hotel. They were basically tiny electric, self-driving cars that would take you to predetermined destinations. They were particularly cool because they were emission-less! Saving the planet! Wa-hoo! This is also the first personal transport system in the world - so quite the revolutionary experience we had.
After the absolutely thrilling ride to the hotel, Jeannie and I parted ways, and I went into town. My hope was to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Fashion and Textile Museum that first day, but the museums close at 6, so I only made it to the Victoria and Albert (V&A). The V&A had a permanent fashion exhibit, and two fashion-related traveling exhibits (I kid you not, this museum was HUGE - it had everything, and fashion was just a small part of it). I got to see the Mary Quant exhibit, but the Christian Dior one was sold out (I was quite disappointed in that, but the Mary Quant exhibit was absolutely incredible, so all in all a good day).
The permanent exhibit was organized chronologically, but I just kind of wandered, so here are some of my favorite pieces in no particular order. I saw an intricate collar, some absolutely giant mutton-sleeves (which reminded me of one of the Anne of Green Gables books where she was absolutely dying for a dress with mutton sleeves - I don't know why, these are incredibly ugly and hot-looking), some creepy dolls reminiscent of all the dolls in the museum in Bath (one of them had a "matching" full-size outfit, too), and a bustle. I had always passively wondered what the bustle looked like on the inside - and now I know!
There was some riding (horses) attire in a corner. The man's suit was pretty eh, although the
double-breasted buttons were pretty snazzy. The woman's costume (called a redingote) though, was something I would totally wear! Well, just the coat, not the giant ruffled collar. The jacket was impeccably tailored and looked quite flattering though. With the fur collar and single button, it had a timeless look (only slightly ruined by the obnoxious collar). The nearby placard noted that "dressmakers then reinterpreted these garments [the redingotes] for women to wear for traveling, waling, and visiting." I found it interesting that designers have been reimagining clothes meant for one purpose/audience, to clothes for
many other uses and people. There are many modern trends like that, for instance: work-boots (usually worn un-laced), biker shorts, and Levi's.
I also saw this fashion plate from 1823, which intrigued me because it was the nineteenth century version of instagram. Pictures were nowhere near as available then as now, so I would imagine one would have to have been quite rich to own, or even come in contact with, a fashion plate like this.
Another rich-person staple is the classic wide dress like this Court mantua from 1755-60. Quite similar to the one I saw in Scotland, and all over honestly. This trend
seems quite ridiculous to the modern viewer, but back in the day it was a symbol of nobility. I suppose that makes sense - if you cannot fit through doors or sit down, you must be rich enough to have people do stuff for you! The impracticality of the clothes became a symbol of a woman's uselessness, which translated to wealth.
Then we have this dress, about which I will keep commentary brief because it serves a greater purpose. This dress so inspired me, that I will be using it as part of my inspiration for a look I will be creating entirely out of fabric and inspiration I obtained while abroad.
This next suit was really cool, because the fabric looked like paint slashes, which is very
similar to what my friend Schuyler did for a project in school - he painted onto a piece of paper and then scanned that into the computer to create a digital print. When the fabric came out, it looked incredibly similar to this suit!
Another item that related to school projects was this draped dress on a half-size mannequin. For all of the projects we did that required the creation of a look, we made half-size prototypes first. Our prototypes were much rougher than this look though - if someone had a doll, or an oddly proportioned child, I could definitely see this dress being worn by something other than a mannequin.
I did a mini research-project on gas mask fashion in one of my English classes in school, so I
was stoked to see a real-life gas mask bag from the 1940s! In Britain, 38 million gas masks were issued due to the threat of gas bombs and air raids (the government was afraid because of the widespread use of gas in the first world war). Civilians were super scared of the potential gas attacks, and went great lengths to protect themselves. Mailboxes were painted with special paint that would change color in the presence of gas (to alert those around about the gas), and gas masks were even made for horses and dogs! But essentially, these bags were created so there was a fashionable way to carry around your gas mask. You could be fined if you didn't have it with you. Despite all this, gas was not used against British civilians in World War II.
There was a mini-exhibit of Charlie Porter's personal wardrobe (Porter is a fashion journalist). These designs are all from emerging designers because as Porter says, "It is the young designers who give London fashion its life. They have always done so." As a fashion design student, this exhibit intrigued me particularly. I'll leave it at that.
