Friday 9 July 2010

Horrockses Fashions: Off The Peg Style in the 40’s and 50’s


I had the pleasure of attending the private viewing of the Horrockses Fashions exhibition last night. Horrockses was the brand of choice by most fashion conscious females of the 40’s and 50’s.

While most folk of the day were still using patterns and buying cloth by the yard to make their clothes, these females remember splashing out £4-£7 on a Horrockses dress! Yes, that was the average price which is the equivalent to £80-£130 today.
Of course I found the experience very inspiring. I’ve always been very fond of the 50’s full dress silhouette but was struck by the textile design itself - there was such detail in everything! Patterns consisted of rather kitsch illustrations, poppy florals and sporadic polka dots. Even though there was a solid identity felt from the clothes shown there were no two pieces alike at all.

Overall, my fantasies of the attire by the rock-n-roll era were well and truly met and this may be one attraction I will have to revisit. Horrockses Fashions: Off The Peg Style in the 40’s and 50’s is showing in the Fashion and Textiles Museum until October 24th.

1 comment:

  1. (As I'm still getting use to this site I still can't upload more than one photo! Pics are on my designer blog http://www.stylesage.co.uk/designers/graydonwhite/graydonwhite_work/)

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