Grace Kelly exhibition

If I do go I would have to aim for September 25 so I can see Grace Kelly which closes on the 26th and the postmodernism show which opens on the 24th!
 
I will be going to this- probably in May- and I promise I will report back with lots of details etc. I can't wait!
 
Well, I finally got around to seeing this exhibit.... and it was well worth the wait!
There are probably 40 dresses on display, as well as numerous hats, shoes, jewelry etc. The dresses start in Grace's early career, and continue right up to before her death, so there is a wide variety of styles on display.
A couple of surprises
-the grey 'going away suit' that Grace wore when she left for her honeymoon has always been attributed, in the numerous books I have read about her, to Edith Head, but the label was actually Christian Dior New York.
-Grace was tiny, tiny, tiny, especially before kids. Her waist was minute and the short sleeves on her dresses would probably barely fit most people's wrists, let alone upper arms!
-She was also still quite small at her death, though she doesn't seem to look it in some pictures taken in the early 1980's.
-I think I loved every dress there. I couldn't pick just one if I was allowed to keep one. They were mostly classic styles that still look good today.
So, I would recommend this exhibit wholeheartedly. One piece of advice, they limit the number of people that can go in each day, so I would book ahead at the V&A website, it's also slightly cheaper that way (by about £1 I believe). They were turning people away when I arrived.
 
Oh Gosh - I want to go too. And I had the same reaction as Kittycatsilver - I want to see her wedding dress up close and personal. Nsweezie - was the dress part of the exhibit? And thanks for the booking advice.

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Sadly, the wedding dress was not on display- I have heard that it is in a very fragile state because of poor conservation in the past.
One thing I was disappointed about was the book that the V&A put out to accompany the exhibit- it just wasn't up to the usual high standards of the V&A. There were few new pictures in the book and not a lot of new information either. Rather a slim volume, and when I compare it to the 'Golden Age of Couture' book, which is also by the V&A, it comes up rather poorly.
 
Grace Kelly isn't really my era, or much my cup of tea, but I had a free ticket which it was only polite to use ;)

It's a lovely exhibition, but I wouldn't personally pay to see it. How can the Sixties exhibition have been a free one, but this is a paying one? They must be making a mint out of the tacky souvenirs anyway. A CD of music 'inspired' by Grace Kelly. Overpriced costume jewellery and other accessories.... yuck.

I was also incredibly surprised to see that her Oscar dress is shown with its matching coat over the top. I have never seen a photo with the coat, and all the detail is in the back. I want to see the detail. The dress was facing the front with a coat covering up the best bits.

They do make some very weird decisions sometimes....
 
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