A straight-forward review of In Fine Style in the Queen's Gallery is easy - go and see it, if you're in London before it closes in early October, and if you haven't planned on being there, change your plans. Similarly, buy the catalogue. Some background additions: it is going to the Queen's Gallery in Edinburgh March-October 2014; I don't know the exact dates, and it's not yet on the web site. I have been told that the full exhibition is unlikely to be there, as the space is limited, and some of the loan items may have to be returned. I have had very little time in the bookshop, being removed from the exhibition at closing time, but Bowes' catalogue of the Blackborne collection is available (they lent items) and is well worth having; a recent summary of lace history by Santina Levy, and illustrations of a marvellous collection, either justifying the price. The Tudor Tailor team have written a new book, available there, on the Tudor child; I didn't have enough time to do more than flick through the pages while being moved out on most recent visit... Patterns of Fashion 3 and 4 are also available; only the latter has real lace content, and has been reviewed before; in too brief summary, it is good on showing exactly how and where lace was used, but has possibly been superseded if all you want to do is reproduce lace of the period. A quirky, but very scholarly, publication available is "Robe" a fashion magazine of May 1667; nothing of pure lace interest, but great fun; advice from Samuel Pepys on avoiding cheap wigs - you might get the plague... and fashion tips from the beauties of the court (with scandal about some of them). The technical aspects of lacemaking may not have been given the full treatment we might have preferred: very little at all on needle lace - though the video on the audio/video guide shows single Brussels being used as an embroidery stitch, without mentioning lace. As has been said, they edited Louise West's video on making Bucks point to emphasis the features that were of least importance to the lace shown - a careful pricking, gimp, and indeed point ground. However, throughout the commentary it was stressed that the sort of lace exhibited and in the pictures was an extrememly exclusive and expensive product; the wearers were showing off the equivalent of austin martins, not just expensive clothes, and that these linen laces were not only prohibitively expensive, they were fragile high-maintenance items, the skill needed to launder and set them being equally rare and expensive. The original wearers' interest in conspicuous consumption and probable indifference to those who made the items is reflected here! The V&A's exhibition on the Tudor and Stuart Courts closed today, but though I enjoyed it, I would have recommended lacemaker with time in the V&A having exhausted the Queen's Galleryto give it a miss in favour of the permanent British gallery 1500-1700. The special exhibition had portraits with people wearing lace, and a few items, including a very good collar, but even with that, there was far better in the permanent collection, not removed for the specials. The permanent exhibition has a wider range - down to the middle classes - and indeed also has James II's wedding suit, with the Venetian gros point jabot; I was surprised it hadn't gone into one of the special exhibitions. The exhibition book's interest to a lacemaker is I think solely an essay on costume by Clair Brown, and I think it would be worth while trading up to her lace book, if you are in the V&A shop with a book budget not exhausted at the Queen's Gallery. I have a free pass to the special exhibition as a Friend, and the museum is free, and I had the time, and know the permanent gallery well; I may have felt I had wasted time and money if I had paid to see the exhibition and missed the permanent gallery. In any case, the Queen's Gallery is in a different class. I should add that a ticket to the Queen's Gallery allows re-entry for a year, to the same or future exhibitions, so is very good value. Leonard, preparing for his 10 days in Knuston starting Friday, who spent last Saturday night at the UK Costume Society's symposium dinner behind a shirt front of (metal) lace - but knees tastefully concealed within trousers.
- To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