While all of that was really cool, the Mary Quant exhibit outshone it all. Before this exhibit, I had not know much about her at all, other than that she mainstreamed hot pants (I didn't
even know what hot pants are - they're basically frilly underwear). But Mary Quant was way cool! She pioneered a lot of designs, and because of this, the media thought she was crazy for the longest time. But she kept puttering along and eventually became incredibly famous. She was a really smart business woman, too. She didn't only make clothes - she expanded into cosmetics and toys. The doll she designed, Daisy, was considered "the best dressed doll in history."
Some of Quant's designs were pretty basic, and what you might expect from Forever 21 or a similar store. However, they were revolutionary at the time (thank you Quant, for our modern fashions!), especially because of the vibrant colours she used. She had made a playsuit in 1971, and started that trend (one of my favorites, I might add). Because of her, playsuits (or rompers, as they are called in the US) are considered actual clothes, rather than just something you wear around the house.
Quant had some snappy menswear-inspired clothing as well, and she used "fashion to question hierarchies and gender rules. Her designs reflect the appetite for satire in the
media, mocking traditional British institutions and attitudes, from religion to snobbery." Mary Quant was a total badass feminist, and I am here for it! In fact, the media made fun of her for wearing pants (as a woman! In public! Gasp!), but then she designed some fabulous trousers, and eventually everyone jumped on the bandwagon. If you can't beat 'em, make 'em want to join you, right?
She had this fun dress, with a pocket right smack in the middle. I see a lot of designers
these days putting pockets in weird and random places (can't they just give women's clothing normal pockets in normal areas, rather than exacerbating the problem??!?!!), but Quant was the OG pocket-placer.
There were also a couple of fun rainy-day looks. She was using PVC for the first time, and definitely put it to great use. The modern vinyl trend harkens back to Quant's experiments with plastic. I quite like the yellow one - it can be a poncho, or you can stick your hands out, if you have bags to carry! Where can I get one?
That was it for my first day. I wandered around London for a bit, after all the museums had closed, and then I went back to the hotel to watch some British TV with Jeannie, and then go to bed. We had an early morning ahead of us, for we had to go to the airport (Jeannie was
leaving that day), and then I was going to my hostel in Greenwich to drop off my stuff. PSA, it takes two hours by tube to get from the Heathrow airport to Greenwich. Just FYI. After dropping off my stuff though, I decided to go to Somerset House, because I thought they had a fashion photography exhibit. Turns out, that exhibit ended in April. Wow, did I feel dumb. It wasn't a total loss though - I wandered around a few of the other exhibits, and while there was nothing fashion-related, I think I walked out of there a tiny bit more cultured than I entered. I did look at a Horace Ove photography exhibit, but it was super creepy, as you can see on the left.
After the semi-fail of Somerset, I headed to the Fashion and Textile Museum, which was this absolutely precious little brightly coloured building. I didn't have the forethought to take a
picture of the outside, so here's one I stole from the internet (credit: https://bermondseystreet.london/job/fashion-textile-museum/). They only had one exhibit going on at the time: Weavers of the Clouds Textile Arts of Peru, and no permanent collections. I was perfectly happy to see what kind of textiles there were from Peru though, and I was not disappointed. Always one for bright colors, I was definitely in my element!
So, some background on Peru, from the exhibit: "The nation of Peru covers many different terrains: from coastal plains to highlands, rich vegetation to deserts, lakes to rainforests. In this extraordinary ad varied landscape a long culture of materiality has been established, with vibrant and distinctive styles of work that are recognized as definitive of each region. Peru has some of the most highly acclaimed examples of historic woven and knitted cloth in the world. These have been preserved and treasured, surviving through the centuries due to the dry conditions of the climate, and in burial sites. Over its long history Peru has been ruled by numerous cultures and its artisans have continued to develop the skills of weaving using the backstrap loom, continuing the traditions of textile arts still found today." I wonder how the textiles fare din the burial sites. How did they not decay? That was not addressed in the exhibit, at least that I could find. But it's always good to come out of a learning experience with more questions, right?
I was quite astonished at the intricacy of the beading on many of the Peruvian items. I can't imagine how much time that must take to do by hand! I would never want to wear something like that, because if you snagged part of it, oops, there goes four hours of work! It would be so stressful.
One of the first items I saw were these men's (right) and women's (left) traditional dress. I didn't know that grass skirts were a thing anywhere other than Hawaii (that probably sounds ridiculously ignorant of me, but at least now I know). That was pretty cool. I wonder why the man's skirt is so much shorter than a woman's - I thought that manifestation of sexualization was mostly a Western thing.
