Greetings Lapzussen - Moda Museum Costume Exhibition * Antwerp * Until 12 August 2012

It is lovely to have news from Erica about the Lapzussen - Cloth Sisters - on Saturday they visited the ModeMuseum in Antwerp and saw the latest fabulous exhibition there, which runs throughout the summer until August 12.

The exhibition is entitled: Living Fashion - Women's Daily Wear 1750-1950 - and here is the description from the Museum: In the 19th century, the growing social importance of the middle classes brought with it a new group of wealthy citizens who wanted to show off their status through their clothing and behaviour. This stimulated consumption and fashionable activities amongst the women in these social circles. Travelling, sports, walking and shopping became new forms of passing leisure time, all requiring specific apparel. In addition to the clothes they wore, the organization of their days also followed fashion trends. Mornings were for indoor activities, the afternoons for visits and ‘outdoor activities’, and each moment of the day had its own particular dress code. Taking part in ‘high fashion’ increasingly became a must for an ever-growing group of consumers, but these women did not simply let themselves be dictated by fashion. They also helped form fashion through their own changing customs and living habits. As they still do today, consumers were frugal and creative with ever-changing fashions. Dresses were remade and sometimes completely transformed to fit the new, fashionable silhouettes. Re-using fabrics was perfectly normal, even for the upper classes. On the basis of historical silhouettes from the extensive apparel collection of Jacoba de Jonge, now almost entirely incorporated in the MoMu collection, we sketch a picture of the relationship between the fashion ideals of the day and the clothing that people were actually wearing. Click here for more details. Happy Stitching Lapzussen!