Britannica 1951-1953 exhibition

Whilst in London recently I made a special trip to Selfridges to see the Britannica exhibition. It is part of the Jubilee celebrations but I wanted to see it as I love 1950's clothes, the dresses in particular. In February 1951 Vogue produced an issue celebrating post-war British culture and style. They followed this up with two further February issues in 1952 and 1953. These covered the period from the Festival of Britain to the Coronation. The exhibition is based on clothes from these issues.

There are only 7 exhibits but the clothes are fantastic and well worth a look. It is perhaps important to remember that women would have bought some of these outfits as patterns and made the clothes themselves. The millinery is modern and has been made by Stephen Jones to complement the outfits. Obviously they would have been beautifully accessorised at the time as such 1950s outfits were. The exhibits are set up round a central clock; this gives the idea of how a woman may have changed outfits throughout the day, ready for any occasion.




Late day dress with circular skirt.

Beautiful shoulder detail, great corsage.

'Easy to make' wide skirted dress



Detail on dress - crowns and thistles.



Slim suit with curved pockets and back pleated skirt.



Flared coat with deep cape collar.



Silk scarf details, elegantly draped over coat.



Casual outfit - plaid circle skirt and fitted top.



Detail of fitted top and impressive headpiece.



Evening dress with strapless bodice.



Large net bow and feather headpiece.



Close up of beading on the bodice.



Casual outfit for the countryside.



Beautiful sequinned headscarf

It is perhaps important to remember that women would have bought some of these outfits as patterns and made the clothes themselves.