Next, there were these two primitive leather outfits, that look extremely uncomfortable to wear, and oddly shaped. I guess they would have been quite easy to create, but can you
imagine walking around in that? Although, I suppose the leather would eventually soften as you wore it, so it wouldn't be as difficult to navigate once you had had it for a while...
I just absolutely loved all the bright colours and patterns of these clothes! This is the epitome of fashion for me! Most of the clothes look really comfortable and fun. Evidently, other designers agreed with me, for there was a whole section of the exhibit with modern interpretations of the Peruvian fashions. There were many fun, brightly coloured designs, but there were a few more demure looks, one of which was by Vivienne Westwood (the first one). I don't know how you would take inspiration from Peru and come away with so little colour, but I guess she decided to go a different direction with it. To each their own.My favorite modern interpretation was definitely the green look, purely because I love bright green, and when someone can make it fashionable, I'm all over that. You probably cannot tell from the picture, but the detailing on the front of the sweater is all beading. Again, this would be a stressful outfit to wear, but boy would you look good!
Part of the exhibit had Peruvian art, like these political pieces, commenting on the tapadas.
Tapadas were silk shawls which covered women's heads, only leaving one eye uncovered. This initially sounded like oppression to me, but the museum noted that when women were wearing tapadas, they were allowed to go out in public, unaccompanied. These items of clothing brought great strides in feminist freedom, for women were able to actually do things in public, without a man. According to this exhibit, "in the body of the Tapadas Limenas, the feminine revolution of the freedom of action and expression is produced, political positions are communicated, and restrictive challenges attributed to gender (sex) and the identity of their time are challenged. It could be said that through the tapada the woman found an object for social discourse." So, that was pretty cool.
There were also these magazines (one was a Vogue) with Peruvian-inspired fashions. Nice to see beautiful pieces like this getting
the attention they deserve, rather than the same tired fashions over and over again. Plus, I love seeing media like magazines and newspapers in museums like this - you can learn a lot about a society by what they publish.
The last part of the exhibit had items students had made as a related project. It was so incredibly cool to see student work in a museum! I do a lot of projects like this, but I couldn't imagine a museum wanting any of them! But, these things were very interesting to look at. There was even documented process work, with which I am intimately familiar.
After walking around that museum for hours, I was super tired, so I went to Tesco for their 3 pound meal deal, and then made my way to a park to eat my dinner and read a book. That was a lovely evening, although I was interrupted by three girls who walked up to me and asked me if they could ask me some questions about mental health. They explained that they were doing a project about what Londoners think the effect of faith is on mental health. I asked them if my not being from London would mess up their data, and they all kind of paused and glanced at each other. One of the girls laughed and conceded that yes, that would be a problem, and then apologized for bothering me (I really wasn’t bothered though). We had a nice little chat about where I was from, and what their project was about. But that did make me realize that British people do not necessarily know I’m a tourist. What really surprised me was that I had talked to these girls for a bit before I mentioned that I was not from London - so even with my American accent, they thought I was a Londoner! It was nice to interact with the locals though - we didn't have as many opportunities for that during the program as I would have liked.
That night, I went back to my hostel in Greenwich, and slept in a room with 7 complete strangers. That was perhaps not the best I have slept, but it certainly could have been worse. I did wake up at 5 am, though, which was great, except that I had nowhere to be until 10 am. The Greenwich market started at 10, and I wanted to check it out. I just killed a few hours in between, down by the Thames. After the Greenwich market, I headed up to Walthamstow, because I had researched the best placed to buy fabric in London, and Walthamstow was the answer. Ummmm... I don't think many tourists frequent Walthamstow. It was definitely one of the more sketchy places I had visited while in London, but that's all part of the experience, so I just moved ahead with my plan. I did find a wonderful fabric market, and bought some beautiful fabric for ridiculously cheap prices. I had planned on eating lunch in Walthamstow, but I was getting some very weird vibes, so I decided to just go back to the main part of London and eat there. The rest of Monday was very chill. I wandered around London, people-watching (well, really fashion-watching), and did some shopping. I just love European fashion - it's so much more excited than American! I found a different park from Monday night, and hung out there and read, and enjoyed the lovely day. It was a lovely way to end my study abroad experience. That night, I went back to my lovely hostel to get some shut-eye before my flight the next morning!